Packers prevail in OT
Published 10:41 pm Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Austin girls hockey team received a late burst in a 3-2 overtime win at Winona Thursday.
Sophomore forward Kirsten Stanek completed a series of great passes with a goal that went high on the Winona goalie’s stick side to win the game for Austin (1-1 overall, 1-0 Big Nine) just two minutes into overtime.
“Kyli Ellingson passed it up to Alex Larson, who passed it over to Stanek, who put it in” Austin head coach Denny Bray said. “It was a beautiful play.”
The Packers had led 2-0 after two periods when Catherine Wagner scored on an assist from Carley Grunewald on a first period power play and Ellingson scored an unassisted goal with two minutes left in the second period.
But the Winhawks (0-1 overall, 0-1 Big Nine) rebounded in the third, when Carly Moran and Faryn Cooper each knocked in shots to tie the game. The game-tying goal by Cooper came with 3:44 left in the game.
At that point, the Packers dominated possession for the last three minutes, which gave them some momentum going into OT.
“A two goal lead is one of the hardest to hold on to in hockey,” Bray said. “But after they tied it, we had a good last three minutes and that momentum carried over.”
Austin goalie Audrey DeVries made 27 saves on 29 shots for Austin, while the Packers attempted 21 shots. Austin was 1-for-3 on power plays, while Winona was 0-for-6.
“This was a big win for us,” Bray said. “It’s a good experience and hopefully it’s something that brings us together as a team and keeps us working hard.”
Austin will play at Waseca Saturday at 1 p.m.