New Mound Westonka High School girls hockey coach Jack Gravel and assistant coaches Terry Westermann and Rebecca Gravel started out with a big first win Tuesday against a strong Northfield team. Led by senior captains Abby Brustad, Samantha Burris and Jori Mazurek, the White Hawks played with enthusiasm and a complete effort by all.

Starting off the scoring for the White Hawks was sophomore Ellie Burris. Ellie Burris received a perfect pass from sophomore Hunter Gallus and sniped a shot into the upper left corner. Not to be outdone, senior Hannah O’Borsky forechecked and beat out two defenders to get a pass to Brustad, who then backhanded a pass to sophomore Liz Schepers for another snipe shot into the upper right corner.

The third White Hawks goal was set up by a strong defensive play by Mazurek. Mazurek stole the puck and got a quick pass to Brustad in the neutral zone, who passed over to a breaking Schepers. Schepers scored on a left bar down wrist shot that some only dream about.

The fourth goal was a team effort, with Sam Burris grabbing a deflection in the defensive zone high above her head, skating it down and sending a bank pass to a streaking Ellie Burris. Ellie went down, did a quick shot, and a hard-crashing Gallus fired the rebound. Gallus’ shot just missed, and the rebound went back to Ellie, who continued her momentum around the net and—while skating backwards—made a slap shot into the upper right at a narrow angle.

Contributions to the White Hawks offense were made by sophomores Maddie Niederer and Abbie Dierbeck and freshman Katelyn Wagner, with their physical play and battles won in front of the net and corners.

Then came the “littles”—eighth-graders Carly Beniek, Lauren Burris and Emily Schepers—who had their first shift of varsity hockey in the second period. Coach Gravel was waiting for the right opportunity, and it came after a 5-3 advantage for Northfield that the older players killed off for the second time in the game. Gravel knew it was time to put in the younger players, and they did not let him down. Not only did they control the play, they almost scored on their first shift. This boosted their confidence, and they continued to play better and better throughout the rest of the game, nearly scoring on several occasions. This was the first time in team history that three sisters—Sam, Ellie and Lauren Burris—played on the same team and had a shift together.

There was one more significant contributing factor to the win. Sophomore goaltender Emma Polusny played outstanding and was in control of the game. The Raiders offense was unsuccessful all night against Polusny, despite outshooting the White Hawks 29-18 and having seven power play opportunities. She was a sponge, with no rebounds and no second chances to score. Glove save, kick save, slashing penalty; Polusny did it all.

In an interview with Northfield News, Raiders head coach Brent Bielenberg said Polusny may be the best goalie his team faces all season.

“She’s a top-five goalie in the state,” Bielenberg said of Polusny. “She’s already probably getting looks DI. That type of a goalie, she makes it look easy.” Read the full interview.

The White Hawks are currently ranked eighth in the state, according to the Let’s Play Hockey Nov. 12 Class A rankings.

Congratulations to the coaching staff that has brought a great new attitude and enthusiasm to the Westonka hockey program!