With five of the team’s goals coming courtesy of rebounds off Rochester Century’s goaltenders, the eighth-ranked (Class 1A) Wingers throttled its Big Nine Conference foe in a 9-0 victory in the opening round of the 10th annual Louis Schmitz Holiday Classic at Schmitz-Maki Arena in Farmington.

“We really moved the puck well to the off-side ‘D,’” said Red Wing head coach Scott Haley. “They play kind of a unique D-zone coverage. That didn’t directly translate to a direct goal, but that freed up a lot of stuff out front really well.”

Mopping up a lot of those loose pucks was freshman Taylor Heise, who scored five goals – with four coming in the first period – with two assists in the victory.

“We’ve been working on crashing the net and getting those kinds of goals,” Heise said.

She added, “This is a statement game for us. We went out there and played our best.”

The scoring began with a breakaway goal by Reagan Haley at the 2-minute, 2-second mark of the first period. Heise took over from there with a backhand goal, two scores off of loose pucks and a one-timer on a pass from Kayla Oberding to make it 5-0 at the first intermission. Heise’s first-period showcase was part of a dominant first period for the Wingers, who outshot the Panthers 18-2 in the first 17 minutes.

“She sure shot the puck with confidence,” Coach Haley said of Heise. “We’ve been encouraging her to shoot it more. I’m glad she picked it up. It seemed like a breakout game for her.”

The defense managed to keep Century, who was playing without the state’s top scorer in Jessie Aney, without a goal for just the second time this season, all while staying very active on the offensive end. Defenders Oberding and Caitie Turcotte combined for seven assists in the victory.

“We’ve been working all year on our defense keeping their shots low and this was one game where we had forwards there. The rebounds were going our way and we were getting to all those pucks,” said Oberding, who finished with five assists. “It’s always fun when your passes are getting through and you’re playing as a team.”

Coach Haley added, “I thought our ‘D’ was pretty exceptional. I thought this game lended itself to more of a possession game for our defense and they did a really good job with that.”

The offensive fireworks continued in the second period as Jenna Gillund got on the board with a pair of goals. Up 7-0, Maddy Hardyman popped in the team’s last goal of the second with a wrist shot from the slot.

With running time in the third period, Heise scored her fifth and final goal after splitting the Panthers’ defense, landing the puck just below the crossbar on passes from Gillund and Oberding.

“This is just one of those games where we played really well as a team,” Oberding said. “Pucks were going in, obviously, but you have those games where you’re really clicking and this was one of them.”

Red Wing (11-4-0) will now prepare for its second matchup of the season against New Prague after the Trojans beat Shakopee in overtime, 3-2, to open the tournament. In their last meeting, the Wingers fell at New Prague, 2-0.