Washtenaw United beats Ann Arbor Pioneer, then Grosse Pointe North in overtime victory
by Sue McDowell, submitted by Washtenaw United Girls HS Ice Hockey
Washtenaw United Girls HS Ice Hockey team continued their winning streak Saturday afternoon by beating cross-town rivals, Ann Arbor Pioneer, 3-1 at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. “Ann Arbor Pioneer’s team is well regarded and this win required a lot of hard work,” said Washtenaw United’s Head Coach, Adam Winters. “I’m very proud of the effort everyone on our bench put into the game this afternoon.”
Pioneer’s Nadia Tuzinsky gave her team a start by scoring at 11:22 in the first period. Washtenaw’s Jillian Eggleston (Dexter, ‘22) responded by scoring, unassisted, at 10:31. Down two players to penalties late in the period, Washtenaw stayed composed in their own end with defense Riley Kennedy (Milan, ‘24) and Rylee Malloy (Saline, ‘24) blocking shots, forward Cecilia Henricksen (Chelsea, ‘24) strategically clearing the puck out of her own end, and goaltender Julia Scarcella (Saline, ‘22) standing strong. Eggleston also kept Pioneer from scoring during an intense flurry when she grabbed the puck which had gotten behind Scarcella before it went into the goal.
The second period had several opportunities for either team to score, but both Scarcella and Pioneer’s goaltender, Cody Ross, made key saves to keep the game tied. Pioneer had several breakaways foiled by Washtenaw’s defense including one particularly dangerous attempt by Tuzinsky to push the puck under Scarcella’s pads. At 4:15 in the period, Washtenaw’s forwards Henricksen and Linzy Costella (Manchester, ‘21) were able to go end to end, creating a great scoring chance but Ross fended them off. Late in the period an awkward line change by Washtenaw gave Pioneer another chance on Scarcella but Washtenaw’s Sydney Clark (Saline, ‘25) raced in from the bench to successfully defend her goaltender and draw a tripping penalty against Pioneer with only 1:02 left in the period.
Despite Washtenaw’s power play to start the third period, it was Pioneer that tested Scarcella early with shots on goal by Tuzinsky and her teammate Kayleigh Barricklow. Pioneer took a penalty at 12:19 and Washtenaw capitalized when Eggleston shot from the point. Ross made the save but her rebound went to Washtenaw’s Reese Caryl (Saline, ’22) who flipped it behind her for a 2-1 lead. At 8:40, Washtenaw’s Eggleston directed a puck to teammate Costello who put it into the net to give Washtenaw the 3-1 lead. Makenna Lupi (Saline, ‘22) withstood Pioneer’s attack and got the puck out of Washtenaw’s defensive end while her teammate Raegan Kopitsch (Dexter, ‘24) got several good shots on Pioneer’s goalie teammate Chloe Dillon (Saline, ’24) put additional pressure on Pioneer with her forechecking. Pioneer pulled their goalie for the extra attacker in the remaining minutes of the 3rd period but Scarcella stayed strong in goal. She made 27 saves to Ross’ 11.
Washtenaw United next played Bloomfield-Birgmingham in Bloomfield Hills on Sunday, 2/21 and lost 4 - 3 (editors note: for which we don’t have details). Coming off this loss, Washtenaw United returned to the ice facing Grosse Pointe North for the first time. In one of the most exciting games of the season, Washtenaw earned a 2-1 overtime victory in Grosse Pointe with defenseman Jillian Eggleston (Dexter, ‘22) scoring her second Game Winning Goal of the season with just 1:26 remaining in the overtime period.
The first two periods were scoreless, with Washtenaw dominating play, outshooting Grosse Pointe North 12-6 and 10-2. Midway through the second, it looked as though Washtenaw had scored, with Reese Caryl (Saline, ‘22) knocking in a rebound to Grosse Pointe North goaltender Mia Cassar’s left. However, just as Caryl knocked the puck over the goalline, the referee blew the whistle signaling Cassar had the puck covered, and disallowed the goal.
Finally, Washtenaw would break the scoreless tie at the 6:14 mark of the 3rd period. United Captain Linzy Costella (Manchester, ‘21) would pick up the puck near the blue line and broke away from the GPN defensemen, beating Cassar with a backhand shot. Rylee Kennedy (Milan, ‘24) and Chloe Dillen (Saline, ‘24) picked up the assists. Four minutes later, Erin Murphy would tally her 4th goal of the season for Grosse Pointe, tying the game at 1-1.
During the 8-minute sudden-death overtime, the teams traded opportunities. Julia Scarcella (Saline, ‘22) came up huge in net for the United, stopping two breakaway opportunities in the extra frame, and would end the game with 21 saves. Late in the overtime period, Eggleston would pick up the puck from the left point and skate toward the middle of the ice, firing the puck past the screened Grosse Pointe goaltender to earn the victory for the United.
“Great all around effort tonight from every single player in the lineup,” stated Coach Adam Winters. “This is probably the most complete game we’ve had all season. Every player was going, I thought we could have easily won this by 3 or 4 goals, but the Grosse Pointe goaltender kept them in the game. I’m happy to see us rebound with a good effort after Sunday’s loss.”
Washtenaw United was back on the ice Saturday against Grand Rapids 19U team at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.
Washtenaw United is a High School Girls’ Hockey Team skating out of the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The team serves High Schools within Washtenaw County that do not have a dedicated team to play for. Washtenaw United is made up of players from Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Manchester, and Milan. The team is in its first year of play, and is an affiliate member of the Michigan Girls High School Hockey League (MGHSHL) with plans of full membership into the league for the 2021-22 season.
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