Luverne senior Dana Smeins is unable to get a stick on a loose puck before Windom goalie Christine Flatebo covers it up during Tuesday’s Southwest Conference girls’ hockey game in Luverne. Smeins scored Luverne’s first goal in a 6-5 victory
By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ hockey team climbed back into the race for a Southwest Conference championship by winning a pair of league games.
The Cards nipped Worthington by one goal in overtime Thursday before edging Windom by one goal at home Tuesday.
Luverne, 4-3 overall, hosts Dodge County Saturday.
Luverne 6, Windom 5
What started out as a quiet night for Luverne’s Natalie Domagala turned into a stunning performance during Tuesday’s one-goal win over Windom at the Blue Mound Ice Arena.
Domagala, who was scoreless for the game’s first 38 minutes, scored four goals in a span of 5:06 of the third period to carry the Cardinals to victory.
After Windom’s Amanda Ringquist found the net to give the Eagles a 3-2 edge with 7:25 remaining in the third period, Domagala got into the act by scoring an unassisted goal with 6:47 left to knot the score at three.
The Eagles moved in front 4-3 when Sam Harold scored her second of three goals in the game 26 seconds after Domagala’s first tally, but Domagala bounced back to score three goals in a span of 2:33 to give Luverne a lead it would never relinquish.
Stephanie Morgan and Jenny Braa set up Domagala’s game-tying goal with 4:14 left to play, and she scored an unassisted goal at 3:25 to give the Cards their first lead at 5-4. Domagala then scored an unassisted power-play goal with 1:41 remaining to give the Cards a 6-4 advantage.
Harold completed her hat trick with 47 seconds remaining, but the Cards blanked the Eagles the rest of the way.
Melanie Noomen opened the scoring with a short-handed effort with 4:14 left to play in the first period.
Luverne’s Dana Smeins tied the game at one at the 4:05 mark of the second period, but Harold put the Eagles in front 2-1 with her first goal with 3:33 remaining in the second stanza.
Braa tied the game at two with an unassisted effort (8:32) to start the scoring in what turned into an eight-goal third period.
Luverne outshot the Eagles 51-16 in the game. Alyssa Wieneke made 11 saves for LHS.
Luverne 5,
Worthington 4
An overtime goal by Luverne’s Domagala gave the Cardinals their first Southwest Conference win of the season Thursday in Worthington.
Domagala, who recorded a hat trick for LHS, found the net at the 5:34 mark of overtime to settle the issue. Braa received an assist for the game-winning goal.
Both teams sported leads in what was a tight game from beginning to end.
Domagala opened the scoring with an unassisted effort 1:07 into the contest, but counters by Worthington’s Samantha Pospisil and Amanda Duitsman at 8:01 and 1:31 respectively gave the Trojans a 2-1 edge at periods.
Second-period goals by Dietrich (unassisted, at 9:40) and Smeins (assists by Dietrich and Suzanne Gluf, at 9:27) gave the Cards a 3-2 edge, and a goal by Domagala (assists going to Morgan and Braa) at 9:40 of the third period gave LHS a 4-2 cushion.
Worthington’s Anne Vosburgh scored 15 seconds after Domagala’s goal in the third period before Duitsman knotted the score at four with a short-handed tally with 1:25 remaining in regulation play.
Wieneke stopped 16 of 20 shots in net for the Cards. Luverne had 32 shots on goal.