Washtenaw United jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period against Pioneer on Saturday in a girls’ hockey game in Chelsea. But rivalry games are never easy, despite what appears to be a rather comfortable lead.
Pioneer scored three times in the second period to cut the lead to 5-3 after two and it was game on. But Washtenaw United followed the lead of their strong senior class and skated off with a 6-3 win in a well-played and competitive game.
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“We played a really tough game,” said United senior captain Raegen Kopitsch, who stressed it was an important win in helping WashU get out of a recent slump. She also did her part with three goals in the game. “I was very happy about my hat trick,” she added. “Senior Night was the perfect night to pull through with that.”
United outshot Pioneer 13-3 in that first period but the game was much more evenly played in the second and third periods. For the game, United outshot Pioneer 30-21.
Kopitsch put United on the board with a power-play goal at 5:49 of the first period with assists from Daphne Grant and Cecilia Henriksen. Less than 3 minutes later, Kopitsch scored again to make it 2-0. Chloe Dillen and Kaysi Hohner picked up the assists.
With 1:59 left in the period, Sydney Clark scored a power-play goal for United to make it 3-0. Grant and Kopitsch earned the assists.
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Early in the second period, Grant scored to push United’s lead to 4-0 with an assist from Clark.
Pioneer would get back in the game with goals just 15 seconds apart. Corey Flynn, from Vivien Ceccacci, scored at 11:18 to make it 4-1. Then at 11:03, Flynn scored again to make it 4-2 with assists from Olivia Andrianopoulos and Ellie Maloy.
With 8:41 left in the second period, Grant scored her second of the game to make it 5-2 with assists from Brynn Gordon and Kopitsch.
With just 53 seconds left in the second, Maddie Grand scored with an assist from Andrianopoulos to cut the deficit to 5-3.
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The only goal in the third period came at 4:38 when Kopitsch completed the hat trick for United. Henriksen earned the assist.
Trista Tracy played goal for United. Wei Wei Poortinga played goalie for Pioneer.
Before the game, United honored their seniors: Defensemen Julia Berkholz (Dexter) and Rylee Kennedy (Milan), and forwards Chloe Dillen (Saline), Cecilia Henriksen (Chelsea), Reagen Kopitsch (Dexter), and Sam Wawzysko (Saline).
