Sauk County varsity teams rolling into season

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Here we go!

The highly anticipated 2022-23 varsity High School hockey season is just days away from facing off.

For the Sauk County teams – RWD Cheavers, Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds and Sauk Prairie Eagles in the Badger West Conference and the Badger Lightning varsity team from the Badger Conference, weeks of captain’s practices turned into actual practices in recent days with the regular season kicking off as early as Saturday.

The Lightning, looking to make a jump into the middle or upper tiers of the Badger Conference this season, will be first out of the gate, entertaining the Arrowhead Warhawks on Saturday.

In terms of personnel, this is probably the biggest Lightning team in a decade or more. Two seasons ago, the team fielded exactly two lines, hoping the COVID epidemic or any other illness or injury wouldn’t affect its team that had to have every player available.

Two seasons later, the Lightning has grown to a full 27-player roster which means junior varsity games will be included on the schedule.

After finishing last season with a 9-13 record last season, the Lightning has its eyes on .500 or better this time around and will get an interesting test out of the gate against a Warhawks team it hasn’t faced off against in a while.

First Badger Conference match will be Saturday Dec. 3 against the Icebergs at Mandt Community Center in Stoughton and first home league game will be Dec. 9 against the Rock County Fury from Janesville/Beloit.

Among the leaders for the Lightning this season is an awesome group of seniors including Kayla Capener who garnered all-state recognition last season, Bella Bowden, one of the fastest skaters around looking for a bounce back after injuries and adversity kept her out of the lineup much of last season and Mallory Ruhland, a gifted goal scorer who travels all the way from Elroy to suit up.

In goal, the Lightning has junior Alyssa Gada who has already shown herself to be one of the best keepers in the conference. With improvements all around likely limiting the shots she will face, watch for Gada to have a huge campaign.

Sauk Prairie Eagles – of the local varsity teams, the Eagles went the furthest last season, falling in Sectional semi-finals against the Madison Edgewood Crusaders in Sectional semifinals.

Several graduations affect the team both on offense and defense, but there are some key players returning as well, including Luke Mast who finished among the state leaders last season with 27 goals and 69 points. In three years on the varsity team, Mast has racked up 53 goals and 128 points.

The team has plenty of experience at the most important position as well, seniors Kaden Stracke and Brooks McInerney both veterans of the high school game in goal.

Other seniors include Cole Scallon and Landon Clary, and Head Coach David Lohrei has done an amazing job in his seasons with the team and is able to provide a game plan based on whatever strengths the team has.

The Eagles will open the regular season with a pair of road games, in Onalaska to play the Avalanche Tuesday (Nov. 22) and at Bob Suter’s Capitol Ice Arena to face Middleton on Nov. 26.

First home game will also be the team’s first Badger West Conference game, taking on the Oregon Panthers Nov. 29.

RWD Cheavers – The Cheavers look solid at all positions despite graduating a goaltender who started nearly every game for the team in all four seasons he attended RAHS.

Cooper Oakes has established every record of note for Cheavers goaltenders, but junior Alex Griebe put up some amazing numbers as a junior varsity keeper last season and Head Coach Neil Mattson is confident, he can be relied on to take the team to the next level.

The Cheavers graduated a small but amazing group of seniors last season but led by the Brandt bothers, forward Caden and defenseman Carsen, the team looks solid both up front and on the blue line.

Caden has scored 58 goals and collected 91 points through his first three campaigns and could be among the state scoring leaders this time around. Carsen showed his physical and mental toughness last year when he decided to put off shoulder surgery and played through some excruciating pain in the late season games. He enters this season healthy and ready to go.

John Scott is coming off not only his best season with the Cheavers, scoring 14 goals, but also an awesome season as a running back for WDHS football which has college scouts from two different sports knocking on his door.

Other key contributors among the seniors are hardnosed forwards Caleb Eastman, Yevgeny Dedun and Conner Putz along with defenders Nate Stando and Logan DeMars, both regulars on the blue line along with Carsen Brandt last season.

RWD will have to hit the ground running with a tough opening to the regular season, including its annual duel against the Wisconsin Rapids Red Raiders, opening the season at RACA on Tuesday, followed up by a return visit to the four-team tournament in Somerset on Friday/Saturday.

RWD will open against the Eau Claire North Huskies Friday.

Following that, the Cheavers will head into a stretch of five straight Badger West Conference contests, taking it immediately to the halfway mark of the conference season.

Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds – Thunderbirds had its struggles last season with illness, injury and adversity playing a key part.

Positive reinforcement from Head Coach David Clark and great leadership from forwards Oliver Scanlan and Gabe Fitzwilliams and goaltender Andrew Schaetzl kept the team in a lot of games.

Clark has moved away from Baraboo, but Tony Bluske who has been with the team for several seasons and knows the players well, will be a perfect fit as the new mentor.

Like Griebe with RWD, Burke Schweda showed his potential in both junior varsity and varsity games last season, and he will give the team stability in the blue paint this year and into the future. Brother Luke Schweda, a hard working forward with a nose for the net will be among the senior leaders as well as others.

The Thunderbirds will kick off the regular season on the road, taking on Monona Grove Silver Eagles Tuesday and will play its first three games on the road, including a tough conference opener against defending champion Madison Edgewood on Nov. 28.

First home game for the Baraboo/Portage fans will be the first of three straight at home Nov. 29 against Tomah/Sparta.

Lightning looking for more against Fury

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning picked up its first Badger Conference win last weekend and faces a tough test as the team looks to stay undefeated with another conference test in Beloit Thursday (Dec. 2).

One of the challenges facing the Lightning looking to climb into a higher competitive tier this season is battling the conference rivals that have had their number in previous seasons.

The Fury and Lightning have faced off 18 times since 2011 and the Fury has a 12-5-1 edge in those games, including the last 10. Last season the Lightning and Fury did not cross paths. The most recent contest was a 7-3 win for the Fury in Janesville in Jan. 2020. Mallory Ruhland is the only current player to have a goal in that game, others scored by Kaylee Engel and Allison Knull.

Last win for the Lightning against the Fury was a 5-3 edge in Jan. 2015, Rachel Pawlak leading the way with a hat trick and others scored by Paige Pawlak and Karlee D’Asto.

It might be too early for the Lightning to challenge the Fury with a win, but the team will make it more difficult for the home team due to some stellar work in goal and a deeper and more aggressive group of forwards this season.

Locals will get a chance to see the local side in action on Saturday when the Wisconsin Valley Union faces off at Pierce Park Pavilion in a 7 p.m. contest, the first meeting between these teams since 2016.

Ruhland hat trick leads Lightning past Golden Beavers

Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning varsity hockey team is looking for a big improvement this season and served notice of that with a 10-1 win in its first of two meetings against the Beaver Dam Golden Beavers at Pierce Park Pavilion on Saturday.

With an additional five players (three freshmen and two sophomores) in the lineup this season, Head Coach Rick Capener has been hoping for a more potent and balanced offensive attack and that appeared to be the case in this game as the team had 13 skaters in the lineup and every one of them collected at least a point.

Leading the charge was junior Mallory Ruhland coming off a before season with the South Central WEHL squad. Ruhland fired three goals and set up another while Katelyn Allen fired her first two WIAA goals and added an assist as well.

Junior Kayla Capener notched a goal and two assists and junior defender Eryn Benson set up three. Senior defenseman Carson Blosenski and forwards Lani Selje and Lily McPherson each picked up a goal and assist.

First-year forward Reese Olson who also played with a South Central WEHL team in the early fall, scored her first varsity goal. Freshman Kayla Garbacz, senior Emily Gunnell, sophomore Madchen Ewig, senior Signe Begalske and Audrey Hanko each picked up an assist in the game.

Sophomore goaltender Alyssa Gada came up big when needed in goal, beaten just once on 10 shots as the Lightning opened the season with a 38-10 edge in shots.

The first game of the pair also counts as a conference match so the Lightning are 1-0 in Badger Conference play now as well.

Season Preview — Badger Lightning

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

A slow but steady climb in the standings in recent seasons should continue as the Badger Lightning varsity girl’s hockey team moves a step closer toward a full lineup.

The varsity squad will enter the 2021-22 season will a third line after playing last season with just two and a new pair of young but qualified defenders.

Coach Rick Capener said in a recent interview (see YouTube video below) he is excited for the possibilities this season as the incoming players give the team, that inexplicably outplayed opponents in the final 17 minutes consistently last season, some depth to make the job a little easier.

The team’s efforts were clearly noticed as Kayla Capener, then a sophomore was named to the all-State Honorable Mention group last season. She will form a potent pair along with senior Signe Begalske on what will likely be the team’s number one offensive unit. As of last week, the third member of that unit was still to be decided.

Moving Elroy native Mallory Ruhland off that line should provide depth and consistency. She will be teamed with Lani Selje to create another potent offensive unit.

Capener is still working on filling the third position on both lines.

With no seniors last season, the team is blessed with a rare 100 percent return this time around, including Begalske, defender Carson Blosenski and forward Emily Gunnel who will all carry leadership roles as the seniors this time around. The team held regular get togethers over the off season and hit the ice as soon as possible in Sauk Prairie, not just to scrimmage, but to work on drills and begin the bonding process, valuable for the incoming players.

In goal, sophomore Alyssa Gada made a great debut between the pipes last season and Kaitlin Elder has made huge strides at the position as well.

While the team proved its work in third periods last season, the comeback attempts often were made necessary by dismal starts. The Lightning lost games in the opening period frequently last season and that is an area Capener, and his charges know they must fix.

The goal this season will be to once again bump up the win total and to provide a tougher challenge to Badger Conference opponents like the Cap City Cougars and Metro Lynx who they simply haven’t been able to compete with in the past.

The Lightning will get an extra week of preparation as it doesn’t enter the WIAA fray until Saturday (Nov. 27) when it plays host to the Beaver Dam Golden Beavers for a pair of contests at Pierce Park Pavilion.

Ruhland, Begalske help WEHL team earn split in Delton

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

A pair of Badger Lightning varsity players, got the shorter drive with their Wisconsin Elite Hockey League (WEHL) team this past weekend.

Elroy’s Mallory Ruhland and Signe Begalske from Sauk Prairie have been playing with the League’s South Central team this season. After practicing at the Lake Delton Ice Arena earlier in the season, the team played host to a pair of games Sunday against the NorthCentral/Northeast squad.

Both games were close heading to the final period, the Northeast/NorthCentral team up 1-0 in the first contest but returning from the second intermission with four more unanswered goals and a 5-0 win. The second game was much closer, a late second period goal for SouthCentral sending them to the third period even at 1-1 and a goal with just over five minutes to play lifted the team to a 3-2 win. Ruhland collected an assist on the game winner.

Standout goaltending played a big part in the win for SouthCentral as they captured the ‘W’ despite a lopsided 44-14 edge in shots for the visiting side.

The split was the third straight for the SouthCentral team who also played had a loss and win Sept. 19 against the same team at Greeheck Fieldhouse in Schofield after playing SouthEast to a split as well in Beaver Dam August 22.

Next up for the SouthCentral team is a practice in Oregon Wednesday and they will step away from league play this coming weekend, playing at the HPC Showcase in Bolingbrook, IL.

The team will practice in Lake Delton one more time, on Nov. 3.

Mallory Ruhland (left) and Signe Begalske

Sauk County well represented on WEHL squads

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Wisconsin Elite Hockey League, set up as a way for keen hockey players to prepare for their respective fall seasons, is underway.

Regional teams have been selected and the South-Central Region is well-represented by players from the RWD, Baraboo and Sauk Prairie youth and varsity programs.

South Central U-16

Local organizations are well represented on a pair of u-16 teams with the Brandt twins, Caden and Carsen, incoming juniors with RWD and Carson Zick from the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds all teammates on the U-16 Blue team.

Thor Peterson, a member of the Sauk Prairie Eagles varsity squad is playing on the U-16 Teal team roster.

The Blue team has been the busiest so far, playing a half dozen contests in the second half of August and compiling a record of 5-1.

On August 15, the South-Central squad played a pair of games at the Verona Eagles Nest against the North Central region collecting a 5-2 win in the first before surrendering a 4-3 decision in the second game.

The following weekend in Ozaukee, the South-Central squad took a pair from Southeast Kelly squad by 5-2 and 9-2 scores.

On Sunday, the team was back in Verona, collecting two more wins, starting with a third straight against Southeast Kelly, 8-1, followed up with a 10-2 decision against Northeast.

The team carries a 40-13 edge on the scoresheet into September, getting the Labor Day weekend off before heading to Rice Lake Sept. 12 for a pair against the Western Wisconsin squad.

The U-16 Teal team made the trek to Chippewa Falls for its first two games, Aug. 15, dropping the first but putting in a solid effort to battle the same Western Wisconsin team for a 4-4 draw later.

The team has played four more games – two in Verona against Southeast Grey August 22 and another pair in Stevens Point against Northcentral Sunday but details on those games were not available.

The Teal squad will be on home ice in Verona against Sept. 12 to play both the Southeast Kelly team and Northeast.

South Central U-18

Hakon Peterson, an incoming senior defenseman with the Sauk Prairie Eagles is the lone Sauk County participant on this team which has played three games so far.

Details are so far unavailable on the results of a pair of games played in Verona Aug. 21 against the Southeast Region team and the following day at Verona again, one game against the Northcentral Region team.

The Southcentral squad has another trio of games scheduled to be played at the Champion Center in Appleton Sept. 11-12.

South Central U-18 Girls

Three members of the Badger Lightning are competing with the South Central 18U squad including defenders Signe Begalske and Katelyn Allen from Sauk Prairie and Mallory Ruhland from Elroy.

The team opened its season splitting a pair of games against Southeast in Beaver Dam Aug. 22. After dropping a 3-1 decision in the first game, the team grabbed a 2-1 win in the getaway game.

The U-18’s were scheduled to travel to Baldwin to play Western Wisconsin Sunday, but details on that contest are not yet available.

South Central U-14

There are two South Central teams at this age level, U-14 Teal and U-14 Blue. There are four Sauk County players and all four play on the Sauk County Teal squad.

Three players, Landon Froese, Brock Hill, and Rylan Burch are from Sauk Prairie while RJ Manley plays for RWD.

The team opened its competitive schedule Sunday with a pair of contests at the Omni Center in Onalaska, tying the Western Region team in the first game 3-3 but no details are available for the second contest against the Southwest region entry.

The team will next be in action Sept. 12, playing host to both the Northeast Region team and getting a rematch with the Southwest region squad.

South Central U-14 Girls

The South-Central U-14 Girls are well represented by Sauk County skaters.

Forward Tahni Barger and defense Sarah Hash both split time between the Sauk Prairie Flyers and Sauk Prairie Monkeys while Paige Othmer was a defender for RWD Cheavers as well as the Badger Lightning. Reese Olson played for the Baraboo T-Birds as well as the Badger Lightning.

Paige Othmer of the South-Central U14 girls squad blocks a shot from a Western Wisconsin player in action at the Verona Eagles Nest Sunday. The team will next be in action Sept. 12 at the Lake Delton Ice Arena. Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer.

The South-Central team opened its season with a pair of home games in Verona Sunday, dropping the first 3-1 against Western Wisconsin. More details will be coming soon on those first two games.

Next up for the South-Central squad will be a pair of games at the Lake Delton Ice Arena Sept. 12, both against the Southeast with faceoffs at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Badger Lightning gets hot at right time

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning varsity hockey team has turned in some solid efforts this season but frequently come away without a win.

That changed on Saturday, for sure the best day of the season so far for the Lightning who put together a pair of impressive wins against the visiting Medford Raiders and Northern Edge out of Rhinelander.

Most impressive was the 7-1 win against Northern Edge, the same team that turned away the Lightning on a Northern road trip 3-2 on December 12.

The Lightning started out the day with an early morning 5-1 decision against the Raiders and in between, the Raiders fell 10-2 to Northern Edge in a round-robin event.

Medford Raiders 1 @ Badger Lightning 5

In the first game, the Lightning built a 2-0 first period margin with goals from junior Signe Begalske and sophomore Mallory Ruhland, the first one unassisted and the other with set ups from sophomores Kayla Capener and Bella Bowden.

Teams played through a scoreless middle segment and Capener padded the lead with a third goal on a feed from junior Carson Blosenski.

Sophomore netminder Kaitlin Elder was beaten just once on 13 shots and that came 4:02 into the final period to get the Raiders within a pair.

Bowden restored the three-goal cushion from Capener and Ruhland less than three minutes later, then added another, from Capener 3:43 from the final buzzer.

The Lightning enjoyed its best offensive outing of the season, peppering the Raiders goaltender with 56 shots.

Northern Edge 1 @ Badger Lightning 7

The wrap up game to decide the unofficial round robin winner turned out to be no contest.

Begalske opened the scoring again with the lone opening period goal, from Capener on a Lightning powerplay.

Bowden’s third of the day was the game winner, 56 seconds into the second period from Begalske and Capener and Ruhland also notched a middle period goal with help from Capener.

Bowden’s second came 3:14 into the third period, from Capener, a couple minutes before the lone Northern Edge shot to beat freshman goaltender Alyssa Gada.

Blosenski, Capener and Begalske rounded out the scoring with assists for Capener and Ruhland.

The Lightning held a 31-26 edge in shots in the contest.

The wins boosted the Lightning’s overall record on the season to 4-10 with one game remaining tonight (Feb. 2) in Black River Falls against the 3-5 Tigers.

Capener has 20 assists on the season so far – fourth best total in the state and her 31 points is sixth best. Bowden’s 15 goals ties here for seventh best total in state and she has 20 points.

Lightning hope late season lessons help in playoffs

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning has shown – in stretches – a vast improvement in both offensive and defensive play this season but continue to struggle to find the elusive ‘W’s.

The past three games saw the team dropping a 4-2 decision on home ice against the Warbirds from Fond du Lac on Jan. 19, then hitting the road for a disappointing 3-2 loss against the Brookfield Glacier a team it defeated at Pierce Park Pavilion earlier this season.

Finally, just 24 hours after the opening round WIAA Sectional playoff seeds were announced, the Lightning faced off against the Onalaska Hilltoppers who they will meet on the road Thursday (Feb. 4) in its opening round playoff contest.

Warbirds 4 @ Badger Lightning 2

Once again, the primary damage was done in the opening period as the Warbirds scored twice in 56 seconds near the middle of the period to carry a 2-0 lead into the middle frame. In their earlier meeting a few weeks prior, the Warbirds scored five unanswered first period goals, then held on for a 5-2 win.

The other two Warbirds goals came on clean ice inside of the opening minutes of the second and then third periods.

Freshman goaltender Alyssa Gada played a key role in keeping the Lightning close facing 37 shots in the first two periods and despite an 18-6 edge in the second, the Lightning seemed to grab some momentum in the late minutes, following a goal by sophomore Bella Bowden about halfway through the period.

Junior Signe Begalske and sophomore Kayla Capener assisted on the goal. The Lightning still trailed by a pair entering the third and any thoughts of a comeback were stifled by another early goal for the Warbirds.

Bowden’s second, with Begalske and Capener on the set ups again, came early enough to give the Lightning a chance and they threw all they had at the Warbirds keeper, outshooting its guest 14-11 down the stretch. However, Gada was still the busiest player on the ice, stopping 44 of 48 Warbirds’ shots.

Badger Lightning 2 @ Brookfield Glacier 3

The middle game of the stretch saw the Badgers dominant on the shot clock, but unable to convert that into goals.

Both teams fired seven shots in the opening period and Glacier fired the lone goal of the frame. Despite a massive 18-3 advantage on the shot clock, in the middle period, the whole got a bit deeper for the Lightning with the host Glacier again notching the only goal of the frame.

The door finally got pushed open in the final period for the Lightning who needed just 37 seconds to tie the contest with goals from Capener and Bowden. Both picked up an assist and Mallory Ruhland also helped.

The Glacier snatched the win away and broke Lightning hearts with a goal jut 66 seconds from the final buzzer.

Gada kicked out another 17 shots in the contest while the Lightning held a 37-20 edge overall.

Onalaska Hilltoppers 4 @ Badger Lightning 1

The Hilltoppers doubled the Lightning in shots 44-22 and held a double-digit to single-digit edge in each period, but the game seemed more even, in the second and third periods. The Lightning at times had the Hilltoppers locked inside their blueline for long stretches but didn’t get many shots on goal out of it.

All but one of the goals came in the opening period, Capener slamming on e home from he slot area with assists for Begalske and junior Carson Blosenski.

The Lightning looked to have something good happen early in the third to get back into it and instead the Hilltoppers notched the game’s final goal in the opening 30 seconds to put a stranglehold on the win.

The loss to Onalaska dropped the Lightning to 2-10 on the season so far.

The Lightning prepares for the much more important rematch with the Hilltoppers at the Omni Center in Onalaska Thursday, with a round-robin event at Pierce Park Saturday (Jan. 30) with games against Medford Mustangs (0-9) who they have not played yet this season at 10 .a.m. and against Northern Edge from Rhinelander at 4 p.m. In an earlier meeting at Rhinelander in December, the host Edge held on for a 3-2 with Bella Bowden out of the Lightning lineup.

On Tuesday, the Lightning will travel to Black River Falls, facing off in its final regular season game against the host Tigers at Milt Lunda Memorial Arena at 7 p.m. That game can be seen on LiveBarn.

Dismal start dooms Badger Lightning

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning varsity hockey team turned in two solid periods of hockey – perhaps their best of the season so far Monday night (Jan. 4) at Pierce Park Pavilion but it wasn’t enough to overcome a dismal opening period in a 5-2 loss to the Fond du Lac Warbirds.

The visitors scored on their first two shots and led 3-0 by the end of the third minute on its way to an overwhelming 5-0 first period cushion despite the closest margin of the night on shots – the Warbirds holding a 14-9 edge.

Freshman goaltender Alyssa Gada didn’t have the angle right on the first Warbirds’ goal and was frustrated early on, but made up for it in a huge way, denying the visitors on every one of their 25 chances in the final two periods and giving her teammates a chance to get closer.

At the opposite end, another freshman, Kristi Binder looked unbeatable in the first period, making one stop on a rebound that had the Lightning wondering what it would take.

The only penalty of the night assessed to the Lightning came in the second period and the momentum built from killing that infraction led to the first goal for the home team as sophomore Mallory Ruhland made moves around three Warbids defenders making them look like Maroon colored pylons then snapped a shot to the top left corner from the slot for, easily the sweetest goal of the contest.

The Lightning were outshot 12-7 and 13-5 in the final two periods, but the play seemed more even, and the Lightning made Binder work for the win.

The second goal came 33 seconds from the final buzzer as Lani Selje jammed a rebound home after Binder stopped a shot by junior Lightning defender Carson Blosesnski but left the puck on top of the crease for Selje.

The game was the first of two in 24 hours for the Lightning who host Beaver Dam Golden Beavers Tuesday (Jan. 5).

The Warbirds will be back in two Jan. 19, giving the Lightning a chance at redemption…if they mentally arrive on time for the game.

The loss dropped the Lightning to 1-6 on the season so far with nine games remaining on their schedule which wraps up on Groundhog Day.

Bowden and Capener lead Badger Lightning

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning varsity girl’s hockey team made up of players from Sauk County and area high schools opened the 2020-21 WIAA season with a split in a pair of home games and also dropped its first road test.

The Viroqua Blackhawks handed the Lightning a tough 11-3 loss in its opener Thursday (December 3) but the Lightning bounced back in its second straight home game with a 5-2 decision against the Brookfield Glacier on Saturday.

Following that, the Lightning hit the road to the Kettle Moraine Ice Center in West Bend, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Lakeshore Lightning.

Following it a quick look at all three games.

Viroqua Blackhawks 11 @ Badger Lightning 3

Three goals in the opening seven minutes at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo sent the Blackhawks on its way but the host Lightning trimmed the lead to 4-2 by the end of the first period. Another five unanswered in the middle period had the visitors in complete control.

The combination of Bella Bowden and Kayla Capener was a bright spot for Lightning as the pair combined for three points apiece – Bowden with two goals and an assist and Capener with the other goal and a couple helpers.

Lily McPherson was the third member of the combo, picking up a couple assists as well. The Hawks spread out its scoring well, four different shooters notching a pair of goals in the contest.

Kaitlyn Elder was the busiest player on the ice, facing 42 shots in goal for the Lightning.

Brookfield Glacier 2 @ Badger Lightning 5

The Lightning fought back from an early deficit to record its first win of the season Saturday, scoring five straight before Glacier also closed out the scoring with less than two minutes to play in the contest.

Bowden fired her third of the season tying the game with help from Capener and Signe Begalske and Capener put the Lightning in front to stay 1:27 from the end of the opening segment on a feed from Carson Blosenski.

The lone goal of the middle period was the game winner, notched by Mallory Ruhland with help from Lani Selje.

Begalske and Capener fired third period goals, Capener’s into an empty cage with just over two minutes to play. Bowden and Blosenski collected assists on the Begalske goal.

Freshman Alyssa Gada collected the win in her first varsity contest between the pipes, stopping 19 of 21 Glacier shots in a game that saw the home side outshot 21-17.

Badger Lighting 1 @ Lakeshore Lightning 4

This time the Badger Lightning scored first, Bowden finding the back of the net 6:05 into the contest with help coming from Capener and Madchen Ewig.

Jillian Bilsborough’s goal four seconds from the end of the opening period had teams even heading to the middle frame where the Lightning added two more. The final goal came as time expired with Badger Lightning goaltender, Gada on the bench in favor of an extra attacker.

Gada stopped 22 of 25 in goal for the local squad.

Next up – Northern trip

The trip to West Bend kicked off a stretch of five straight road games for the Lightning, beginning with a pair on a Northern swing Saturday. The Lightning will be in Eagle River for a noon faceoff against Northland Pines Eagles, then moves on to Rhinelander for a 6 p.m. contest against the Northern Edge.

Next home game for the Lightning will be on December 22 against the Arrowhead Warhawks at Pierce Park Pavilion with a 7 p.m. faceoff.