SUN PRAIRIE – Beaver Dam/Randolph’s ability to return to the girls hockey state tournament may hinge on keeping the penalty box gate from becoming a revolving door.
BD/R was whistled for 10 minors in a 2-1 season-opening loss at the Cap City (Sun Prairie co-op) Cougars Tuesday night. The Cougars (2-0) gained a measure of revenge for getting knocked out of last year’s sectional semifinal at home, 3-2, as a top seed while BD/R went on to state.
“It’s something we’ve got to get cleaned up,” BD/R assistant coach Mike Murray said. “It was a problem for us last year as anyone who watched us could see.
“We got really good at killing penalties. We played one of the better teams in the state and we spent an entire period shorthanded.”
Last year, BD/R was able to overcome its time in the sin bin during its dramatic playoff run. On Tuesday night, Cap City got both of its goals on the power play, the first of which came in a 5-on-3 situation.
To make matters worse, any last-ditch hope for an equalizer vanished when Kelan Schmitt hauled down a Cougar with 56 seconds to play.
BD/R held a 19-17 edge in shots over the final two periods despite taking nine penalties in that span.
“We just didn’t finish,” Murray said. “We’ll get better. It was a statement game for Sun Prairie, clearly.”
Then it was also a statement game for junior goaltender Maddi Lockwood, who was superb with 28 stops to keep BD/R in the contest. Even she caught the penalty virus, getting hit with a slash that helped set up Cap City’s second goal.
Kaitlyn Knuteson took a whack at a loose puck by the near post. She found daylight and snuck it past Lockwood with 15:28 to play.
BD/R had a flurry with both Ericka Wild and Erica Ballweg-Larson getting denied on rebound chances with 4:51 to play. The sequence wasn’t a total loss as Cap City’s Megan McCormick was penalized.
BD/R took just 10 seconds to convert as freshman defender Heather Hookstead held the left point. Brittany Baumler ended up with an assist as the puck came to Schmitt, who fired a drive from the slot off Janna Beilke-Skoug’s glove and in.
“It was a good game to start with,” BD/R head coach Paul Uttech said. “It was a good atmosphere.”
Hookstead was booked for checking just 1:09 after Courtney Miller’s slash in the second period. With two of its three defensemen in the box, the Cougars converted as Josie Johnson drifted to the high slot and whipped a wrister through traffic and past Lockwood at 11:01.
Hookstead held up well in her first varsity contest, which enabled BD/R to move Annie Ulrikson from defense to forward. Ulrikson was snakebitten on three great chances, including a breakaway where she tried the five-hole but couldn’t beat Beilke-Skoug with three seconds left in the second period.
“We’re not disappointed at all,” Murray said. “We really picked up the pace from our scrimmage last week.
“It was a big statement on Heather’s part. If you can have two lines that are offensive threats in February, you can go some places.”
And in just its second year of existence, BD/R already knows how to get there. BD/R returns to action Saturday afternoon at Marshfield.
CAP CITY 2, BEAVER DAM /RANDOLPH 1
BD/R 0 0 1 - 1
Cap City 0 1 1 - 2
Second period: CC – J. Johnson (M. Johnson, Klapper), 11:01 (pp).
Third period: CC – Klapper (Knuteson), 1:32 (pp); BDR – Schmidt (Baumler), 12:19 (pp).
Saves: BDR (Lockwood) 28, CC (Beilke-Skoug) 22. Penalties: BDR 10-20, CC 5-10.