February 13, 2019 at 11:29 a.m.
Northern Edge beats Lakeland 3-2 to end regular season
Northern Edge beats Lakeland 3-2 to end regular season
Taylee Tucker scored a rebound goal with 4:29 remaining and the Northern Edge knocked off Lakeland 3-2 at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
The win was only the fourth of the season for the Edge (4-10-0), and first against a team other than Medford.
"Last weekend we played a couple tight games against some really good teams. I know the girls were probably a little tired, but they came out tonight and worked hard," Edge coach Tom Roeser said. "We only had five forwards and three (defenders). They had to step up and they should sleep well tonight."
The Northern Edge has already received a forfeit win over Lakeland in tonight's WIAA regional final round as the T-Birds were deemed ineligible for the playoffs after picking up three game disqualification penalties during the course of the season. Monday's win perhaps validated the fact that the Edge deserves to be in the sectional semifinal round of the tournament.
"It does for me, I don't know if it does for them," Roeser said. "They're a decent team and tonight we just had it. When you have a goalie playing like ours has over the last couple weeks, anything can happen and we kind of proved that tonight."
Tucker broke a 2-2 tie on a scrum in front of the net late in the third period. Emily Kassler and Evie LeVeque were each credited with assists on the game winner.
"That last goal by Taylee Tucker, that's what we're looking for," Roeser said. "There was a lot of traffic in front and we were playing to the whistle. Throughout the year, we'd stop if we don't see the puck. Taylee did not do that. She kept working and got one to go home."
Despite being outshot 53-35 in the contest, the Edge never trailed. Jade Forster put the Edge on the board 11:18 into the opening period off an assist by Kassler.
"She was all over tonight," Roeser said of Forster. "She's changed her game the last week or two and she's playing a lot stronger. She got a big goal right away."
Asucena Boyer tied the game for Lakeland just more than a minute later, and the 1-1 scoreline remained until late in the second as Kassler scored at the 12:34 mark.
"The goal Emily scored, she just stepped across the middle and put a hard shot on," Roeser said.
Kate Vizanko, who scored three goals for Lakeland in the team's last meeting against the Edge back on Jan. 14, tied the game for the T-Birds 7:34 into the third period, but the Edge responded with the game-winner from Tucker, who scored twice during the teams' first meeting back on Dec. 21.
Alicia Turunen made 51 saves in victory for the Edge. She stopped 20 pucks in the first period alone, though Roeser said the defense did a decent job of eliminating Lakeland's chances from point-blank range.
"She did great again," Roeser said of Turunen's performance. "She's solid. She's great with angles. Our issue right now is in our D-zone we let girls walk right out of the corner and right to our goalie. We did that a little less tonight, but it's still happening. That's something we'll be working on."
The Edge now awaits the winner of tonight's game between second-seeded Wisconsin Valley Union and seventh-seeded Medford for a sectional semifinal game this coming Tuesday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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