Stars knock off top-seeded Highlanders

PJ Corbett had a hat-trick Friday night at The Ponds of Brookfield and sparked the fourth-seeded Brookfield Stars to a 4-0 victory over fifth-seeded Cedarburg in the WIAA Hockey Playoffs' second-round.

Then on Tuesday in the sectional semifinals, the Stars whipped top-seeded Homestead, 7-2, at the Ozaukee Ice Center to move on to the sectional finals at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wilson Park.

"Goalkeeper JJ Murnane played out of his mind," Stars coach Chris Frantz said. "Our team played as a team that wanted to win. They had fire in their eyes."

Frantz then went on to praise several players for their performance in the win.

"Matt Fosdick guided our team and everyone had stepped up," he said. "Zak Pipers and Tommy Hastings had a great game, as well as Drew Owen, Max Hoffman, PJ Corbett and Robby Fosdick."

Frantz said that the Stars came ready to play.

"We played our style of Brookfield hockey - passing, shooting; our team played as a team," he said. "They never gave up, won every battle and fought until the end."

While Corbett keyed the offense, goaltender Murnane was once again a key to a big Stars win, stopping all of the Bulldogs' 30 shots. It was the Stars' third shutout in a row.

The fourth-seeded Stars took a 1-0 lead over fifth-seeded Cedarburg (15-8-2) when Corbett scored a power-play goal on a rebound shot, the first of his three goals at the 15-minute mark with assists by Brandt Rogers and Matt Fosdick.

The Stars put the game away with three second-period goals.

First Patrick O'Brien slapped in a loose puck in front of the goal and scored the Stars' second power-play goal at 2:08 with assists by Owen and Carter Jenkins.

At 6:55 Corbett put in his second goal on a pass from O'Brien for a 3-0 lead.

Finally at 15:34, Corbett scored his third goal and his second power-play score on assists from Fosdick and Hoffman to put the game away.

"We knew that Cedarburg was going to come at us strong, but we came at them harder," Frantz said.

Brookfield has won three in a row and 13 of 14 games and is now 18-8.

If the Stars win, they will advance to the WIAA State Boys Hockey Tournament at noon March 1 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center.