Grand opener

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 1, 1999

It’s a common-enough penalty that normally doesn’t force one to draw any conclusions.

Wednesday, December 01, 1999

It’s a common-enough penalty that normally doesn’t force one to draw any conclusions. But when New Ulm was whistled for having too many men on the Riverside Arena ice during the second period of Tuesday’s season opener for Austin, one had to believe the Eagles were simply trying to level the playing field.

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That’s because on its way to a 6-0 victory, Austin appeared to outnumber the opposition.

The Packers out-hit, out-skated, out-shot and out-did the Eagles in every facet imaginable.

Though Coach Denny Laumeyer said after the game that it was "too early" to make any judgements about his team, one certainty was clear: the Packers – for all their firepower (which appears substantial) – are a lunchpail team, willing to hit and pay the price in order to open up the ice.

On what even Laumeyer would consider a smallish club, senior captains Nate Hansen and Tony Hill – two of the meatiest Packers – set an deliver-the-blow tone.

"They’ve always played like that," Laumeyer said, "and we need them to play like that."

In the second period, Hansen exploded into New Ulm’s Brandon Schmiesing at center ice. The New Ulm junior left the ice with what was believed to be a cracked femur.

The clean hit was the most glaring example of Austin’s physical dominance. A dominance Hansen and Hill talked about after the game:

Hill: "It’s not always the big check. Sometimes you just need to get in their way to knock them off the puck."

Herald: But there were some big checks out there tonight?

Hansen: "Oh yeah."

Herald: And you pay the price for those big checks, don’t you?

Hansen: "Yeah, they come after you."

Herald: What’s the difference between getting the big checks and knocking guys off the puck?

Hill: "It’s all up to them and their balance and whether or not their head is down or their head is up."

Hansen: "If you find a guy with his head down, he’s done."

When Hansen hit Schmiesing, he was skating with his head down. Hansen didn’t regret the clean check.

"You’ve got to keep going," Hansen said. "It could happen to anybody."

Once Austin established itself physically, the ice became the Packers’ playground.

The Packers let fly 51 shots in the game; New Ulm managed only 23.

All of them were turned aside by senior goaltender Kyle Olson, who rose to the occasion during the Eagles’ only real flurries – those coming early in the first period followed by several brief moments in the third.

Austin owned the second period, which it entered with a 1-0 lead and exited up 3-0.

Austin’s second goal was its prettiest of the night.

Just 8 seconds into the second period, Hansen swooped to the right of the New Ulm goalie. While carrying an Eagle on his back, the captain used his left stick hand to center a pass to his younger brother, Josh, who one-timed it into the net before goalie Gary Wurtzberger had opportunity to flinch.

"We work well together," said Josh, a sophomore.

"He knows where to be," Nate said of his brother. "Wherever I’m looking to pass, he’s there."

Josh scored his second goal of the period – a shorthanded job – when Wurtzberger left the crease to retrieve the puck, then sailed a crossing pass that Hansen intercepted and punched into the empty net.

"I could see where he was going to go with the puck," Hansen said, "and I got between it."

Laumeyer praised the younger Hansen, who came up to the varsity for good as a freshman during Christmastime last year.

"He’s a scorer," Laumeyer said. "He’s got a knack for creating his own opportunities."

Junior Asham Bell matched Hansen’s output with two goals in the third period, when the first line of Bell, David Lorenzen and Nick Bowe scored twice after knocking on the door all game long.

Austin 6, New Ulm 0

First period – 1) Austin, Tony Hill (Nate Hansen), 9:51.

Second period – 2) Austin, Josh Hansen (Nate Hansen), 0:08. 3) Austin, Josh Hansen, 9:12.

Third period – 4) Asham Bell (David Lorenzen, Nick Bowe), 8:56. 5) Nate Hansen (David Lorenzen, Nick Bowe), 11:14. 6) Asham Bell (Nick Bowe, David Lorenzen), 13:01.

Shots on goal – Austin 19-13-19. New Ulm 7-6-10.

Goalies – Austin, Kyle Olson 23-23. New Ulm, Gary Wurtzberger 48-43; Isaac Forstner 3-2.

Penalties – Austin 9. New Ulm 6.