Prep hockey: Stars fall to Sabers 3-1
Jan. 24—The last four minutes of Tuesday night's girls hockey matchup had Hobbs on the edge of their seats — the Sabers were short two players due to penalties, the Stars pulled their goalie to add another attacker, and two goals came out in the final minutes.
Ultimately, the Chippewa Falls-Menomonie Sabers took the Eau Claire Area Stars 3-1 Tuesday night at Hobbs Ice Center.
While the end of the game was intense, so was the beginning. Not even two minutes after the puck drop, Addisyn Buesgen got some air underneath the puck and placed it in the back of the Stars' goal.
"We capitalized early in the game, which is a big thing for us," said Sabers head coach Tony Menard. "You know, we've just got to find a way to make sure we close that game out and not give Eau Claire an opportunity."
The Stars were unsuccessful in finding that opportunity to answer the Sabers' goal, but their defense showed impressive control of the puck in the first.
Stars goalkeeper Evie Pritzl took a beating in the first period, as she held off the Sabers' numerous long-range, airborne attempts on goal.
Early in the second period, the Sabers spent a lot of their time in front of Pritzl, but the Stars' defense made sure the Sabers were unable to get shots to the goal.
The Sabers found their footing eventually, and Marley Sterling made a goal in the tenth minute, the Sabers ending the second period 2-0.
The third period was rife with emotion between the rivals. The Stars spent two minutes in the box and the Sabers saw eight minutes' worth, though at one point, the Sabers had two in the box.
"It's an emotional game," Menard said. "It's hockey. It's competitive — everybody's battling."
The Stars' Addisyn Gruhlke was able to capitalize off the power play, scoring a goal with less than four minutes left on the clock.
The Stars made Sabers goalie Kasandra Herr work for her keep, taking shot after shot at the goal in the final few minutes. The puck stayed in front of the Sabers goal for enough time that the Stars decided to pull Pritzl out of the goal with less than a minute and a half left to add another attacker.
This move was to the Stars' detriment, as the Sabers' Rhylee Buesgen, fresh out of the penalty box, took advantage of the open goal, scoring the Sabers' third and final goal with 39.7 seconds left in the game.
"Our girls were just trying to find a way to close the game out at the end and Eau Claire was trying to find a way to tie it up," Menard said. "But we're super happy that we were able to get it closed out."
Both teams play the Fox Cities Stars next, with the Sabers hosting in Chippewa Falls at the Chippewa Area Ice Arena Friday at 7 p.m. and the ECA Stars hosting on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hobbs Ice Center.
