Luverne’s magical 2019-20 girls’ hockey season came to an end Thursday at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.
Luverne squared off against the South St. Paul Packers during the consolation semifinals at a venue that is a short walk away from the Xcel Energy Center.
The Cardinals set a program record by scoring four goals in the game, but the Packers put together a run of five goals during the game to help register an 8-4 victory.
The loss ends Luverne’s 22-6-1 season.
SSP entered the game as the tournament’s fourth seed and was the state’s fifth-ranked Class A team at the end of the regular season.
Luverne played with the Packers in the game’s first period, but SSP scored five consecutive goals in the second and third periods to open a commanding 7-1 lead.
The Cards rallied to score three of the game’s final four goals to make the final tally more respectable.
“We did have a strong finish to the game,” said Cardinal coach Tony Sandbulte.
“We wanted to win the third period because it was the last period of the season, and we did that.”
SSP’s Ella Reynolds, who recorded a hat trick during the game, scored her second goal of the contest 3:22 into the final period to give the Packers a 7-1 advantage.
Luverne responded by scoring three goals in a span of 5:56 to close the gap to three (7-4) before Reynolds scored the final goal of the game with 2:36 left to play.
Rylee Gee registered an unassisted tally 8:54 into the second period to start Luverne’s three-goal run, and Kamryn Van Batavia found the net 46 seconds later.
Rozilyn Oye registered what proved to be Luverne’s final goal of the season with 3:10 remaining in the game.
The game’s first period was a tightly contested battle.
Gabby Madison and Lillie Ramirez scored goals 2:04 apart to give the Packers a 2-0 lead with 6:56 remaining in the stanza.
Luverne climbed back into contention when Billi Connell scored with 39 seconds left in the period.
“I was really pleased with the way we played in the first period,” Sandbulte said.
“It was fun to compete with and play a good game against a very good opponent.”
The Packers gained control of the game by scoring four goals in the first 4:53 of the second period.
Ramirez ignited the surge by scoring 49 seconds into the stanza, and Brynn Sexauer found the net twice in a span of 41 seconds to make it 5-1.
Reynolds scored her first goal of the game with 12:07 remaining in the second period, which gave the Packers a 6-1 cushion they would take into the third period.
“That run they had in the second period shows how good of a team South St. Paul really is. When you give a team like that openings, they will make you pay for it,” Sandbulte said.
SSP ended up sporting a 60-19 advantage in shots on goal during the contest.
Cheyenne Schutz started the game in goal for the Cards and saved 19 of the 25 shots she faced.
Mallory Von Tersch replaced Schutz during the second period and made 33 saves in 35 attempts.
Regan Feit led the Cards with two assists, while Connell and Reghan Bork charted one assist each.