One could never count out the Cap City Cougars in the 2023-24 girls hockey season. The team endured multitudes of adversity, from injuries which translated into 16 regular season losses, to always being the lower seed in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament, to the typical game in, game out challenges of a hockey game. Despite it all, the Cougars remained resilient.
This persistence for excellence led the Cougars to the 2024 WIAA girls hockey state semifinals, hosted at Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena on Thursday, Feb. 29. Cap City was the lowest seed of the four teams there, but that came as nothing new. Earlier in the tournament as the No. 5 seed in Sectional 4, the Cougars had knocked off No. 4 seed Baraboo, No. 1 seed Rock County, and No. 2 seed Madison Metro to earn their state bid.
Thursday posed Cap City's biggest challenge yet. The Cougars were up against the top seed, the D.C. Everest co-op, also known as the Central Wisconsin Storm. The Cougars battled valiantly once again, but came up short as their season ended in a 4-1 loss.
"It was a hard-fought game, start to finish," Cap City head coach Brenna Weber said. "I couldn't be any prouder of our girls. They put in great effort from the first puck drop through the end and, obviously, all they had to go through to get here."
Two minutes into the game, Cap City faced perhaps its highest level of adversity to date. Brooke Ayres (Sun Prairie East), one of four seniors on the roster and a team captain defenseman, took a brutal hit which sent her crashing into the boards. Both teams were sent back to the dressing rooms as she was stretchered off the ice. Following the game, it was reported she was sent home from the hospital with a neck collar and will be okay. In the moment, though, the Cougars had to recover from losing their leader and refocus on the game at hand.
Cap City returned to the ice with a power play opportunity off of the penalty from the hit on Ayres. It was another chance to persevere through tough circumstances, and the Cougars again took advantage. Junior forward Teegan Davis (Sun Prairie East) broke free and punched home the power play goal. Mere minutes into regulation, the No. 4 seed Cougars were leading the No. 1 seed Storm, 1-0.
"Brooke would not want us to lose momentum because of her going down," Davis said of her goal. "We really wanted to come out strong and were actively looking for good passes and breakout opportunities. We just executed a really good power play and put it home. Credit to Addy (Swenson) who made a great pass."
While this was a momentum boost, Central Wisconsin's skill level soon became undeniable. The Storm punched in an equalizer before the end of the first period to send the game to the second tied up at 1-1. Central Wisconsin's special teams put the game away. The Storm took advantage of three separate power play opportunities, one in the second period and two in the third, to take a lead and pull away for the 4-1 victory.
Davis' first period goal was one of only 10 shots that Cap City put on goal in the game. As for Central Wisconsin, the Storm terrorized Cap City freshman goalie Sofia Martinelli (DeForest) with 34 shots, of which she saved 30. Martinelli deserves her flowers for getting the Cougars to this point in the tournament. She only allowed four combined goals in three sectional games before Central Wisconsin was able to push four past her on Thursday evening. Still only a freshman, this experience should pay dividends for the remainder of her career.
"This gives me confidence but also some perspective," Martinelli said. "The other goalies here are really good, too. It's something to strive towards and work for. I want to get to that higher level. With three more years in high school, that's a lot of time to improve. I'm really excited."
Martinelli is one of a host of Cougars set to return next season. Four of their top five regular season point scorers will be back, including sophomore Lilly Wagner (Waunakee, 15 points), junior team captain Olivia Dull (Waunakee, 11), sophomore Grace Allison (Wauankee, 10), and junior Caroline Cutrano (Waunakee, 10). Cap City also gets back two of its top defenders, including junior team captain Simone Dunai (Waunakee) and fellow junior Abby Hollfelder (Sun Prairie East). Postseason stars like Davis, the lone goal scorer at state, and sophomore forward Paige Nowinski (Waunakee), who scored the overtime game-winner in the sectional final, will also return.
"I think this has shown the girls their potential," coach Weber said of Cap City's returning talent. "It will motivate them more. It's an experience most people don't get. It should put something in their minds about wanting to return here."
Cap City finished the regular season with a 7-16-1 record before adding three more wins and one loss in the postseason. Thursday's loss also brings an end to Cap City's four-player senior class' high school playing careers. Ayres is joined in graduation by forward Kaitlyn Nelson (Sun Prairie East), Claire Woznicki (Sun Prairie East), and Zeynep Kurter (Waunakee). While their leadership will be missed, there is plenty of talent left in the cupboard for the Cougars to cook up another successful season in 2024-25.
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CENTRAL WISCONSIN 4, CAP CITY 1
Goals- Central Wisconsin: Tristan Wicklund (2), Ava Rode, Gabi Heuser. Cap City: Teegan Davis.
Assists- Central Wisconsin: Madi DePuydt (3), Gabi Heuser (2), Sophie Bohlin, Jayden Yirkovsky.
Goaltending- Central Wisconsin: Claire Calmes, 9 saves on 10 shots (90%). Cap City: Sofia Martinelli, 30 saves on 34 shots (88%).
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