Eagles drop two tough contests in Medford

The Northland Pines girls co-op hockey team faced two tough challenges, with losses against the Arrowhead Warhawks and the Brookfield Glacier at a quadrangular meet in Medford Dec. 13-14.
Arrowhead is a co-op with five different schools including Arrowhead, Hamilton, Kettle Moraine, Oconomowoc and Waterford, while Brookfield is a larger co-op.
The Eagles opened up Friday evening against Arrowhead, who brought a 7-2 record into the game. Pines had a rough start, giving up the first goal a minute and a half into the game. Arrowhead scored two more goals in the first period for a 3-0 lead which they held to the end of the game.
The Eagles offense fired just two shots on goal in the first period and a total of ten in the game.
“We played hard against a strong team, and after giving up those three goals in the first, we shut them down the rest of the way,” noted Pines coach Jeff Stebbeds. “We are just struggling to find the net offensively right now, but once we figure that out, we will be just fine.”

After that three-goal period, Pines goalie Lucy Nowak stopped all 33 Arrowhead shots the rest of the way.
The Eagles closed out their weekend Dec. 14 against the Brookfield Glacier who also had a 7-2 record. Finding the net was a problem again as the Eagles dropped a 5-0 decision.
Pines faced a 41-13 shot discrepancy, with the Eagles tallying six shots through two periods.
The game was scoreless through one period before Brookfield scored two goals in the second on 18 shots and three goals in the third.
“The girls have a great work ethic and are working extremely hard as a team,” said Stebbeds. “We have three more games this week and the schedule is really ramping up.”
The Northland Pines girls hockey team sits at 1-4 overall.
The Eagles were scheduled to play at Medford in a game Tuesday before they meet the Fox Cities Stars at the Rhinelander Ice Arena Thursday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m.
They will finish their week on Friday, Dec. 20, by hosting Black River Falls in Eagle River with a puck drop slated at 4:30 p.m.