The St. Croix Valley Fusion girls hockey team (River Falls, Baldwin-Woodville, St. Croix Central) and the River Falls Wildcats boys hockey team each faced some top-tier opponents during the opening week, learning a lot about their teams early on.

Losses to Hastings 5-1 Nov. 22 and Bay Area 6-1 Saturday shined a light on some areas where the Fusion can improve, but they also saw what can happen when they play to their strengths, winning 3-2 in overtime against Black River Falls on Friday.

“We battled, battled hard,” Head Coach Matt Cranston said. “We have one of the toughest schedules we’ve ever had. Every single game but maybe a couple are going to be hard to win.”

It was a crucial win for the Fusion, as it could come into play when seeding is being decided down the road for the playoffs.

“That was an important win because they’re in our section,” Cranston said. “That overtime win may prove to be pretty important.”

Eleanor Adams is leading the team in goals with a pair including the overtime winner, and Sydney Kivel, Morgan Kivel and Jane Volgren have each scored one. Senior Anna Woolley and sophomore Katelyn Gustafson have both gotten time at goalie in the early season, and Cranston has liked what he has seen out of both girls.

With five straight conference titles under their belt, Cranston said the goal for the year is to pursue another. To get there, Cranston said they will rely on the depth of the squad.

“Our strength is our strength in numbers,” Cranston said. “We’re going to be able to play the whole bench. Everyone’s going to play.”

Often, teams use a bit less of their bench during the biggest and closest games, but that will not be the case for this Fusion team.

Defenders Kendall Sundby and Kraly Walker graduated after last season, and Cranston said replicating their play on defense will be the top challenge they need to take on.

“Last year we lost probably the best player in the state [in Sundby],” Cranston said. “We’ve got a couple younger ones coming up and that’s going to be our area to improve if we’re going to succeed.”

River Falls boys

The boys got off to a bit of a rocky start with an 8-0 loss to Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha on Friday and a 4-1 loss to St. Paul Highland Park on Saturday. They are taking on the challenge of a loaded schedule, preparing them for their conference opener Tuesday against Menomonie.

Junior Anthony McPherson scored the lone goal in the second period against St. Paul Highland Park. The Wildcats put up a good fight, taking a 1-1 tie into the third period before Highland Park poured it on late.

“I’ve seen a lot of great things, there’s a lot of good moments throughout both games that I think we can definitely build on,” Head Coach Tim Beres said. “There’s obviously some things that we still need to clean up, but I think, overall, the players are understanding the pace and the tempo and style of hockey that we want to play.”

The tough early season matchups are a way the Wildcats feel they can identify weaknesses early and adjust. Beres said Neenah is a top team in Division 1 and has a good chance to go to State this season.

“I like playing tough teams in the beginning of the year like that,” Beres said. “It gives us a sense of who else is out there. It gives us a good example of how we want to play.”

Some of the areas for improvement stem from some early season jitters, with calm, smart decision-making being the key.

“Just really attacking the interior of the net,” Beres said. “Getting to those loose rebounds and making sure that we can capitalize. Puck possession in our defensive zone, don’t panic.”

Beres also said the defensive transition through the neutral zone is something they are working on. He has been impressed with the togetherness of the team as they find their footing early on.

“Our team is one team right now,” Beres said. “All these players are working hard.”