Down 1-0 early in the first period to the Metro Lynx, the Fury didn’t panic.

Each one skated by freshman goalie Olivia Cronin (of Beloit Memorial), tapped her shin pads, and said, “We got this.”

It was a sign of confidence from the young Fury. With only two seniors on a squad of 21, getting behind their Badger Conference rivals the Lynx could have been devastating.

But the Fury didn’t get rattled.

They held the Lynx scoreless for the rest of the first period despite the majority of puck time in their end. This forced them to play a lot of defense, and the Lynx appeared to be bigger, faster and stronger.

The second and third periods were a different story.

“Coach kind of let us have it in the locker room,” said team captain Sara Nerad. Not known to be a yeller, Fury coach Luke Steurer wanted to fire up his team. “He told us that we weren’t playing our game and were trying to match their pace.”

“We want teams to match our pace.”

The Fury came out of the break with renewed energy. They skated fast, exchanged crisp passes and turned the tables on the Middleton co-op team.

“We started working together, working as a team,” said Nerad.

The Fury tied it with a goal from Presley Kovacevich (junior, Milton) and went ahead for good on a goal from Aninka Einbeck (sophomore, Monroe).

“The team fed off the energy of our number-one line,” said Nerad.

The Fury added to their lead in the third period, and just like the second, most of it was played on the Lynx end.

“Our assistant coach (Blane Einbeck) always tells us that if we get shots on net, something good will come from it,” said Nerad.

The 4-1 victory proved it for the Fury, who outshot the Lynx 2 to 1.

At the end of the second period, the first and only penalty on the Fury was called. It was against Craig junior and team captain Sara Nerad for cross checking.

In a sign of things to come, the Fury killed the penalty with ease and even had a couple of scoring chances despite being short-handed.

After giving up the early goal, the Fury played suffocating defense, and Cronin kept the puck out of the net even as the Lynx repeatedly rushed in their attempt to climb back into the game.

“I was nervous at first to have a freshman goalie, but now I thank God she’s in net,” said Nerad.

The victory was the Fury’s third conference win and keeps them in a tie for first with the Cap City Cougars.

Four Craig students play on the Fury: Abby Humphrey (sophomore, #2), Leah Wangerin (freshman #10), Sara Nerad (junior, #13), and Mya Maslonka (junior, #24).

The co-op team with students from around the area: Beloit, Albany, Monroe, Clinton, Brodhead, and Milton, and Illinois communities Orangeville and Lena-Winslow.

Despite the collection of athletes from a wide area, the team gets along well.

“We like to have fun,” said Nerad, who is a team captain along with seniors Cammi Ganshert (Monroe) and Ella Silha (Milton). While Nerad sees herself as a leader, she knows that a happy team plays better. “I try to loosen the team up,” she said.

The team’s energy will be tested, as they play four games from Dec. 21 to 27.