February 14, 2022 at 7:17 a.m.
Edge falls to Arrowhead 4-3 in regular season finale
Edge falls to Arrowhead 4-3 in regular season finale
Hayley Hunt scored the game-winner from close range midway through the third period and Arrowhead rallied to defeat the Northern Edge 4-3 Friday night in Antigo.
The Edge, which came in off back-to-back wins following a 1-12 start, was hoping to get one more in the win column prior to Thursday's playoff opener at Superior, but had to settle for going 2 out of 3 in the final week of the regular season.
"We'll take it," coach Tom Roeser said. "Not getting blown out of games is a big deal and it gives us a lot to work for this week going into Superior, and that's going to be a challenge."
The Edge led 3-2 in the second period against the Warhawks, but could not avenge a 5-2 loss in Hartland from Jan. 8. Norah Hazelton tied it from close range late in the second period for Arrowhead and assisted on Hunt's game-winner in the third.
"We had some defensive zone breakdowns, and that was tough. That's the way it bounces. We kind of let them get a little tight on (goalie) Ellie (Stank) and they popped some goals," coach Roeser said.
The Edge narrowly outshot Arrowhead 25-23 in the contest, but an inability to prevent the Warhawks from getting the puck in front of the net proved costly. Three of Arrowhead's goals came from just in front of the crease.
"In those panic situations we couldn't get the puck out of the zone and couldn't get line changes," Roeser said. "That's typically when we got scored on. We were gassed out there. We let them work the puck a little too close to the net and we didn't block many shots tonight and we paid for it."
The teams were tied at 2 following one period and at 3 following two periods.
Naomi Little got the scoring started 5:49 into the first for Arrowhead as she got in front of the net and poked a puck past Stank in a scramble situation.
The Edge answered 41 seconds later as Lakeland sophomore Taylor Heleniak scored her team-leading 16th goal of the season. She took an outlet pass from Wyndi Saari out of the defensive zone and did the rest, converting a 2-on-1 breakaway.
The Warhawks turned the tables as Shannon Dwyer picked off a puck at the Arrowhead blue line and converted the breakaway to put the Warhawks up at the 8:25 mark. The Edge again answered quickly as Wabeno junior Kassidee Linssen banged home a second-chance off a Heleniak shot 32 seconds later to tie the game.
The Edge took its lone lead of the night 3:24 into the second as Maria Gironella fed Rhinelander junior defender Maddi Roeser in the slot, and Roeser's wrist shot found its way home. Hazelton tied it for Arrowhead with 3:38 remaining in the period on a point-blank chance in front of Stank.
The Edge, who dressed only 11 skaters, outshot Arrowhead 15-7 in the first period, but the Warhawks were plus-6 in the shot count over the final two periods.
"They're deeper than us. They had 2 1/2 solid lines and that's what really got us and we weren't consistent with how hard we were working out there," coach Roeser said. "I'm not going to say everybody, because it's not everybody. We have some girls that are working hard, but we need to get everyone doing the same."
Despite the loss, the Edge has strung together three of its most competitive games right at the end of the season, a positive sign entering the WIAA tournament. Yet, when asked, Roeser said his team has not yet played its best hockey.
"I think we can play better, just taking care of the puck better, especially in crucial areas of the ice - like our D zone and the neutral zone," he said. "When we're trying to clear pucks, we're sending them right into their players. We're not picking our heads up and it's showing. I think we can do that better and we can work on that."
The Edge (3-13-0) opens the WIAA tournament at Superior (7-16). The Spartans come in at the No. 3 seed, despite winning only one of their final 11 games. Roeser said that's partly due to the level of competition Superior has played.
"They're going to be pretty similar to Hayward," he said. "Superior is playing a lot of Minnesota teams, which kind of makes them maybe not look like a stronger team, but I think they're very similar to Hayward. They're both strong and fast. We can't let those girls bump us off pucks."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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