February 20, 2023 at 9:32 a.m.
Northern Edge lose playoff heartbreaker in double OT
By By Brett LaBore-
Wabeno/Three Lakes co-op lost in a heartbreaker.
Wisconsin Valley Union beat the Edge 4-3 in double overtime in a regional final game Tuesday night in Marshfield.
"It was an emotional game, they came out and battled hard. In my five years, (these seniors) are the only group I've seen through their four years, and all five of them are nothing but class, great work ethic and great leaders on the them. They're going to be missed. It was emotional for everybody," coach Tom Roeser said. "The underclassmen watching them leave - a lot of emotion going on."
The Eagles got on the board first courtesy of Ella Beilke with the assist to Sophie Saunders. They cleaned up a loose puck and shot it over Edge goalie Kristiina Kunelius' head. They led 1-0 in the second period.
Power play became a friend for the Edge in the second period. The Eagles' Jai Dee Menge went to the box for a two-minute minor for body checking.
Edge leading-goal scorer Taylor Heleniak skated behind the Eagles' net to score the equalizing goal with 5:43 left in the second period.
Later on, Caitlin Ryan of the Eagles went to the penalty box for a body check, the second time the Eagles had been penalized for that infraction.
The Edge made it two-for-two on power play chances. Kassidee Linssen shot and scored with a deflection that found the back of the net. Heleniak and Maddi Roeser had the assists.
Two power play goals gave the Edge a 2-1 lead after two periods.
"Our power play was definitely working," coach Roeser said. "(There were) a few times where we started to force it at the point. Then, once we reeled it back in and got it to where we wanted to work the puck, good stuff started happening."
Kunelius had 11 saves through two periods, including eight saves in period number two.
Linssen went to the box at the end of the second period for a two-minute minor, the only Edge penalty in the game. The power play spanned from the end of the second period to the start of the third. Kunelius allowed no goals in that span.
"(Kristiina's) battled all year. (It's) brave for a girl to jump in the net. I can't say enough about her, she really blossomed as a leader this year," coach Roeser said. "She took it hard. She wants to perform just like everybody on the ice. We're going to miss her, and she expects a lot out of herself. Yes, she was visibly pretty upset about (the loss)."
The Edge had a number of chances to put the game away in the third period. The Edge went back on the power play two more times in the third period, looking for their third power play goal. This time, Wisconsin Valley Union killed both power plays, both committed by the Eagles' Jenna Jones.
After killing both penalties, Jones ended up tying the game at 2-2 midway through the third period. The goal came unassisted.
Another Eagle penalty put the Edge back in the power play with just 2:10 left in the third period. The Edge were in the driver's seat, having a chance to score a goal and win the game.
Linssen found the back of the net for her second goal of the game. Maddi Roeser and Heleniak had the assists as Linssen's shot got by Eagle goalie Grace Lawrence.
That goal gave the Edge three power play goals and a lead with just 1:12 left on the clock. Wisconsin Valley Union called a timeout.
The Eagles' timeout paid off. They pulled Lawrence to give themselves an extra player on the attack. With a scrum in front of the net, the Eagles scored the loose puck with just 33 seconds left. Kaydence McGregor had the goal, the assist to Beilke.
"We changed up our forecheck. We wanted to get a little less aggressive, take way neutral ice. They got it in our zone, a D zone breakdown. They outworked us and put one home," coach Roeser said. "We wanted to really just play unselfish, not go for the net when we do get control the puck if the lanes not open, get pucks deep and keep them deep. Unfortunately, we didn't really have a chance to do that. They took our zone right away and put one home."
Fifty-one minutes of hockey wasn't enough to decide the winner of this regional final game. After three periods, the game was tied at 3-3.
With a total of 19 shots on goal in the third period alone, the Edge had opportunities to end the game before overtime. Lawrence made 18 saves to keep the Eagles alive.
"It was a good battle and I'm proud of the girls," coach Roeser said. "We had a lot of chances, and we didn't capitalize on a couple of those power plays."
The game moved to an eight-minute overtime period, sudden death. After a Kunelius save, Heleniak had breakaway chance, going one-on-one with Lawrence. Lawrence made the save as play continued.
The Edge went back on the power play once more. Cecelia Reissmann went to the box for a body check, the fourth time the Eagles were penalized for it.
There were a number of loose pucks in front of the net to clean up. The Edge couldn't get a good stick on any of them to poke in a winning goal.
Lawrence came up clutch with eight saves in eight minutes. The game went to a second overtime.
This overtime would be five minutes of four-on-four hockey. Coach Roeser thought that favored his team.
"I did think it favored us cause I thought we were a little deeper than them, and if we run our four best forwards against theres, I thought we had the upper hand on that," he said.
Instead, Jones found a way to sneak one in for the Eagles 1:31 into the second overtime. The Eagles came away with a win to move onto the next round of the playoffs.
The Edge held a 44-25 shot advantage in the game. The loss ends their season at 7-13.
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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