Pines co-op falls to Badger, beats Viroqua

The Northland Pines girls’ hockey co-op split a pair of games last weekend, the second of which took place in Minocqua.

The Eagles — comprised of skaters from Northland Pines, Rhinelander, Lakeland, Antigo, Three Lakes, Hurley and Norway (Mich.) high schools — fell 3-1 to Badger Lightning on Friday, Jan. 2 in Eagle River. Then, Northland Pines defeated Viroqua 4-1 on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the Lakeland Hawks Ice Arena.

“They came back and kept their heads up after a game we should have won (on Friday),” Northland Pines coach Jeff Stebbeds said. “We didn’t play well (on Friday) from start to finish. And again, it’s the holidays, right? There’s a lot of things sidetracking kids’ minds and everything else, but so we didn’t get the job done (on Friday), but to come out here (on Saturday) and get the job done I was happy for them.”

Badger Lightning 3, Northland Pines 1

The Eagles had just as many shots on goal as the Lightning did, with both teams tallying 25 in the contest. However, the Eagles struggled to put the puck in the back of the net.

“We came out so slow,” Stebbeds said. “Again, it’s the holidays, so much going on. Everybody’s bouncing around. Even though New Year’s is done, but I mean, we had two weeks, basically two weeks worth of kids having holidays, and everybody has it, right? But some teams are able to stay focused. We came out slow and flat, and by the time we realized we were in a hockey game, it was too late to come back in that one.”

Two goals by Cassidy Putz of the Lightning (3-4-1, 1-1-1 Badger) put them over the top in the second period.

The first goal came 7 minutes, 12 seconds into the period from Putz. Haydee Meyer had the assist. A little less than three minutes later, Norway sophomore Lilly Tomlanovich tied the game at 1-1 with the assist to Northland Pines senior Bella Nowak.

With only 38 seconds left in the second period, Putz found the back of the net for a second time. Kate Brandt was awarded the assist, and the Lightning took a 2-1 lead going into the final period.

Northland Pines (3-7-1, 1-2-0 Wis. Valley) totaled four penalties. One of those penalties came back to hurt them as the Lightning iced the game.

Elizabeth Haag scored a power-play goal with 30 seconds left. She made it a two-score game, the assists going to Putz and Lily Freeman. Putz led all skaters with three points.

Northland Pines sophomore goalie Lucy Nowak made 22 saves in the loss.

Northland Pines 4, Viroqua 1

In the Eagles’ lone game of the season at the Lakeland Hawks Ice Arena, three of the Eagles’ four goal were scored or assisted by a Lakeland player.

The scoring got started by Lakeland freshman Laine Jelinski in the second period. She made her way up the ice, put the puck on net and delivered a goal. Northland Pines led 1-0.

The winning goal came from Tomlanovich in the second period. Pines freshman Ayla Shepherdson had the assist, and the Eagles led 2-0 after two periods.

“Puck movement was good,” Stebbeds said. “Once we settle down, like I said before, as far as everybody playing their position, they trust everybody’s going to be in the spots they need to be in. So as far as being able to freely move the puck around and let them run around and get exhausted while we have energy plus a third line to be able to come out. Smaller team like that, they only have two lines. So I was hoping eventually our third line would be able to help grind them down a little bit.”

In the third period, Lakeland freshman Makenzie Nicholson made a pass to Rhinelander freshman Lena Chiamulera near the net. Chiamulera shot the puck past Viroqua goalie Adey Oliver. The goal came just 2:43 into the third period.

“(Chiamulera’s) a defenseman by nature,” Stebbeds said. “She’s always played defense. So she stepped up for us when earlier in the year we had a bunch of injuries coming on and asked her, and she was actually very excited to play for it. It takes a while to learn a position. It’s fun to see the growth there of a young kid like that to be able to go out and produce like that.”

The fourth and final Eagle goal started with a Jelinski pass. She sent the puck to an open Pines junior Avery Renkes, who finished for the score.

The Northland Pines co-op outshot the Blackhawks 40-22. Viroqua found the back of the net in the third period. It started with a breakaway by Kylie Unseth. Lucy Nowak made the stop. The puck found Grace Johnson, and she scored for the Blackhawks. The score was 3-1 at the time.

The Johnson goal was the only blemish on Lucy Nowak’s game. She made 20 saves to help Northland Pines get the win.

The Eagles’ win over Viroqua was its second in six days over the Blackhawks. The Eagles defeated the Viroqua 6-1 in a tournament in Verona on Dec. 29.

Up next, the Eagles play Black River Falls tonight at the Tomah Ice Center. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Northland Pines will then take on Coulee Region tomorrow in West Salem beginning at noon.

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