Panthers bounce Huskies 2-1 in semis

The Owatonna Huskies girls hockey team ended its season in the Section 1AA semifinals last weekend after losing 2-1 to the No. 2 Lakeville North Panthers.

Adversity kicked in for the Huskies before the opening puck drop when starting goaltender Mikayla Wilker was a late scratch after initially suiting up and having her name called in the starting lineup announcements.

“She was dealing with some illness before the game, so we were hoping that she would be good to go, but right as we stepped out for warm-ups things kind of hit for her,” said Owatonna Head Coach Tony Cloud.

With Wilker out, Owatonna turned to sophomore Leah Spencer to take over starting duties.

Lakeville North took the lead 3:28 into the first period when a shot from the point beat Spencer through traffic in front of the net.

The Panthers’ goal was the only tally of the period and gave Lakeville North a lead despite Owatonna putting up an equal number of shots.

When play resumed in the second period, Lakeville North came out swinging again, this time improving its lead to 2-0 with a goal 2:47 into the second.

The Huskies faced a tall task in coming back from a 2-0 deficit; however, after trailing 2-0 all the way toward the end of the third period the Big Nine Conference champs, they found life in the final minutes.

With 3:20 remaining in the game, Owatonna senior captain Ezra Oien found the back of the net after sending a blistering wrist shot past Lakeville North’s Kaia Welland on the blocker side.

Oien’s goal prompted a quick timeout by the Huskies following the next stoppage in play and allowed Owatonna a chance to pull Spencer in favor of an extra attacker.

While Owatonna was able to get some last-ditch effort shots on net, none of the Huskies’ shots answered the prayers of the royal blue and silver fans in attendance.

Instead, Lakeville North was able to collect the win and move on to play Northfield in the section championship.

Despite taking the loss, Spencer shined in net by saving 19 of 21 shots.

Leading Owatonna offensively was Oien, whose unassisted goal was the lone point for the Huskies on the night.

Earlier in the week, Owatonna put an 8-2 beating on the Rochester Century Panthers.

Despite the lopsided score line, Owatonna had to come from behind to earn the win after allowing the game’s first goal just 3:51 into the first period.

“It kind of brought us back into the game. We’ve thought about this game for the past couple days, and that first goal made it real. Like, ‘Hey, we’re in the section tournament now, anything can happen,’” said Owatonna head coach Tony Cloud.

The Huskies did not trail for long before C.J. Frear-Boerner scored her first goal of the season to even the game 2:12 later.

The onslaught began for the Huskies four minutes later when Izzy Radel gave Owatonna its first lead on a play assisted by Sarah Snitker and Samantha Bogen.

The score remained 2-1 at the end of the first, but three goals in the opening 12 minutes of the second period gave Owatonna a comfortable 5-1 lead.

Scoring for the Huskies were Bogen, Ava Stanchina, and Abby Vetsch.

Rochester Century responded with a goal with 2:37 remaining in the period to make the score 5-2 heading into the third.

In the third, Owatonna forced a running clock 11:55 minutes into the period after a goal by Macy Stanton and two scores by Izzy Radel increased the lead to six-goals at 8-2.

The Huskies were dominant until the final horn, outshooting the Panthers 59-10.

Player Stats

vs. Lakeville North

                  G     A     P

Oien               1      0      1                                       

                        SV   SA   GA

Spencer         19   21   2