MONROE — In the rubber match of a five-game season series, the Fury U-19 and Sun Prairie U-19 finished in an anticlimactic 2-2 tie.
“I think in the first half of the game we were definitely playing the puck a lot more and doing a lot more plays, but in the second half was a lot more physical. There were more battles and I think our rivalry started showing through there at the end,” Albany senior Alyssa Knauf said.
After four years of battling Sun Prairie, also known as the Cap City Cougars, the Fury have developed a bit of a rivalry with their Badger Conference counterpart. A season ago the two teams split the season series and finished tied for the conference title. This year as club teams, they played more than twice. The Fury one the first two meetings, but the Cougars jumped back to win the next two.
The final scheduled home game at SLICE for the Fury got physical, and the tension rose as the minutes wound down. In the end, neither team scored over the final two periods, despite plenty of opportunities.
“I think there was a little extra effort given because it was our last game here,” Monroe senior Anika Einbeck said. “At a young age we were always taught to play each game like it was your last, because you never really know.”
“We definitely had it running through our heads,” Knauf said of possibly playing on her home ice for the last time. “We’ve been growing up here for the past 13 years.”
The Fury got going right off the bat in the first period, with Einbeck scoring unassisted just 2:35 into the game. The Cougars rallied with a goal of their own against Leah Wangerin just four minutes later, as Rachel Robbins sent a pass from Meghan Cumming into the back of the net.
The Fury won the ensuing faceoff and Knauf found herself quickly behind the Cougars net with the puck. She quickly turned and fired a pass in front of the net, where Monroe senior Anika Einbeck was there to deflect past Izzy Hahn, Sun Prairie’s goalie.
“I think our first half of the first period was really strong and what we wanted to carry throughout the game, but we didn’t quite follow through on that one,” Einbeck said.
The 2-1 advantage held for another five minutes until Amanda Bauer of Sun Prairie evened the score at two. It appeared as though the two teams would match each other goal for goal the rest of the way, but 12 power plays later, and the score remained the same as the final horn blew.
“I think towards the end it kind of got down to a special plays game because there were a lot of penalties. I think we killed them off pretty well and hung in there,” Einbeck said.
It appeared as though the Cougars were destined to take the eventual lead, as the Fury were called for five penalties in a 12-minute stretch. Back-to-back roughing penalties by Knauf and Einbeck led to a brief 5-on-3 power play for the Cougars, but Olivia Cronin took over in net and fought away every shot — and the defenders did their part as well.
“I think it just got really physical and I think we came out on top in lot of those battles we fought one-on-one,” Einbeck said.
Cronin stopped all 23 shots she saw in 26:29 in the net, while Wangerin saved 16 of 18 in 24:31. Hahn had 24 saves in 51 minutes.
Knauf and Einbeck will finish their careers with the Fury in the coming weeks. Already members of the 100-point club, the two lead the team again this season in goals and assists, averaging more than 3 points per game combined.
This year the two haven’t just been asked to score and drive the offense, but to be leaders on the ice and role models for the younger players. With more than 10 schools in the co-op, it can take some time to adjust to the new faces and skillsets.
“I think at first it was just kind of getting to just know the girls,” Einbeck said. “At the beginning it’s understanding who each other are, but by now we’re almost done with the season and we know a little bit more of where everyone will be out there on the ice.”
“I think everyone settled in and knows their role. Everyone is a little bit more confident out there on the ice,” Knauf said.
