MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY - Close but not quite for Raiders in two nailbiters

MEDFORD GIRLS HOCKEY

A busy five-day stretch for Medford’s girls hockey team featured a couple of intense, down-to-the-wire battles a team likes to get into as the post-season approaches.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, they couldn’t quite come away with a win in either one.

On Tuesday night, Leona Decker’s goal 9:33 into the third period was the difference as the Stoughton Co-op Icebergs eked out a 43 win over the visiting Raiders in a rematch of the teams’ 4-4 double-overtime tie held at the Simek Center on Jan. 11.

In that game last month, the Icebergs rallied from a 4-0 deficit. On Tuesday, the Raiders were the team that made the comeback, wiping out a 3-1 second-period deficit. But Decker’s goal broke the tie 4:30 after it was created and the Icebergs were able to hang on despite being outshot by Medford in the third period 17-7 and 42-25 for the game.

In all varsity and JV games, the Raiders now sit at 6-11-2 with two regular-season games left this upcoming week. Medford hosts the Beaver Dam Co-op Friday at 7 p.m. in the home finale. They’ll take an all-day trip Tuesday for a rematch with the Copper Country team from Houghton-Hancock, Mich., a team the Raiders beat 6-3 back on Jan. 2.

Grace Schmidtfranz put Medford on top of the Icebergs early, scoring just 2:58 with an assist from Carly Koski. That lead held for more than 11 minutes until the Icebergs’ Sydney Gilbertson got the equalizer at the 14:18 mark of the first period. Caitlyn Pautsch had the assist.

Kaydence Henke struck for Stoughton with back-to-back goals at 6:59 and 9:40 in the second period to give the home team its 3-1 lead. Koski, though, got her second assist of the day, setting up Tori Konieczny for the score at 11:23 to pull the Raiders within one.

Zayleah Leonhardt lit the lamp 5:03 into the third, scoring off Koski’s third assist and on Medford’s fourth power play of the contest. Medford, on the other hand, only had to kill off one penalty.

Anika Mueller collected 39 saves for the Icebergs, who improved to 5-12-1 for the season. Chloe Pipkorn had 21 saves for the Raiders.

Seeding for the upcoming WIAA tournament takes place on Sunday.

Fury 4, Medford 3

In an absolute thriller Friday for Senior Night at the Simek Recreation Center, the Raiders were five seconds away from victory when a rebound goal by Ava Kilgora tied the game and Maizy Fonseca scored 3:23 into the five-minute, threeon- three second overtime to give the Beloit Memorial-based Rock County Fury Co-op a 4-3 win.

The Fury’s late scores ruined what had been a third-period comeback by the Raiders, who trailed 2-1 after 34 minutes.

Schmidtfranz scored the game-tying goal 1:25 into the third, assisted by Schaefer. Then Schaefer got the go-ahead, power-play goal at 8:11. That was assisted by Hartl, who was playing in her first game of the season following a summer knee injury.

The Fury unleashed 15 shots on goal in the period. Pipkorn and the defense held up under the pressure, but needed just one more clear to secure the win. Kilgora was there to clean up a shot by Fonseca in the final seconds to extend the game.

The teams went scoreless through the first eight-minute overtime and then the Fury won it 1:37 away from the game ending in a tie.

Medford outshot the Fury 9-8 in a scoreless first period, but the tide turned in the second period as the Fury outshot the Raiders 11-3 and took their 2-1 lead. Kilgora got the game’s first goal 2:52 into the second period, assisted by Mya Roiler and Skylar Bierman. Leonhardt countered for Medford with an unassisted goal at 10:30, but just 20 seconds later, Fonseca scored for Rock County off a Kilgora assist.

Medford finished with 21 shots on goal, 18 of which were saved by Emma Peck, normally a defenseman who filled in for injured Piper Aaker.

Medford’s strong defensive effort including killing off all five of the Fury’s power plays. The Raiders were one for two on theirs.

Saturday split

On Saturday, Medford took its second trip of the season to Sparta for a JV triangular hosted by the Black River Falls Co-op. This time, the Raiders lost to the host Tigers 7-3 and beat the Sun Prairie West-based Cap City Cougars Co-op in a tight one 3-2.

In game one against the Tigers, the Raiders held a 2-1 first-period lead after goals by Konieczny 58 seconds in and Leonhardt at 11:50. Koski had the assist on Leonhardt’s goal.

But the Tigers went on a five-goal spree after that to take a commanding 6-2 lead before Kara Kennedy finally ended the run, scoring off a Megan Schaefer assist 9:43 into the third period.

Lyla Meek had a hat trick for Black River Falls, who got 20 saves from goalie Jessi Berg. Pipkorn had 23 saves for Medford, including 13 in the third period. Medford committed just one penalty but couldn’t take advantage of three power plays it had in the game.

Leonhardt had two goals and Koniecnzy added another in Medford’s win over the Cougars. Cap City took a 1-0 lead just 16. seconds into the game on a Caitie Sullivan goal. Medford evened things up at 9:38, getting Konienczy’s power-play goal, which was assisted by Madison Mattke and Hartl.

Leonhardt got both of her goals in the second period to put the Raiders ahead for good. The first, at 2:04, was assisted by Konieczny and Schmidtfranz. The second, a 10:50, was assisted by Schaefer.

Leonhardt took over in goal for the last period and collected 11 saves. The Cougars snuck one past her, getting a goal from Lulu Lawton on a power play at the 7:10 mark. Pipkorn had 21 saves in the first two periods. The Cougars split their goal tending time as well. Sofia Martinelli had 10 saves in near a full period of play. Jaelyn Welch had 15 saves the rest of the way.

Medford’s Pee Wee A team played to a tie through three periods in its championship game of the 2025 Biscuit Battle and came up short in the three-player tiebreaker shootout with Sun Prairie. The team is coached by Ryan Peterson, Nick Klemm and Stan Strama and includes Wyatt Crass, William Dixon, Izzy Keeling, Breckyn Klemm, Kasen Orth, Charley Peterson, Luke Sherman, Joren Stokes, Alaina Strama and Jace Vach. Hayward placed third and Wisconsin Rapids was fourth. SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Rice Lake Bantams, first place

Black River Falls Bantams, third place

Sun Prairie Pee Wees, first place

Hayward Pee Wees, third place