Raiders get closer to season’s first winning effort at Hartland
MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY
The Medford Raiders got closer to it over the weekend, but the search for their first win of the 2021-22 season continued after two defeats at the Hartland Arrowhead Quad.
The second of those losses at the Howard G. Mullett Ice Center in Hartland was a 3-1 decision Saturday morning to the Brookfield Glacier Co-op, a team consisting of 21 players from nine suburban Milwaukee schools. For the first time in seven games, the Raiders went into the third period tied with their opponent thanks to Eryka Seidl’s first goal of the season, which came off assists from Jaylin Machon and Kelli Petrick with 2:38 left in the second period.
That wiped out a 1-0 deficit that had stood since the 8:30 mark of the first period when the Glacier’s Lily Engel scored off a Keli Harrigan assist.
The Raiders didn’t fade in the third and actually outshot the Glacier 12-9 in the period and had the game’s lone power play, starting at the 8:15 mark. But Brookfi eld’s team got the go-ahead goal from Bella Branz 6:29 in, assisted by Elle Petereson, and added a key insurance goal at 12:30 from Grace Carman. Molly Cole and Andrea Della Penna had the assists.
Medford’s Alyssa Brandner had a 90% save percentage for the game, stopping 27 of 30 shots faced. Brookfield’s Macy Blooming was just a touch better, with 26 saves on 27 shots faced.
The Glacier won its third straight game, improved to 4-9-1 for the season and won its second game of the quad. Brookfield beat the Rhinelander-based Northern Edge 2-0 on Friday night. This was the third-ever meeting between the Raiders and the Glacier. Brookfield won last year’s matchup 5-0 and took a 4-0 decision over the Raiders in Beaver Dam during the 2017-18 season.
On Friday night, the host Arrowhead Co-op scored the game’s last three goals to pull away for a 6-2 win over the Raiders.
Down 3-1 to start the third, Medford pulled within one on Petrick’s unassisted goal 3:30 in. But the Warhawks didn’t take long to answer, getting a score from Natalie Hazelton just 50 seconds later to go back up by two. Quinn Sondrol had the assist. Shannon Dwyer scored her second goal of the game at 8:10 off a Sara Kopf assist during Arrowhead’s only power play of the game to widen the lead to three. Norah Hazelton iced it by scoring with 2:56 left with an assist from Katlynn Johannsen.
Dwyer scored 9:09 into the first period to give Arrowhead the lead, but Medford evened things at 1-1 just 1:41 into the second on Delaney Hraby’s first goal of the season. Petrick had the assist. The goal was Medford’s second power-play score of the year.
The tie held for nearly three minutes. Regan Chic broke it, scoring for Arrowhead at the 4:29 mark with a Naomi Little assist. Kelcey Gilbertson made it 3-1 at 7:48, also assisted by Little.
The Warhawks (3-7), a team consisting of 14 players from Arrowhead, three from Oconomowoc and two each from Sussex Hamilton and Kettle Moraine high schools, outshot the Raiders 39-8. Reese Conrad had six saves for the winners, while Brandner had 33 saves for Medford.
The Raiders were one for three on power-play chances.
This also was the third-ever meeting between the programs. Arrowhead won 4-2 and 3-2 games during the Rhinelander holiday tournaments in 2014 and 2013. Arrowhead went 2-0 over the weekend, defeating the Northern Edge 5-2 on Saturday.
Medford’s Monday home game with defending state champion Chippewa Falls-Menomonie was postponed to Feb. 10. The Raiders will be back on Simek Center ice tonight, Thursday, against the Northern Edge. The opening face-off has been pushed back to 7 p.m.
The Raiders will host a triangular Saturday with the Copper Country U19s from Houghton-Hancock, Mich. and the Beaver Dam Co-op. The action starts at 10 a.m. with the Raiders playing the Michigan squad. Copper Country and Beaver Dam will play next at about noon and the Raiders will finish the event by facing the Golden Beavers at about 2 p.m.
Medford will make another long trip Tuesday to face the Baraboo Co-op in a 5 p.m. start.
