MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY - Hurricanes breeze past Raiders; team hosts quad this weekend
MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY
The Medford Raiders did what they could, but the state’s third-ranked girls hockey team, the Hayward Co-op, had too much firepower Tuesday in a 9-0 win at the Simek Recreation Center.
Led by their outstanding senior forward Reese Sheehan, who scored four goals, the Hurricanes outshot the Raiders 39-10 and improved to 4-1 for the year. Reese Duncan and Zandra Land added two goals apiece for Hayward, who kept their momentum after they won the University School of Milwaukee tournament over the weekend, capped by a 3-2 win over the defending state champion Central Wisconsin Storm.
Medford head coach Tasha Schmidtfranz said the Raiders knew this was going to be a challenge and she thought they accepted that challenge.
“They’re a big co-op, they have ice all year round, so there’s a lot of potential there,” she said. “You always think maybe, you never know, maybe we can beat them. But overall I’m very proud of the girls. They all skated very hard, much more pressure. We had some opportunities. We just have to narrow in on the net. I was very happy with tonight’s performance.”
Hayward scored three goals in each period. In the first, the Raiders kept them off the board until the 8:03 mark when Duncan got her first goal. Hailey Schuh got one 30 seconds later with a Sheehan assist. Sheehan got her first goal at 13:23.
Land scored at 2:08 and 15:09 in the second period, sandwiching Sheehan’s second goal at 12:08.
Medford had a five-on-three power play to start the third period, but Sheehan foiled that, getting a loose puck and breaking away for an unassisted goal 38 seconds into the period. Duncan got a rebound goal off a Land shot 11:09 and Sheehan closed the scoring at 12:17.
Medford’s first-year goalie Chloe Pipkorn had 30 saves, including 12 in the first and third periods and, according to Schmidtfranz, continues to make progress as she settles into the position.
“Our goal is no double digits against some of these bigger teams,” Schmidtfranz said. “With Chloe being a brand-new goalie, that sometimes can be tough, but she had a lot of nice saves tonight. We’re developing as a team for sure, the whole team just working together to build her up. She’s really come a long ways. She’s doing very well.”
McKenna Hutchinson stopped all 10 shots she faced to get the shutout win in goal for Hayward. Five of those shots came in the third period. The Raiders killed off their two penalties, both of which came in the third period. Hayward also had two penalties, which led to the five-on-three to start the third period.
The Raiders will continue to enjoy home ice over the next week. This weekend, they’ll host a two-day quad. Action starts at 5 p.m. Friday with the Northland Pines Co-op facing the Hartland Arrowhead Co-op. The Raiders will face the Brookfield Glacier Co-op at about 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Pines and Brookfield get things started at 2 p.m., while Medford and Arrowhead will square off at 4 p.m.
“We were passing more tonight, better than last week,” Schmidtfranz said. “I was really happy with the night. I’m hoping we hustle like we did tonight and we can come out on top (this weekend).”
The quad has been designated as the team’s annual Suicide Prevention and Awareness event. More than 20 raffle baskets donated by local businesses and hockey parents will be up for grabs with all proceeds going to Prevent Suicide Taylor County.
Medford hosts the Eau Claire Stars Coop on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m.
