Stars advance to sectionals
By Erik Buchinger
The Fox Cities Stars overcame a strong performance from the Northern Edge goalie in a 3-1 victory at the Tri County Ice Arena in Neenah on Friday, Feb. 16.
The Stars came into the game as the No. 3 seed, while Northern Edge entered as the sixth seed.
“We got a very good effort from a team that – looking at their record, we were kind of looking ahead possibly with the girls,” Stars head coach Jeff Fox said. “They played hard, and this is one of those days where a hot goalie can get you in the playoffs.”
Northern Edge goalie Alicia Turunen finished with 46 saves, allowing just two goals in the loss.
The first period went scoreless with the Stars leading 14-0 in shots on goal. With shots not going in, Fox told his team to stay calm and not get discouraged.
“I was just trying to tell the girls to relax, and they kept on building the tension,” Fox said. “If you make the right plays, the puck is going to find a way in. It builds, and you’ve got to just trust yourself that you’re doing a good job.”
Hortonville’s Maddy Jablonski had a few opportunities to score in the first period but came up empty.
“It was pretty frustrating,” Jablonski said. “She’s a pretty good goalie. I think she’s just agile, and she can get in the way of the shot. She did a good job so give her credit.”
With zero shots on goal in the first period, Fox Cities Stars goalie Hattie Berndt of New London did not have much to worry about.
“The first period for me was pretty boring,” Berndt said. “I didn’t get any shots, but the team did really good obviously since they were only in our zone for a little bit.”
Berndt said she would prefer more opportunities for saves early in games.
“I definitely want to see a little more action because it keeps me warmed up, and I have a better time at saving shots,” Berndt said.
The Stars got on the board in the second period with a power play goal scored by Alaina Schauf with assists for Jablonski and Tori Nelson.
Midway through the second period, Jablonski collided with a Northern Edge player and crawled off the ice in pain but returned minutes later.
“I just ran into a girl, and we hit knee to knee,” Jablonski said. “It just kind of hyperextended for a second. It hurt and then it just went away.”
Fox Cities went ahead 2-0 in the third period with another power play goal, scored by Lauryn Hull, assisted by Jablonski and Morgan Treml.
Northern Edge responded with a goal midway through the third period to cut the lead to one.
“The one goal I was disappointed about because I know I could’ve saved it if I would’ve just pushed over a little more, but other than that I thought I did pretty good,” Berndt said.
The Stars held on to the one-goal lead, and Schauf scored for the second time on an empty net to seal the victory.
“We had good energy tonight, and we played hard,” Fox said. “We knew we were the better skating team, and we were beating them to pucks. We just couldn’t make that simple little play to put the puck in the net, but we survived.”
Jablonski said she is happy with the victory despite the team not playing its best.
“We played hard and came out with the win,” Jablonski said. “It wasn’t the prettiest, but we got it done so I’m happy.”
The Stars will advance to the sectional semifinal to play against No. 2 seed Central Wisconsin Storm on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Greenheck Field House in Schofield.
“We’ve got a tough draw,” Fox said. “We’ve got to play the Storm, and they’ve gone to state 11 straight years, knocked us out last year in the sectional final. We can skate with them, so we’ve just got to be able to put way those opportunities when we get them.”