By Greg Aune
For MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WESTON – The top-seeded Central Wisconsin Storm netted a goal in each period en route to a 3-0 victory over Marshfield in a WIAA girls hockey sectional semifinal Tuesday at Greenheck Field House.
Marshfield fell behind right away when Storm forward Kylie Gazzolo found the back of the net just 35 seconds into the first period. The Tigers had two great chances to tie the game later in the first, but were unable to slip anything past Storm goalie Hilary Drake.
The first chance came when the Tigers (12-8-1) were shorthanded 7 minutes into the period, when Chandler Roy-Peterson intercepted a pass in the Storm zone and had a breakaway, but Drake turned her away. With just over 4 minutes to play in the opening period, Paige Johnson also intercepted a pass, but her open look was again stopped by Drake.
“This game came down to sheer manpower,” said Marshfield coach Nate Sparbel. “The storm have four full lines and we have nine girls skating, and they just got worn down, especially on this big ice.”
In the second period, Marshfield had a great scoring chance early when Roy-Peterson got off an open shot from the point, but again Drake was up to the task. Marshfield seemed to get a spark when goalie Ashley Bauer stopped two point-blank shots during a Marshfield power play and Johnson later found herself alone on another shorthanded breakaway, but the Tigers were unable to convert.
Shortly after the Tigers’ missed opportunity, Tiffany Hladovak netted the Storm’s second goal 10:35 into the second period. Marshfield had one last scoring chance before the second intermission, but Drake denied Roy-Peterson on yet another breakaway.
Neither team mustered many scoring chances in the third period, which featured five penalties and two separate occasions in which the teams played four-on-four hockey. The Storm’s Morgan Pearson finally put the game away for good with a power-play goal with 4:10 remaining.
“The girls had a good season and worked hard,” Sparbel said. “We were ranked in the top 10 in the state for about eight weeks, and with our numbers, that’s something to be pretty proud of.”
Bauer finished with 13 saves for Marshfield, while Drake stopped all 22 shots she faced in net for the Storm.
Central Wisconsin advances to the sectional final against Eau Claire North on Friday at Medford with a chance to reach its third straight state tournament.
Storm 3, Tigers 0
Marshfield 0 0 0 – 0
CW Storm 1 1 1 – 3
First Period
1. CW, Kylie Gazzolo (Tiffany Hladovak), 0:35.
Second Period
2. CW, Hladovak (Generve Charles, Myranda Hayes), 10:35.
Third Period
3. CW, Morgan Pearson (unassisted), 12:50, power play.
Saves: M, Ashley Bauer 13; CW Hilary Drake 22.
Records: Marshfield 12-8-1; CW Storm 22-2-0.
