December 14, 2020 at 8:53 a.m.
Short-handed Northern Edge squeaks past Badger 3-2
Short-handed Northern Edge squeaks past Badger 3-2
Kassidee Linssen tipped in what proved to be the game-winner late in the second period and Kristina Kunelius made some big saves down the stretch as the Northern Edge held off the Badger (Baraboo co-op) Lightning 3-2 at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
Kunelius was thrust into emergency goaltending duties with starter Ellie Stank (knee) out of action. The Edge was also missing forward Kate Vizanko, who scored three times is last Monday's win over Medford, due to health concerns.
"We held on," Edge coach Tom Roeser said. "We're a little bit short-handed. We missed Kate's offensive presence, but it was nice to get out of here with a win and we've got a big week ahead of us."
Kunelius, a sophomore from Lakeland, recorded 18 saves on 20 chances, including three in a flurry over the final 90 seconds as the Lightning tried to tie the game with an extra attacker. She turned aside a Signe Begalske chance with 1:17 remaining, denied Carson Blosenski from the slot with 50 seconds left and sticked away a Mallory Ruhland shot from the blue line with 25 seconds to go. Kunelius then got some help from the goalie's best friend as a shot by Kayla Capener rang off the crossbar with 15 seconds to go before the Edge gained control of the puck, froze it down in the corner and killed off the final few seconds.
"We didn't help her much. We let them take those shots. Even trying to clear the zone low, we took a lot of hard shots tonight, but when it came to clearing the zone we were just sending pucks right on their stick and giving them another shot at her," Roeser said of the late Badger flurry.
"Kristina got tested toward the end and we're really proud of her," Roeser added. "It's a brave thing jumping in the net only having a couple of practices under your belt, just like earlier in the year with Ellie. Kristina stood the test of time and we got a win."
The Edge outshot the Lightning 52-20 in the game, but the third period was dead even at 10 shots apiece. Bella Bowden threw a puck in from the corner that snuck by Kunelius that cut the Edge's lead to 2-1 with 9:11 remaining in the contest.
The Lightning were on the board just 2:51 into the contest as Begalske poked a puck in the low slot past Kunelius, but the Edge answered midway through the period as Antigo senior Evie LeVeque sent in a bouncer from the left point that snuck past Badger netminder Alyssa Gada. The Edge then took a 2-1 lead as Lakeland seniors Izzy Boyer and Callie Johnson hooked up for a score. Boyer finished a rebound of a shot by Johnson at the 12:09 mark.
Despite outshooting Badger 24-4 in the second period, the Edge had nothing for its efforts until the final moments of the period when Linssen, a sophomore from Wabeno, tipped in a shot by Lakeland sophomore Caitlyn Fesnick with 40 seconds remaining to put the Edge ahead 3-1.
"That was huge. It was 4-on-4. We don't really have anything set up for 4-on-4, so we tried to go back to the same old same old, which is tip, screen, rebound," Roeser said. "She had a beautiful tip. It was a good, hard shot to the net, so we were happy with that. The puck was moving around the zone really well that shift too."
The win moved the Edge back to .500 (2-2-0) on the season ahead of a busy week of hockey. The team skates against Wisconsin Valley Union tonight against Stevens Point before a home game with Medford Thursday night in Antigo and a trip to Hayward on Saturday.
"That's going to be a big one and we look forward to it," Roeser said of tonight's matchup against a team from the greater Stevens Point/Wisconsin Rapids/Marshfield/Waupaca area. "I think we can skate with them and compete, but we've got to play a little better, head's up hockey."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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