February 9, 2023 at 9:23 a.m.
Edge score early and often, bury Eagles
Heleniak scores career-high five goals in 10-2 rout
Edge score early and often, bury Eagles
By By Brett LaBore-
The Edge beat the Eagles 10-2 Monday night at the Eagle River Sports Arena. Taylor Heleniak scored five goals in the contest along with two assists.
"It was good. We've been struggling putting pucks away so it was really good to get more pucks in the net today, and it's on their Senior Night too so it was pretty good," Heleniak said.
A total of 47 shots, the Edge put a lot of pressure on Northland Pines' goalie Jenna Uhrine. The Edge had their most shots in the first period where they outshot Northland Pines 21-0.
"I think it was good to get some points on the board finally. It was kind of our goal tonight cause I think a couple teams kind of shorted us in the (seed meeting) last night," said coach Tom Roeser, whose fifth-seeded Edge will face fourth-seeded Wisconsin Valley Union in Marshfield to open the WIAA tournament Feb. 16. "We seeded where we're supposed to just cause some other teams (seeded) correctly. But we wanted to come in here tonight and put on a good dominant performance, and I was happy we did."
The Edge scored four times in the first period - three by Heleniak. First, Wyndi Saari shot from straight on for the game's first goal, unassisted. It came 3:45 into the contest.
The Eagles totaled nine penalties for 29 minutes. Donna Lotzer got hit with a two-minute minor for tripping. Just 27 seconds later, Hailey Krznarich joined her in the box for hooking, another two-minute minor.
Not only did the Edge have a power play, they also had a five-on-three advantage for 1:33. Eventually, Heleniak found the back of the net for a power play goal. Maddi Roeser had the assist.
"We changed up our power play a little bit yesterday. We worked on it for 15-20 minutes in practice - ran in different breakout, and I think it paid off for us," coach Roeser said. "First time we played them they took quite a few penalties. We thought they might tonight cause emotional game in their building with seniors. It turned out it was an emotional game for us, and they took a lot of penalties."
Heleniak caught fire for the next minute and a half.
She weaved her way through the Eagle defense, skated right up to Uhrine, shot and scored for another power play goal. Kassidee Linssen had the assist on the play.
"I saw a lane to the net so I just took it - shot the puck and it went in," Heleniak said.
Heleniak then completed a natural hat trick with 3:06 remaining in the first as took a shot that caromed off the cage and into the net.
After one period, the Edge led 4-0.
The Edge flexed their muscles with three more goals in the second period. Heleniak scored the Edge's fourth straight goal. After being thwarted by Uhrine initially, Heleniak scored nine seconds later.
Less than a minute after that goal, Emalee Detienne scored right at the net, the assist to Heleniak.
Getting Uhrine to move around in the net was a goal for the Edge. Saari shot the puck right through the legs of Uhrine for her second goal of the contest.
"Tip-in, screen and rebounding is always a goal. But we really wanted to start moving the puck around in front of the goalie, making a goalie move," coach Roeser said.
Northland Pines did get on the board courtesy of Lotzer, assisted by Sarah Nordine. The Edge still had a big lead at 7-1 after two periods.
Not only did Heleniak score in all three periods, she also created chances for her teammates. A give-and-go with Roeser netted Roeser a goal 2:21 into the third period.
"It really helps when everyone crashes the net and is ready for backdoor passes, and we all played as a team today so it was pretty good," Heleniak said.
Lotzer was tabbed with a checking from behind, a five-minute major penalty. The Edge continued to take advantage of power play opportunities. Roeser got her second goal of the period, the assists to Mia Tulowitsky and Saari.
The Edge went 3 for 8 on power play chances in the contest.
Toward the end of the game, Heleniak found her fifth goal. That gives her a team-high 28 goals on the season, which ranks tied for sixth in the state.
"I don't know, I got a new stick today so that's kind of cool," Heleniak said about her five goals. "I felt like I had to really put some goals on the board today to get a win."
Mallory Schmidt scored one more time for the Eagles in the third period.
The Edge showed they were the better team with a 47-7 shot advantage. Kristiina Kunelius got the win in the net.
Up next, the Edge (6-12) look to make it two in a row with their regular season finale on Saturday against Beaver Dam. The game will take place at Lakeland Ice Arena in Minocqua. The Edge beat Beaver Dam 1-0 earlier in the season. The puck drops at 6 p.m.
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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