By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls were unable to record their first hockey win of the season after skating against a pair of strong opponents Saturday and Monday.The Cardinals scored a season-high four goals during a seven-goal loss to Mankato East Saturday in Mankato. Sioux Falls Blue spoiled Luverne’s home opener by besting the Cards by eight goals in the Blue Mound Ice Arena Tuesday.Luverne, 0-4 overall, hosts Benson Friday (5:30 p.m.) and Watertown, S.D., Saturday (3 p.m.) before skating in Fairmont Tuesday.SFB 8, Luverne 0Visiting Sioux Falls Blue received goals from six different players during Tuesday’s eight-goal victory over the Cardinals in Luverne.Sammy Galliger led the charge for SFB by recording a hat trick in the second period.Morgan Greenfield, Alyssa Hanisch, Jamie Tiede, Melissa Dusing and Melissa Haight added one goal each to the winning cause.After Greenfield and Hanisch gave SFB a 2-0 lead in the first period, the visitors put the game away by scoring five times in the second stanza. Galliger accounted for three of the goals. Tiede and Dusing added one goal each.Haight scored the lone goal of the third period.Alison Brands stopped 23 of 31 shots in net for LHS. The Cards finished the game with 15 shots on goal, with 13 coming in the first and second periods.ME 11, Luverne 4The Cardinals netted a season-high four goals during Saturday’s road game against Mankato East.Mikki Fitzer found the net twice and Katie Dahl registered one goal and three assists to lead the Cardinals during the contest.Luverne, however, couldn’t keep up with the Cougars.ME received a four-goal effort from Carey Hoffman and Olivia Ferraro and Katie Wiese chipped in three and two counters respectively to lift the Cougars to a seven-goal win.Hoffman opened the scoring 30 seconds into the game before Fitzer tied the game at one at the 14:15 mark of the first period. Dahl and Paige Olson set up Fitzer’s first counter.Hoffman, Ferraro and Wiese netted one goal each after Fitzer’s tally to give the Cougars a 4-1 cushion at period’s end.Ferraro scored twice and Wiese added another goal in the first 13:08 of the second period to give ME a 7-1 lead. Fitzer countered with a power-play goal (Dahl received an assist) to make it a 7-2 game before the second period was complete.The Cards trailed by four (7-3) when Stephanie Steensma netted an unassisted power-play goal 28 seconds into the third period, but Hoffman answered with two goals to make it a 9-3 difference.Dahl scored Luverne’s final goal after being set up by Fitzer with 6:50 left to play, but ME scored the final two goals of the game to win by seven.Brands made 27 saves in net for LHS, which was outshot 38-17 in the contest.
