BELOIT — Almost a year ago to date, Stoughton ended Rock County’s 2021-22 season with a 3-1 victory. The Fury weren’t going to let that happen again this year, as the squad eliminated the Icebergs from the WIAA regional with a 2-1 win on Friday, Feb. 17.
“It was a great win. Last year they beat us in the playoffs, so it was revenge for us to take this one,” Rock County head coach Luke Steurer said. “The girls played hard. We were coming off the Brookfield win. I think that showed them confidence in what they can do. They played great all game as a team.”
Emma Kligora, who leads the team with 17 goals, opened the game with a goal, assisted by Macy Murphy. Maizy Fonseca (Warren) extended the Fury’s lead in the second period, just putting the puck on net. Her shot squeezed between goaltender Aven Gruner and the pipe.
Two minutes later, the Icebergs had an opportunity in front of Rock County’s net. Stoughton’s player was tripped up by Lily Clark, sending Clark to the penalty box. On the same play, senior defensemen Amery Stuckey went down and needed assistance off the ice.
Down a skater with one of their captains hurt on the bench, the Fury could have faltered. Instead, Rock County controlled the puck and got two short-handed shots on goal.
“We have a short-bench team as it is. When one girl goes down, these girls pick each other up,” Steurer said. “They filled that spot great.”
Stuckey returned to the game later in the period.
In the third period, Stoughton’s Pyper Dailey took two minutes for roughing. But 30 seconds later, Claudia Boehlke was called for checking, resulting in a minute and a half of 4-on-4 play. On the resulting faceoff, Ainsley Sailing won the battle and put a shot on Jillian Traver that found the back of the net.
Rock County had two opportunities to respond, as Sailing and Gruner committed back-to-back penalties. The Fury were unable to score, leading to a timeout from Stoughton head coach Chris Hinrichs with just over two minutes to go in the game.
On the faceoff out of the timeout, Lily Campbell tripped up a Stoughton skater. Seconds later, with the puck in their offensive zone, the Icerbergs pulled Gruner from net for a two-player advantage. Although Stoughton put several shots on goal, Emma Kligora intercepted a pass and looked for a breakaway on the empty net. To prevent Kligora from scoring, Jenna Klonsinski tipped her up, killing the Iceberg momentum.
The Fury played strong defense for the remaining minute to secure the victory.
“They stayed together as a team. We’ve been working on power plays and penalty kills in practice lately,” Steurer said. “They work very well together and communicate out there. This is one that they really wanted.”
Emma Kligora and Fonseca scored Rock County’s goals, while Tabitha Utzig, Ava Kligora and Murphy were credited with the assists. In net, Traver stopped 29 of 30 shots for a .967 save percentage.
With the win, Rock County advanced to play Viroqua in the sectional semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Results to follow in the Saturday, Feb. 25 edition of the paper.
