By Pat Garry, Staff Writer
The River Lakes girls hockey team has earned a return trip to the state tournament. Doing it the hard way, the Stars beat top-seeded and state-ranked Fergus Falls, 3-1, in the Section 6A championship match Saturday night, Feb. 19, at the Runestone Community Center. On Tuesday, Feb. 8,
River Lakes lost to St. Cloud, 4-2, and on Tuesday, Feb. 15, the Stars pulled-off a 2-1 overtime thriller versus Northern Lakes.
St. Cloud game
1st Period – Scoring: RL – Roeske goal (even strength) (Blattner, Hatlestad) 10:41. 2nd Period – Scoring: SC – Burkstrand goal (even strength) (Smith) 6:10. Penalties: Stanley, RL (Interference, Minor, 2.0 min) 4:00; McDonagh, RL (Interference, Minor, 2.0 min) 11:58; Bell, SC (Tripping, Minor, 2.0 min) 16:07. 3rd Period – Scoring: SC – Schmidt goal (power play) (Bell, Breidenbach) 7:14; SC – Burkstrand goal (even strength) (Bell, Schmidt) 7:32; RL – Hess goal (power play) (Roeske) 12:41; SC – Mathiasen goal (power play, EN) (Davidson) 16:55. Penalties: Smith, SC (Tripping, Minor, 2.0 min) 5:07; McDonagh, RL (Roughing, Minor, 2.0 min) 6:33; Davidson, SC (Roughing, Minor, 2.0 min) 11:10; Blattner, RL (Tripping, Minor, 2.0 min) 15:40; Shots on goal advantage favored St. Cloud, 43-24.
River Lakes individual scoring
Dalayne Hatlestad, 1 assist; Kianna Roeske, 1 goal, 1 assist; Paige Blattner, 1 assist; Sophia Hess, 1 goal. River Lakes goalie Kaydence Roeske faced 43 shots and saved 39.
Northern Lakes game
1st Period – Scoring: None. 2nd Period – Scoring: None. Penalties: Storms, RL (Hooking, Minor, 2.0 min) 13:32. 3rd Period – Scoring: RL – Hess goal (even strength) (Roeske) 12:53; NL – Aldridge goal (even strength) (Brodzinski) 16:24. Penalties: Hess, RL (Roughing, Minor, 2.0 min) 4:37; Tietz, NL (Roughing, Minor, 2.0 min) 4:37; Tietz, NL (Slashing, Minor, 2.0 min) 9:40; Stanley, RL (Roughing, Minor, 2.0 min) 13:11; Merta, NL (Roughing, Minor, 2.0 min) 13:11. OT1 Period – Scoring: RL – Roeske goal (even strength) 4:21. Penalties: Roeske, RL (Cross-Checking, Minor, 2.0 min) 0:25. Shots on goal advantage favored River Lakes, 51-25.
River Lakes individual scoring
Kianna Roeske, 1 goal, 1 assist; Sophia Hess, 1 goal; River Lakes goalie Kaydence Roeske faced 25 shots and saved 24.
Fergus Falls game
1st Period – Scoring: RL – Hess goal (even strength) 6:24. Penalties: Krein, FFHS (Interference, Minor, 2.0 min) 12:00. 2nd Period – Penalties: Roeske, RL (Hooking, Minor, 2.0 min) 1:52. 3rd Period – Scoring: RL – Roeske goal (even strength) (Bebus) 1:25; RL – Hess goal (short handed) 9:56; FFHS – Andrews goal (power play) 10:04. Penalties: Blattner, RL (Slashing, Minor, 2.0 min) 8:31. Shots on goal advantage favored Fergus Falls, 28-22.
River Lakes individual scoring
Kianna Roeske, 1 goal; Jordyn Bebus, 1 assist; Sophia Hess, 2 goals. River Lakes goalie Kaydence Roeske faced 28 shots and saved 27 of them.
River Lakes now awaits word on its seed. The state Class A tournament begins Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. To get to state last season, River Lakes beat Willmar 3-2 in the final after knocking off Fergus Falls 4-1 in the semifinals. The Stars then lost 4-1 to Gentry Academy in the first round of the state tournament at the X.