SCORING BARRAGE — The Bluejays’ Kyle Ahlschlager (5) races for the puck against Worthington’s Dawson Duangapai (21). Ahlschlager, a senior forward, scored four goals, marking the fourth game this season in which he scored four or more.Pioneer photos by Michael Roy
WHS hockey boys take one of two
Ahlschlager continues to light it up
Ahlschlager continues to light it up
Fri, 01/20/2023 - 10:39pm
The Waseca High School boys’ hockey team is struggling to find the magic that helped it start off the season 4-1.
After dropping one to conference foe Minnesota River Thursday, Jan. 5, the Bluejays stopped a five-game losing skid with a win against Worthington over the weekend.
Minn. River 8, Waseca 4
It was a good start for Waseca in the LeSueur hockey arena. Waseca poured it on in the first period, outshooting Minnesota River 11-8. Kyle Ahlschlager opened up the scoring five minutes into the game. Hunter Anderson scored his first goal of the season about 10 minutes later, resulting in a 2-1 lead after the end of the first period for the Bluejays.
The Jays and Bulldogs split 29 shots in the second period, with Ahlschlager being the only one successful in scoring on the power play.
After taking a 3-2 lead, however, the Bluejays struggled defensively. The Bulldogs split scoring duties, with Alex Schaffer, Isaac Schaffer, and Kellen O’Keefe cashing in to give the home team a 5-3 lead at the end of the second.
Anderson scored his second goal eight minutes into the third period to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 6-4. But two shorthanded Minnesota River goals officially killed any potential momentum Waseca had.
Waseca netminder Carter Martens saved 30 out of 38 shots for a .789 save percentage.
Waseca 7, Worthington 5
If there’s anything teams could learn from this game on Saturday, it’s that if you can’t stop Ahlschlager, you are going to have a bad day.
Brayden Hesch-Priem started the scoring for the Bluejays five minutes in, with Ahlschlager suppling the second goal for a 2-1 lead after the end of the first period.
After Worthington’s Caden Van Briesen tied it up early in the second, Ahlschlager scored a natural hat trick with three goals within four minutes of each other to give his team a 5-2 lead. Early in the third, Lucas Groll and Griffin Krautkremer made it 7-2.
Worthington did attempt a comeback with a three-goal offensive attack in two minutes, but with short time and the Bluejays cleaning up on defense, the comeback was unsuccessful.
This game marked the fourth where Ahlschlager scored four or more goals. Senior Karson Lindsay earned his first career point in the game by assisting Ahlschlager with his first goal.
Despite a 5-6 overall record, the boys’ 5-3 record in the conference puts them in second in the Big South.
The Bluejays host Luverne on Saturday.