January 24, 2023 at 8:12 a.m.
Northern Edge drops a pair of home games
Northern Edge drops a pair of home games
By By Brett LaBore-
Arrowhead beat the Edge 6-3 Friday night in Minocqua. Then, on Saturday, Brookfield used a strong third period to down the Edge 4-1 in Rhinelander.
Arrowhead
The Warhawks wasted no time scoring, putting the puck in the net twice in the game's first 42 seconds. Goals came from Quinn Sondrol and Bella Hamel. Natalie Hazelton and Sondrol assisted Hamel's goal.
"That was tough. We won the face-offs and our (defense) tried short bounce passes to the wing, and they were too short, and they picked them up, skated and ended up scoring on both of them so we dug a hole right away and that was tough to skate out of, but I was pretty proud of them," coach Tom Roeser said. "They bounced back, and we ended up tying the game shortly thereafter."
The Edge battled back for the equalizing goals. Taylor Heleniak continued to lead the Edge in goals, scoring unassisted at 13:03. She skated right up to the goal, took a shot and scored.
With 3:10 remaining in the period, Wyndi Saari and Heleniak skated down the ice in a 2-on-1 advantage. Saari took it herself to tie the game at 2.
"Sense of urgency. We got more urgent as the game went on," coach Roeser said. "We got outshot (13-4) in the first period. We were kind of rusty cause we didn't skate - we went a full week without skating cause of delays, snow cancellations, things like that. The rust showed right away and took us a little while to work out of that."
Kristiina Kunelius rebounded after giving up a couple of early goals. She made 10 saves in the period, including a big save when she went one-on-one with an Arrowhead skater.
The Warhawks did get a late goal courtesy of Natalie Hazelton. Sondrol and Sara Kopf got the assists to give the Warhawks the lead after one period.
Heleniak looked for her second goal in the second period. She was hooked, putting the Edge in the power play. Heleniak and Saari had a couple of looks, but nothing came from the power play.
Like they did in the first period, the Warhawks scored in bunches. After what looked like a save, Sondrol scored her second goal at 13:30. Eleven seconds later, Amelia Altmann went backdoor to score a goal. Norah Hazelton and Kelcey Gilbertson got the assists.
Hamel added another goal in the second period. Still, the Edge outshot the Warhawks 9-8 in the second period. Coach Roeser liked the way his team played in the period.
"I thought we outplayed them the second period. I thought we had really good energy," he said. "Even though the score from the second period didn't say it, I thought we outworked them that period last night. Unfortunately, some just fall like that."
Heleniak (21 goals) added a power play goal in the third period. Kunelius recorded 23 saves in the loss.
Brookfield
It was a low-scoring game for most of the contest Saturday in Rhinelander. The early adversity that the Edge faced came in their power play kill.
The Edge's Kassidee Linssen and Heleniak went to the box over the course of a minute. The Edge had to go 49 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey, not allowing a goal during the process.
"I thought the girls were really good, taking lanes away, having active sticks and keeping the shots - keeping them from shooting inside. All the shots we gave up for the most part were from the perimeter," coach Roeser said. "That's what we work on, that's what we're trying to do, and they did a really good job in killing, especially that 5-on-3."
However, a rebound bounced Brookfield's way where they tapped in the game's first goal during a regular 5-on-4 power play. Grace Carmen had the goal, the assists to Kelli Harrigan and Kali Santos.
After a period, Brookfield led 1-0.
The Edge totaled 27 shots in just the second and third periods alone. One of those shots found the back of the net. Maddi Roeser scored her first goal of the season right in front of the net, tying the game at 1-1. Maria Gironella had the assist.
"Typically, we don't have two defensemen rushing the puck but in that case it worked out for us," coach Roeser said. "But it was good. It got a little head of steam, and I thought we could have buried a few more, but she was right place right time and put a really nice shot on the goalie."
The power play kill became an asset for the Edge in the second period. They killed one penalty early in the period as well as part of another penalty later on.
The Edge kept the pressure on with shots by Heleniak and Saari. Emalee Detienne and Emma Chiamulera also had chances near the net.
Kunelius saved all seven shots she saw in a strong second period. Brookfield's Payton Dykstra took a shot straight on, saved by Kunelius.
"I thought (Kristiina) was great. She'd want maybe one or two back in that third period, but she's stopping the pucks she should stop. The one was an upper corner shot, really nice shot and our (defense) should have stepped in, that shot probably shouldn't have come off," coach Roeser said. "You couldn't tell this was her fourth game. She's got a great attitude so we're really happy with her."
After two periods, the game was tied at 1-1.
To open the third period, the Edge killed the rest of Heleniak's penalty.
Later on, Brookfield's Ella Vranak was wide open, going one-on-one vs. Kunelius. Kunelius made the first save. Dykstra scored shortly after with the assists to Harrigan and Vranak.
Brookfield added two more goals late in the game. The Edge outshot Brookfield 34-28 in the game.
"I thought we worked really hard for three periods. The third period they got a couple pucks to fall for them," coach Roeser said. "I thought we outplayed them, and I was really happy with the way we played for all three periods today."
Up next, the Edge (4-9) play at Central Wisconsin on Thursday, Jan. 26. The game will take place at Greenheck Field House in Schofield. The puck drops at 7 p.m.
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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