The Rock County Fury have been a thorn in the sides of the Cap City Cougars for the duration of this 2023-24 girls hockey season. Twice in the regular season, the Cougars took the eventual Badger Conference champions to overtime. Twice, they fell short by a score of 2-1.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament afforded Cap City one more shot. The No. 5 seed Cougars toppled No. 4 seed Baraboo in the regional opener, 3-2, to reach the regional title match against top-seeded Rock County, hosted at the Janesville Ice Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Of course, this one would also head to an overtime period after the two remained tied at one goal each at the end of regulation. Cap City sophomore Brynn Brinkmeier (Sun Prairie West) stepped up in the clutch, burying a goal only 59 seconds into overtime to get her Cougars a win and keep their season alive, 2-1.
While the Fury would eventually fall, they were first to strike. Late in the first period, Rock County got an even-strength goal past Cap City freshman goaltender Sofia Martinelli (DeForest). It was the last she would allow that day. In total, she saved 29 of the 30 shots on goal to give her team a great chance to succeed.
Cap City took until the midway mark of the second period to fire in an equalizer. Junior Carolina Cutrano (Waunakee) took an assist from fellow junior Teegan Davis (Sun Prairie East) to punch in the game-tying goal.
The score remained that way for the remainder of regulation. The Cougars had a pair of power play opportunities over this stretch, one immediately after their tying goal and another near the end of the third period. The Fury were able to kill both off, forcing overtime.
Brinkmeier’s equalizing goal was all about playing heads-up, smart hockey. Both sophomore Lilly Wagner (Waunakee) and junior Olivia Dull (Waunakee) were pressing the net, both getting off shot attempts. In Rock County’s mad scramble to clear the puck, it floated gently to the awaiting stick of Brinkmeier near the blue line. She skated in and fired into the chaos, beating the Fury goaltender to send her team to the next round.
This regional title win was only a continuation of a hot start to postseason play for Cutrano and Dull. Both of them scored in Cap City’s regional opener win at Baraboo on Thursday, Feb. 15. Sophomore Paige Nowinski (Waunakee) also scored a goal while senior Brooke Ayres (Sun Prairie East), sophomore Addy Swenson (Waunakee), and junior Abby Holfelder (Sun Prairie East) were all credited with assists.
Now, Cap City has the opportunity to compete for a sectional title. They’ll be up against another Badger Conference rival, the Madison Metro Lynx, on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Janesville Ice Arena. The Cougars lost both matchups with their rivals in the regular season, 3-1 on the road and 9-1 at home. Madison Metro, the No. 2 seed, took out No. 7 seed Viroqua 9-0 in the regional opener and No. 3 seed Beaver Dam 4-3 in overtime in the previous round.
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CAP CITY 3, BARABOO 2
Goals- Cap City: Paige Nowinski, Olivia Dull, Caroline Cutrano. Baraboo: Karsen Nicksic, Paige Othmer.
Assists- Cap City: Brooke Ayres, Addy Swenson, Abby Hollfelder. Baraboo: Nicksic, Dayana Wade, Kayla Garbacz, Audrey Hanko.
Goaltending- Cap City: Sofia Martinelli, 17 saves on 19 shots (90%). Baraboo: Alyssa Gada, 28 saves on 31 shots (90%).
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CAP CITY 2, ROCK COUNTY 1 (OT)
Goals- Cap City: Brynn Brinkmeier, Caroline Cutrano. Rock County, Emma Kilgora.
Assists- Cap City: Teegan Davis, Lilly Wagner, Olivia Dull. Rock County: Macy Murphy.
Goaltending- Cap City: Sophia Martinelli, 29 saves on 30 shots (97%). Rock County: Jillian Traver, 19 saves on 21 shots (90%).
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