Huskies ride six-game heater into the holidays

Temperatures continue to plummet as winter kicks into high gear, but Owatonna girls’ hockey is just starting to heat up after winning six straight games heading into the holiday season.

The Huskies have been a terror to opposing teams by slashing up the stat sheets and outscoring opponents 34-9 dating back to Nov. 21.

“We just got a couple of really good games against Albert Lea and Apple Valley. That comeback against Apple Valley really sparked this team… We had some tough games early, but we knew we were capable of winning those games. Just knowing that, we’ve kept on trusting the process, and it’s led to our success,” said Owatonna Head Coach Tony Cloud.

Last week’s slate featured two wins over Century/John Marshall and Mayo, with the latter coming via shutout.

Owatonna utilized a fast start in the first period against the Spartans and then completely silenced the opposition by allowing just three shots on net the entire night.

Senior Anna Mollenhauer opened the scoring with her 10^th goal in as many games, putting the Huskies up 1-0 just 4:29 into the first period.

Assisting Mollenhauer on the tally were Paige Thompson and Grace Mitchell.

Owatonna owned the offensive zone thereafter and began forcing Rochester Mayo to play longer shifts, making it nearly impossible for the Spartans to change their lines.

The result was a tripping penalty late in the first that set up the Huskies’ final goal of the game.

The power-play unit wasted no time getting to work and scored 29 seconds in on a shot by Mitchell, assisted by Mollenhauer and Kendra Bogen.

Neither side went on to score for the remainder of the game, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying on Owatonna’s end.

The Huskies outshot the Spartans 49-3 and had it not been for a spectacular effort from Mayo’s Grace Kober in net, it could have been a much different scoreline.

Earlier in the week, Owatonna secured another win in a 4-1 game against Century/John Marshall.

The Huskies took the fight to the opposition early in the game again, this time posting a 3-1 score through the first period.

Opening up the action was senior forward Lauren Busho with her second goal of the season on a power-play opportunity.

Busho’s tally was assisted by Genevieve Froman and Kaylee Butler, and put Owatonna up 1-0.

Century/John Marshall responded with a goal of its own at the 14:21 mark of the first, but Owatonna answered immediately by scoring 27 seconds later on an even-strength goal by Froman, assisted by Busho.

Less than a minute later, Owatonna built its lead to 3-1 with a goal by Mollenhauer, assisted by Mitchell and Averi Vetsch.

With the opposition on the ropes coming out of the first intermission, Owatonna put its foes away with another goal just over seven minutes into the second.

The Froman-Busho-Butler line continued to click as Froman put away the final goal while Busho and Butler collected assists.

Owatonna’s next game will be against Port Frances (Ontario, Canada) at the Schmitz-Maki Holiday Classic on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 3:15 p.m.

Player Stats

vs. Mayo

                        G    A    P

Mollenhauer      1    1    2

Mitchell             1    1    2

Thompson        0    1    1

Bogen              0    1    1

                                SV  SA  GA

Spencer            3    3    0