A Tie Against Budapest and a Denmark Loss

photo courtesy of neuberg-highlanders.at

On Sunday, the Neuberg Highlanders tied, 3-3, against Budapest in Kapfenberg.  Julia Willenshofer scored the first goal for the Highlanders, taking a 1-0 lead.  With one player in the penalty box, the Highlanders found themselves in a 5-4 penalty kill.  A Budapest defensemen had the puck at the blue line getting ready to take a shot on the Highlanders' net.  I attempted to block her shot and was successful.  I found myself on a breakaway and scored a shorthanded goal, making the score 2-0.  Budapest was able to capitalize off of a draw in the Highlanders' zone.  Budapest scored and finished the period with a 2-1 deficit.

In the second period, Courtney Bradley scored the third goal for the Highlanders as she walked out of the corner and wristed a backhand shot into Budapest's net.  Unfortunately, Budapest tied the game 3-3 after scoring late in the third period.  In the third period, Jessica Jenkins and Martina Kness found themselves in a fist fight against some Budapest players in front of the Highlanders' net, forcing them both to take a seat in the penalty box.  However, Jenkins did not let her previous penalty for fighting stop her from lifting up the gloves again.  She tackled a Budapest player in the corner of the Highlanders' defensive end and as punches came from both sides, the referee once again escorted Jenkins to the penalty box for a second time.

photo courtesy of neuberg-highlanders.at

The next day, we played Denmark.  This team was extremely fast and more skilled than most teams we have played this year.  The Neuberg Highlanders found themselves in their first loss of the season.  Denmark defeated the Highlanders, 7-3.

After being down 2-0 for most of the first period, I was able to score the first goal for the Highlanders off a rebound from Jenkins' shot that hailed from the blue line.  The Highlanders walked to the locker room with a 2-1 deficit after the first period.

The second period proved to the be the worst period for the Highlanders as Denmark scored four straight goals.  After the drop of the puck in the third period, the Highlanders picked up speed.  One of my teammates and I found ourselves on a two-on-one with a Denmark defender.  I passed the puck under the defender's stick and my teammate was able to get a shot on net which resulted in a rebound in front of the net.  Fellow teammate, Sophie Hellerschmid, was able to get her stick on it and scored her first goal of the season on the rebound.  Just 30 seconds later, the Highlanders won the face-off at center ice and skated down the ice toward Denmark's defensive zone.  Jennifer Pesendorfer passed me the puck and my shot drifted passed the Denmark's goaltender, making the score 6-3.  After scoring my second goal in the game, I found myself on the defensive side of a one-on-one.  Denmark's player was able to get a shot through me and the puck sailed passed the Highlanders' goaltender.  The goal proved to be the final tally of the game.

The Highlanders return to league action as they play Gipsy Girls Vallich on Wednesday in Kapfenberg.