Boys hockey: Miller’s late goal lifts Packers over Dodge County
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Austin’s Kenny Ree attempts a shot against Dodge County in Riverside Arena Tuesday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
It was starting to look like a familiar story line, but this time the Packers flipped the script.
The Austin boys hockey team has lost three games by one goal already this season and it wasn’t looking good for them when Dodge County scored two straight goals to tie things up late in Tuesday’s game in Riverside Arena. But the Packers had an answer as Brandon Miller tipped in a slap shot by Sam Bennett during a 5-on-3 power play to give the Austin a 3-2 lead for good with 31 seconds left in the game.
Sam Bennett controls the puck for the Packers against Dodge County. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
“I had been getting chances, but that goalie kept stuffing me,” Miller said. “When the puck came, at first I was trying to get out of the shot, but then I put my stick up and it tipped right off it. It was an unreal feeling.”
The Packers (3-10-1 overall), who have now won three out of four games, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead behind first period goals from Kory Potach and Bennett. But despite out-shooting Dodge County (4-10 overall) 39-21 on the night, Austin couldn’t score again until late in the game. Mitch Sobotta made a lot of big saves for the Wildcats.
“We had lots of chances,” Austin senior Adam Maxfield said. “This goalie was on fire tonight and he was making a lot of big saves. If it wasn’t for this goalie, we would’ve buried this team, but the goalie had a great game.”
Austin freshman Noah Bawek had 19 saves to get the win and 11 of those stops came in the third period. Austin head coach Erik LaRock was pleased with how his team responded to Dodge County’s comeback on Tuesday.
Austin’s Blake Halsey skates around Ethan Strunk of Dodge County in Riverside Arena Tuesday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
“It was the first time all season that we battled through adversity and we came back. We picked each other up and we just fought through it,” LaRock said. “We played a sloppy third period, but we’ve improved a lot over the last few weeks. We’ve been in so many close games this year and it was good to finally get over the hump and come out on top. The guys have a lot of confidence right now.”
SCORING SUMMARY
DC 0 0 2 — 2
Austin 2 0 1 — 3
First period
(A) Kory Potach (Adam Maxfield, Jason Stoulil) 4:22
(A) Sam Bennett (Alex Ciola) 5:55
Adam Maxfield watches his slap shot hurl towards the net against Dodge County in Riverside Arena Tuesday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Second period
No scoring
Third period
(D) Andrew Kirmse (Chris Roberts) 3:33
(D) Nic Leisen (Kirmse) 14:06
(A) Brandon Miller (power play) (Bennett) 16:29
