The Luverne Cardinals girls’ hockey team opened the 2021 season by splitting a pair of games last week.
The ninth-ranked Cardinals opened the season at home with a 6-0 victory over Windom Area on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Luverne then dropped a home contest to Rochester Lourdes 4-2 on Saturday, Jan. 23.
LHS 6, Windom Area 0
It took the Cardinals 17 minutes to light the lamp during their season opener against the Eagles on Tuesday.
In the opening 17 minutes, the Cardinals and Eagles were deadlocked at 0-0. Then in the second period, Luverne had an offensive explosion, scoring four goals.
Kamryn Van Batavia, the team’s leading scorer the last three seasons, notched the team’s first goal of the season to put Luverne up 1-0. Shelby Kracht assisted on the goal.
Kracht scored the second goal of the game. Peyton Behr recorded the assist on the goal.
Behr then notched the team’s third goal of the game to put the Cardinals up 3-0. Van Batavia and Reghan Bork both assisted on the goal.
Bork scored the fourth goal of the period to put the Cardinals up 4-0. Van Batavia and Kracht both recorded an assist on the play.
Van Batavia opened the scoring in the third period to put the Cardinals up 5-0. It was the sophomore’s second goal of the game.
Bork wrapped up the scoring with a power-play goal to put the Cardinals up 6-0.
Van Batavia, who has been on the varsity squad since she was a seventh-grader, scored her 100th career goal in the game.
Cheyenne Schutz recorded 20 saves for the Cardinals.
Rochester Lourdes 4, LHS 2
On Saturday it was a battle of Top 10 teams inside Blue Mound Ice Arena when 10th-ranked Rochester Lourdes squared off against ninth-ranked Luverne.
With 2:03 left in the first quarter, Rochester Lourdes struck first with an even-strength goal to go up 1-0.
With 12:05 left in the second period, Van Batavia scored a short-handed goal to tie the game at 1-1. Bork recorded the assist on the goal.
Rochester Lourdes scored the next three goals to build a 4-1 lead.
Van Batavia scored her second goal of the game in the closing moments to make it a 4-2 game. Senior Rylee Gee recorded the assist on the goal.
Mallory Von Tersch recorded 19 saves.
The Cardinals will look to bounce back on Friday, Jan. 29, when they hit the road to take on Minnesota River.