SPORTS WRAP
Lindsay Macy knows how to score goals. The 2003 Owatonna High School graduate amassed over 400 points during her prep days, one of the top career totals in the state. She continued to light the lamp with the University of Wisconsin and Minnesota State University, Mankato with over 100 career points. She also played for the Minnesota White Caps and the U.S. under-22 team.
“Lots of really cool opportunities through hockey and met a lot of really great people along the way as well. Good experiences for sure,” she told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show. “Once hockey’s in your blood, it doesn’t go. You can take the kid out of hockey, but you can’t take the hockey out of the kid.”
Macy is coaching her first season at the College of St. Benedict. They are one of the top scoring teams in the MIAC and having one of their best seasons ever. Macy came back to her home state after coaching a year at Finlandia in Michigan. She’s coached with the boys’ and girls’ programs in Owatonna and the Coeur d’Alene (ID) Hockey Academy.
SEEKING A RECORD SEASON
St. Ben’s is having a splendid season, sitting in second in the MIAC entering the holiday break. But Macy is cautious, “We have a tough, tough second half. The girls I think are dialed. They’re ready to come back.” Macy credits assistant coach Dale Sager for recruiting the current roster. She’s aiming for a top-three conference finish and a school-record win total.
Macy says recruiting starts with academics. Then comes hockey, “I watch for speed and grit. The rest of the stuff I can work with, and I can teach. If you’re out there competing every shift and you’re battling and you have speed, I can work with that.”
She enjoys the Division III aspect of athletics, “I actually think it’s awesome. You go there and these kids can play multiple sports…And the academics is a huge piece. I don’t think I have had a practice yet where I’ve had every single kid. Because they’re at class. We have a lot of biology, pre-med, nursing majors on my roster. Lots of labs, three and four-hour-long labs.”
Macy had the fortune of witnessing OHS graduate and Bennies’ sophomore Sydney Hunst score her first collegiate goal, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody so excited. I think her head hit the ceiling. It’s just super cool to see her coming from Owatonna. [Her father] Tim [Hunst] was my high school coach. I was actually Syd’s first babysitter ever. So, it’s kind of fun to see that come full circle.”
HUSKY HOCKEY MILESTONES
The OHS girls’ hockey program might be going through a few more pucks lately as they keep hitting milestones. In recent games, senior Ezra Oien moved to third on the school’s all-time scoring list behind Macy and Cailyn McCauley. She also scored her 100th career goal.
Huskies’ coach Tony Cloud says, “I think [Ezra] is just so good around the puck. She finds open spaces. She can shoot the puck better than most kids in the state. She also sets up players for rebounds.” Oien has committed to play Division I hockey at Vermont.
Junior Samantha Bogen just reached the 100-point mark, “It’s always been a goal in my high school career to reach it. It’s a big milestone for hockey players. And it’s just so exciting to achieve that before my senior year…I’ve always shot extra pucks at my house and worked toward that outside of hockey.”
Cloud says, “Sammy’s got a heavy shot. She finds the traffic in front of the net. There are a lot of times that she gets set up on a 2-on-1. She doesn’t hold the puck. She just rips it. A lot of the time it’s before the goalie can get set.”
Bogen is from a sports family, but the rivalry goes deeper than athletics with her older brother Taylor and younger sister Kendra, “Everything’s competitive in our house. Like school. We always compete for who can get the better grade in the class. Or Wi-sports or games around the house.”
BATTLING BLAKE
The Huskies lost to No. 15 Blake 5-2 on January 10 but found positives, “We were able to jump on them early as far as getting shots,” said Cloud. “With a talented team like that you hope to have good competition and we were in a tight game 2-1. Then it’s 3-2 and that it kind of got away from us there toward the end of the game.”
BOUNCE BACK VERSUS NORTHFIELD
The girls trailed No. 14 Northfield two days later 4-0 midway through the second period but roared back for a 5-4 overtime win. Molly Achterkirch scored the game-winner, “I was just screaming Ezra. Ezra. Ezra. Slot. Slot. Slot. And all of a sudden, I just saw the puck and I saw the low left shot was open. I took the chance, and it went in.”
“It’s a huge one for us,” Cloud said. “I think the excitement continued to grow as the [third] period went on. You hope that you respond. And you hope that you come back and put up a good fight in that situation. The girls did amazing.” Izzy Radel started the rally with a late second-period power-play goal. Achterkirch scored almost halfway through the third. Ava Stanchina scored against her former team off a steal. Abby Vetsch tied it with about two minutes left. Ezra Oien had three assists. The winner came 17 seconds into overtime.
HISTORIC DANCE SEASON
Owatonna dance team is off to a historic start, sweeping first-place finishes in jazz and high kick in their first several meets. Coach Nikki Gefre has been there from the start. This is her second year as head coach after working with Victoria Johnson who got the ball rolling.
“It’s been crazy to see the growth in just six years. We did not think it would go this fast. It’s awesome. We have amazing studios in town who helped build our feeder program. And our girls still do studio work while doing dance team.” Gefre says the team has already surpassed the top scores from last season.
Sophomore Aza Lewis told the Owatonna Live Coaches Show, “It’s definitely been one to remember because last year we didn’t have the same goals as we do this year. We’ve put in a lot of hard work. So, I think it’s all paying off.”
Senior captain Hannah Wright says it’s been a process during her four years on the team, “We’ve kicked everything up each year. We always are trying to improve. This year we’ve added new skills that everyone’s been accomplishing.” When the team started, they were doing double turns but now do four or five turns in a sequence. Adding strength training helped develop new skills.
While winter is the competition season for dance, senior captain Jocie Hendricks says the commitment began months ago, “in August we have captains’ practice…We work on technique and warm-ups. And we were working on our field routine for the homecoming halftime performance.”
Hendricks likes the exposure dance gets at those events, “It’s been really nice to show the community what we’re all about and what we’re capable of. Because we are a new sport.” The team will host a community show at the high school on Feb. 4. Moving to the new high school will allow the team to host its own invite. OHS will be the site for the Big Nine meet in 2025.
Jazz is usually Lewis’ favorite, “I like to turn. There’s lots of turning. [The routine] is a little bit different and a unique style.” Hendricks leans toward kick, “It’s just more upbeat and more fun.” Captains come up with a theme for the dances and choreography teams put together the routines.
Gefre says participation is great, “They’re the highest they’ve been so far with 38 girls on our entire roster. We hope to keep growing.” With the strong start, she’s elevated her goal of a top-three finish in Big Nine to being one of the top two teams. Class AA Faribault and Austin have strong programs that have gone to state multiple times. Owatonna is in Class AAA and in the toughest section in the state according to Gefre.
Wright explains the scoring, “[The judges] are looking for everyone staying consistent with their kicks, the height…They’re looking for hitting all the sharp movements together…If you look like you’re having fun, the judges are going to be pulled in more.”
OWATONNA LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY SCHEDULE
Thursday, January 19
OHS girls’ hockey vs Rochester Century/JM, 7 pm
Medford wrestling vs Triton, 7 pm
Friday, January 20
OHS girls’ basketball vs Mankato East, 7:30 pm
Medford girls’ basketball vs Faribault Bethlehem Academy, 7:15 pm
Monday, January 23
OHS boys’ basketball vs Winona, 7:30 pm
OHS girls’ hockey vs Gentry Academy, 7 pm