Girls Hockey: Blowout of Menomonie is skaters’ best of week

Talk about it

The Raider girls hockey team started their season with a blowout win sandwiched between two close losses.

The Raiders opened on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at home vs. Tartan of Oakdale, Minn., who play in the always tough Classic Suburban conference in the Twin Cities. Tartan won 5-3.

The Raiders scored first on a wrap-around goal by freshman forward Alex Willi a few minutes into the game. Tartan answered with a goal in the first period and three goals in the second to build a 4-1 lead.

Hudson countered with a goal with one second left in the second period. After a scrum in front of the Tartan goalie, junior Emily Stankevitz put the puck in the net after being fed the assist by sophomore Bonnie Meyer to beat the buzzer.

Tartan held its 4-2 lead until half-way through the third period, when junior defender Amy Rose Hutchison lofted a shot from the blue line over the shoulder of the Tartan goalie. Hudson continued to pepper the goalie through the remainder of the third period, but weren’t able to score. With less than a minute to go, Hudson pulled their goalie. A Tartan skater pushed the puck through the Raider defense for an empty net goal to end the scoring.

Juniors Alise Riedel and Dani Krinke shared goalie duties. Riedel stopped 10 of 11 shots and Krinke 14 of 17.

Hudson traveled to Menomonie on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and took a dominating 7-1 victory, controlling the game from beginning to end. Were it not for an outstanding performance by the Menomonie goalies, the score would have been even more one-sided.

The Raiders outshot the Indians 25-2 in the first period, but it was Menomonie who scored first, ten minutes into the game. Stankevitz answered four minutes later with the Raiders’ first goal, on an assist by Bonnie Meyer. At the end of the first period, the score was tied 1-1.

The Indians’ goalie continued to play strong in the second period, facing 35 shots, but the Raiders were able to score three times for a 4-1 lead. Stankevitz tallied her second goal on an assist from junior Abby Singerhouse.

Senior Jessica Tipp-Harden scored the other two goals in the period, one assisted by Willi and the other by junior Hailie Bennewitz and Willi.

Hudson scored three more times in the third period to put the game away. Notching goals were junior Brianna Best, on an assist by junior Hana Stenso-Velo, Bennewitz, on an assist by junior Ashley Queener, and junior Sara Mullins.

Riedel and Krinke again split time in the net. Riedel stopped 11 shots and Krinke had six saves.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, the Raiders dropped a close contest to Chippewa Falls, which qualified for the state tournament the last two years and returned a veteran team of all-conference and all-state skaters. Though they lost 4-3, Hudson gave the Cardinals everything they could handle, and drew first blood halfway through the first period on a power play goal. Willi redirected a shot from Tipp-Harden past the Cardinal goalie to give the Raiders a lead. Chippewa tied the score just over a minute later and added two more goals by their powerful first line, including a power play goal, to take a 3-1 lead at the end of the first.

Hudson battled back in the second period, as Riedel stopped 19 shots and the team shut down Chippewa’s top skaters. Bennewitz pulled the Raiders to within a goal with just over seven minutes left in the second frame on an assist by Willi.

The Raiders continued to keep pace in the third period and tied the score at three with 7:29 left. Tipp-Harden put the puck in the net on a pass from Bennewitz and Willi.

Chippewa went on a power play shortly after that and with just over six minutes left in the game, a shot from a Chippewa defender ricocheted off the helmet of a Cardinal skater and into the net to give the home team the victory.

Riedel stopped 34 of 38 shots for Hudson.

The Raiders were scheduled to play New Richmond on Tuesday and Hayward at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13. Both games are at home. The following week they have a home game on Tuesday, Dec. 16, against defending conference champion, St. Croix Valley Fusion, and a contest on Thursday, Dec. 18, at Bloomington Jefferson.

The Raiders are 1-1 in the Big Rivers Conference and 1-2 overall.

Tags: sports, hudson, girls_hockey, raiders