No place like home

The six-game homestand is proving to be great for the Waseca High School girls’ hockey team. With a 6-1 win against Austin Tuesday, Jan. 10 and a 4-2 victory against Red Wing Monday, the girls have won four of five games in said homestand.

 

Waseca 6, Austin 1

To call Austin’s season a struggle may be an understatement. A team that was 1-12 entering the matchup, the Packers’ only win was against winless Mankato West.

Junior Emma Keith tallied the first goal of the night for Waseca. However, despite the aggression, they were denied goals on 10 other shots in the opening period. Austin’s Sara Wangen tied things up, but that’s as close as the Packers got.

Keith led the Bluejays to a 3-1 lead to end the second with two goals. She earned the hat trick on assists from Madelyn Malecha and McKenna Mortenson. Her great night continued in the final period with two assists on goals by Izabela Slechta and Montana Johnson. Maizee Storey also scored. Ilamay Draheim stopped 13 of 14 shots.

 

Waseca 4, Red Wing 2

An early power play opportunity gave Storey an opportunity to give Waseca the lead. Red Wing responded in kind with an aggressive offensive attack that left Draheim a bit shaken up for a few minutes. Thankfully, she got up and ultimately played the rest of the game with no issues.

Shortly after the scare, however, Draheim was screened and unable to track the puck, leading Red Wing to tie the game.

Waseca turned up the offensive heat in the second with McKenna Mortenson and Montana Johnson leading the charge. Mortenson slipped the puck between the legs of the Wingers’ goaltender, assisted by Johnson. Then, with Mortenson’s help, Johnson took a shot while slipping and crashing into the boards for the team’s third goal of the game. 

Red Wing tried to get back into it with an extra attacker, but Storey put the game out of reach with an empty-net score.

Draheim stopped 34 of 36 shots.

The Jays, 9-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big South, face Marshall on Friday in a conference game Friday, Jan. 20.