January 18, 2019 at 1:03 p.m.
Northern Edge falls to Pines 3-1
Northern Edge falls to Pines 3-1
The Eagles scored twice in the second period, which proved to be the difference in a 3-1 victory over the Northern Edge at the Langlade County Multi-Purpose Building.
The stats showed that Northland Pines heavily controlled the game, outshooting Rhinelander/Antigo 59-17, but coach Tom Roeser said the Edge put forth a stronger effort than it did three nights earlier in a 6-0 loss to Lakeland.
"We skated well and competed pretty well in the first two periods, even though the shots don't look it," he said. "We didn't give up as many quality shots. Pines likes to put the puck on net wherever they are and I think that contributed to it.
"We played better, were more physical and didn't make as many mental errors."
Despite a bevy of shots, Pines did not get one past Northern Edge goalie Alicia Turunen until the 5:57 mark of the second period when Cameron Ramesh scored on the power play. Cailey Coopman scored nearly four minutes later to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
"They were good goals, good rebound goals," Roeser said. "They got a lot of traffic in front of the net, which they do pretty well. They get a lot of traffic in front. They were rebounds. They weren't screened tips which we were thankful for. We kept the girls clear out in front much better tonight."
The Edge responded quickly with a Jade Forster tally off an assist from Madi Losch at the 10:31 mark and the score remained 2-1 heading to the second intermission.
"It was a really nice goal. Madi came across the slot, took a shot. Jade crashed the net hard for a rebound," he said. "Brooke (Beauchaine) was right there too. They were crashing the net for the rebound and Jade buried it. That was a nice pick-me-up after giving up two."
Kia Dalka restored the two-goal advantage for Northland Pines 5:54 into the third period.
The Northern Edge was called for only four penalties in the contest, but those penalties came at inopportune times. One led to a Pines power play goal and the Edge was penalized twice in the final five minutes of the game, hampering the team's chances of a comeback.
"We took some bad penalties at the end, took ourselves off a power play," Roeser said. "At that point, it was 3-1 and there wasn't really time to plan for pulling our goalie. A couple of costly mistakes at the end."
The Edge was down to only nine skaters for Thursday's contest. Roeser said Nevaeh Forster missed the game in concussion protocol and Bailey Novy missed the game while on a class trip.
"We had a few girls that really stepped up their game. I thought Evie LeVeque really played well tonight. Emily Kassler, she's skating forward, defense, wherever we need her," Roeser noted.
Turunen made 56 saves in defeat for the Northern Edge.
Northland Pines and Rhinelander/Antigo will get together next Thursday in Eagle River for their final Great Northern Conference meeting of the season. First the Northern Edge will travel to Waupaca on Thursday for a game against Wisconsin Valley Union.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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