Packers blow past Winona on senior night
Published 11:27 pm Thursday, February 2, 2017
- Austin’s Isaac Arnold turns the corner with the puck against Winona’s Eric Paulson during the first period Thursday night in Riverside Arena. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin boys hockey team didn’t hesitate to go on the attack when it opened the game strong in an 11-0 win over Winona (2-15 overall, 0-10 Big Nine) on senior night in Riverside Arena Thursday.
Tyler Hoban, Bryar Flanders, who finished with a hat trick, Kory Potach, Jake Halsey and Isaac Arnold all scored first period goals as the Packers (9-10 overall, 6-8 Big Nine) seized the momentum early on.
Austin’s Bryar Flanders zeroes in Winona goalie Alex Benson during the second period Thursday night in Riverside Arena. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Arnold, a senior, was playing in his first home game since Dec. 1 as he recently returned from a knee injury. He finished with two goals and one assist.
“Against teams like this you have to use each other,” Arnold said. “If you start playing as individuals, you might score a few goals, but you’re not going to put it on a team.”
Arnold and the Packers have just six games remaining in the regular season and he’s hoping to make every second he has on the ice count.
“It was a lot of fun being back, but over the course of being hurt so long you really learn that each shift could be your last,” he said. “You want to do as much as you can on each and every shift because you never know.”
Ryan Flanders picked up the shutout in net for Austin as he stopped all 23 shots he saw. The Packers also had to kill six power plays as they picked up a flurry of penalties.
Austin’s Jake Halsey chases the puck around Winona’s Zach Buerck during the second period Thursday night at Riverside Arena. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“Our biggest issue right now is way take too many penalties compared to who we’re playing,” Austin head coach Jason Merritt said. “We’ve just got to learn to stay out of the box. In the end it’s going to hurt us more then it’s going to help us obviously.”
SCORING SUMMARY
Winona 0 0 0 — 0
Austin 5 5 1 — 11
First period
(A) Tyler Hoban (Jake Halsey, Kaleb Ree) 2:14
(A) Bryar Flanders 5:45
(A) Kory Potach (Tanner Hoban, Brayden Merritt) 5:45
(A) Halsey (short handed) (Dylan Svoboda) (short handed) 13:36
(A) Isaac Arnold (short handed) (Merritt) 14:48
Second period
(A) Kory Potach (Arnold) :57
(A) Flanders 6:58
(A) Flanders (Tanner Hoban) 9:41
(A) Svoboda (Flanders,Tanner Hoban) 12:33
(A) Arnold (Riley Wempner, Potach) 13:55
Third period
(A) AJ Mueller 14:31
Shots: Austin — 41; Winona — 23
Power plays: Austin — 0-for-1; Winona — 0-for-6
Austin’s Kory Potach puts a shot on goal during the first period against Winona Thursday night in Riverside Arena. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
