February 20, 2019 at 1:18 p.m.
Edge falls to Wis. Valley Union 4-0
Turunen's 51 saves not enough for Northern Edge in playoff loss
Edge falls to Wis. Valley Union 4-0
Northern Edge goalie Alicia Turunen dazzled Tuesday night with a 51-save performance, but did not get the help she needed as Rhinelander/Antigo was blanked by Wisconsin Valley Union 4-0 in the WIAA sectional semifinals at Ice Hawks Arena.
Turunen's strong play kept the Northern Edge in the contest most of the way, but the Edge was hardly able to generate any offense as their season came to an end.
"They're a good team. They're deeper than us," Edge coach Tom Roeser said afterward. "We knew that coming in and Alicia, she did what she could, another great performance. Fifty-five shots I think she saw and only four went in and up to maybe six-, seven-minute mark (remaining in the third) only two went in. She did her job."
Turunen kept the Edge afloat for more than 44 minutes Tuesday night, but Union sealed the game with a pair of goals just more than a minute apart late in the third as the mega co-op of 10 schools - including Wisconsin Valley Conference members Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Marshfield - advances to the sectional finals to take on the Central Wisconsin Storm.
Shelby Tryba scored twice for WVU, including the team's opening tally 6:07 into the opening period when she put back a rebound off a shot by Lauryn Broecker. The game remained 1-0 until the midway point of the second when Emily Nolan deflected a pass to the bottom of the right faceoff circle by Alayna Bruneau that beat Turunen between the legs through the five-hole.
Tryba scored another rebound goal in a mad scramble in front of the Northern Edge net at the 10:47 mark of the third and Cadie Ash scored on a breakaway at the 11:56 mark to round out the scoring.
Roeser said the Edge was controlled by a stronger, more physical Wisconsin Valley Union team.
"They barely rubbed us a couple times and took us off the puck. A lot of it's mental. We've got to, mentally, want that puck," he said. "We couldn't get pucks to the net. We played very weak in the first period and I thought after that we got a little stronger and didn't let them push us around quite as much. We took care of in front of (our) net a little better. But they're a good team."
The Northern Edge amassed only eight shots on goal in the contest. Their best scoring chance came in the final seconds of the second period on a shot in the slot by Madi Losch that appeared to beat WVU goalie Pistol Cowden and carom back to the top of the crease, but the officials deemed they never saw the puck cross the goal line.
"I don't know if they lost sight of the puck," Roeser said. "The ref told me it hit a girl in the back, dropped and was sitting in the crease. The goalie didn't know where it was either. She was still straight up and down. That's something we need to work on too, if you don't hear that whistle, you better be in there digging. We weren't digging, everyone kind of stopped playing at that point and that was kind of a gimme goal. That could have been a very big deal."
The Northern Edge finishes the season with a record of 5-12-0 in Roeser's first year as head coach.
"I learned a lot," he said. "I have to learn to deal with the different personalities. I'm used to coaching one way and I'm going to have to change a few things. Before I left the locker room I told them what I expected of them. We need to get stronger, physically. That's something they don't need ice to do. They can do it out on their own, find a gym, do it outside. We've got body exercises we can work on. I hope they take that to heart and get stronger."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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