Girls’ hockey: Northland Pines co-op aiming for more wins in 2024

A brand new era has started for the new Northland Pines co-op girls’ hockey team. Though they may not have the wins to show for it, the Eagles have seen improvement throughout the season.

As of Thursday, Dec. 28, Northland Pines is 2-7. It’s their first season joining with last year’s Northern Edge team — Lakeland, Rhinelander and Antigo. There are also three players from Bessemer, Mich.

Northland Pines has already tied the same amount of wins they had last season. They did that before the New Year.

“I think the season is going pretty well actually,” coach Andrea Sergent said. “I didn’t know with everyone coming together how it would be. All the girls are getting along phenomenal. Their connection on the ice is great. We’re starting to figure out our lines so that’s a plus. Overall, I think we’re doing pretty well. We’ve played a couple really good teams, and we’ve suck with them for the most part. Compared to last year, I’m very, very happy with how we’ve dropped the scores in half. We were in double digits being scored against us last year, and now we’re down to single digits which is always nice.”

Northland Pines’ one win came Dec. 12 at Medford, winning 3-1. Lakeland’s Taylor Heleniak led the way with two goals and an assist in the win.

“It felt good. The girls were super excited. They really came together,” Sergent said. “Even the girls who really didn’t get that much time on the ice were excited for the girls that played, that scored. They’re very big cheerleaders for themselves which is wonderful. It was nice to see the girls come together and enjoy the win together. You can see it lift their spirits. The effort and the drive really picked up after that win.”

Outshooting the Raiders 33-22, Northland Pines got out to a 2-0 lead after the first period with both goals by Heleniak. Northland Pines’ Mallory Schmidt assisted the first one with the second one unassisted. Captains Heleniak and Schmidt have stepped it up as leaders for the co-op this season.

“Taylor Heleniak and Mallory Schmidt have really been leaders for us on the offensive side of the ice. They’re looking to not only score for themselves, but they’re also looking to set other people up for a goal,” Sergent said. “They’ve stepped into that captain role and really just taking it to the next level. It’s really nice to see as a coach.”

Medford scored one goal in the second period to cut the deficit in half. Late in the third period, Rhinelander’s Reese Retallick put the game away with a goal. Heleniak and Schmidt had the assists to give the Northland Pines co-op a 3-1 lead.

Jenna Uhrine of Northland Pines, got the win in net. She stopped 21 of the 22 shots she faced.

Medford and Northland Pines are scheduled to meet two more times this season — Jan. 8 and 18 in Eagle River.

Antigo’s MacKenzie Wissbroecker has made her name known as a leader on the team. She was made an assistant captain late last month.

“And another one that is doing the same thing is MacKenzie Wissbroecker,” Sergent said. “She doesn’t know it yet, but we are giving her an assistant captain this week.”

One thing the co-op is looking to improve upon is their passing and communication.

“We really need to work on our passing. We can get it out of our zone, we can shoot, but our neutral zone passing needs some work, and that’s what we’ll work on … before our game Saturday,” Sergent said. “We need to talk a little more on the ice, let the girls on the team know where some of the girls are, and we’re getting there. This month I’m hoping it’ll be our month. The main thing right now is talking and passing.”

Heleniak has made a big impact during her first year with Northland Pines. She’s scored 10 goals and accumulated four five thus far.

“She has been great. Right now, she’s our leading scorer which always helps. She’s learned to get the puck off her stick to shoot sooner,” Sergent said. “She got her first hat trick of the year against Back River Falls (Dec. 15). She’s a great leader, she’s a great person. She really brings that happy attitude to the team.”

The Hodags are represented this year by Emalee Detienne, Retallick, Madeline Legrey, Mia Tulowitzky, Hannah Mueller, Jayln Zadnik and Lily Pequet.

Detienne and Tulowitzky have stood out to Sergent so far this season.

“(Emalee) is a great, upcoming leader. In my eyes, she will be one of the captains for next year. She’s loud on the ice, she lifts other girls up, she tries her hardest every day at practice. She’s always there. She has a lot of effort on and off the ice,” she said. “(Mia) has really put in the effort to get better. I believe she’s done so. She’s another one that I think the team will choose as a captain next year. She’s put in the effort. They are starting to show great leadership qualities.”

Schmidt has three goal and six assists this season. Lilly Beitler, also Northland Pines, has one goal and assist. Northland Pines’ Ava Carillo also has two assists. Retallick has tallied two goals.

Sergent hopes to build momentum in January before heading into the playoff month of February.

“I’m hoping that we can pull out a few more wins. It’s when playoffs come around (is) when the team has to be dialed in. It’s when they want to win more than the other team. By the time playoffs come, I hope we have a few more wins under our belt,” she said. “We have quite a … schedule for January. If we can get at least half those in wins, and they’re dialed in come the end of January coming into February, we should do pretty well in playoffs. The girls have to want it more, more than the other team.”

The team picked up win No. 2 of the season Dec. 30 at home against the Stoughton co-op, winning 2-0. Both of the Eagles goals came in the first period. Tulowitzky scored unassisted at the 5:15 mark of the period and Schmidt scored off an assist from Detienne with 18 seconds remaining in the period. The team fell 8-4 to Black River Falls Tuesday on the road. Heleniak scored twice in the game and the Eagles also got goals from Schmidt and Wissbroecker.

Northland Pines’ next home game takes place Saturday against Beaver Dam at Eagle River Sports Arena.

Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].