MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY - Girls hockey team falls twice to giant metro co-ops
MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY
A tough four-game stretch to start the season ended for Medford’s girls hockey team with a 6-0 loss Friday against the host Eau Claire Area Stars.
The Stars took control with four firstperiod goals and added two more in the second to put the running clock into motion and cruise to their first win of the winter after three straight losses to start the season. The Stars got win number two the next day, beating the Northland Pines Co-op 5-0.
Medford fell to 0-4 with its third loss in four days.
Four different players scored for Eau Claire in the opening period, where the Raiders were outshot 14-4. The goals all came in a span of 3:39.
It started when Aubree Wolle soft shot found its way into the net for an unassisted goal 2:31 in. The Stars then took advantage of Medford’s first penalty of the night. Jillian Stephenson won a puck battle at Medford’s blue line, skating in and scored at 4:25 for a 2-0 lead.
At 5:41, Molly Wright capped off a twoon- one break by scoring off an Addison Gruhlke assist. Victoria Kitelinger’s breakaway goal at 6:10 capped the early barrage.
The Stars outshot Medford 18-4 in the period and finished with a 38-11 advantage in shots. Wright and Gruhlke scored Eau Claire’s final goals in the second period.
Raider goalie Zayleah Leonhardt had 32 saves, while Amy Thul got 11 in her shutout win for the Stars, who were one for three on power plays. Medford had two chances, one in the first period and another that spanned the first and second periods.
The Raiders will head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan Saturday for a doubleheader with the Houghton-Hancock squad. The Raiders will welcome the Northland Pines Co-op to the Simek Center on Tuesday, followed by the Chippewa Falls-Menomonie Sabers on Dec. 14. The puck drops at 6 p.m for both home games.
Storm 8, Raiders 1
In Thursday’s home opener, the Central Wisconsin Storm’s speed and depth were too much for Medford to handle in an 8-1 loss.
The Raiders got their goal late in the second period and it was the final tally of the game. It came at 14:54 just after each team had killed off a penalty. Grace Schmidtfranz cleared the puck out of the defensive zone. Rivalee Stokes was able to tip the puck away from a Storm defender as it bounced off the boards and got it to Jaylin Machon, who beat former Raider goalie Ilsa Brunner through the five-hole to break the shutout.
That was one of just three shots Medford was able to get on goal against another strong Storm squad. The Raiders did well to get out of the first period down 3-0 despite being outshot 20-2, but the Storm blitzed the Raiders with three goals in the first 3:40 of the second period to set the running clock in motion and put it out of reach.
Gabi Heuser scored three goals for the Storm, including the first one, lifting a shot from the slot over Leonhardt’s shoulder at the 3:07 mark of the first period. Just 31 seconds later, Tristan Wicklund dropped a pass back to Ava Whitmore for the second goal. Wicklund got the third goal at 8:36 on a transition opportunity.
Medford’s best chance in the period came just over 11 minutes in when the Raiders got a nice breakout and transition opportunity to set up Emily Kiselicka in the crease, but Brunner got the save.
Heuer’s deflection off a Taylor Freidel shot 50 seconds into the second period and Wicklund’s shot to the short side got past Leonhardt’s glove at 1:24 to put the Storm up 5-0. With a delayed penalty called, the Storm got the sixth goal with Heuer completing her hat trick with another deflection in front with assists going to Ava Rode and Madeline Kelter.
Freidel and Julia DeByle added goals before Medford got on the board. Neither team scored in the third period, where the Storm outshot Medford 9-0 to finish with a 40-3 advantage in shots overall.
The Storm won a two-period JV game played after the varsity contest 1-0, getting a goal from Rilee McCord 4:16 into the second period. Leonhardt had 17 saves, while Claire Calmes stopped all eight of Medford’s shots.
