Huskies’ streak ties team for Big Nine lead

A recent 7-1 hot streak for Owatonna boys hockey has the team looking down on its Big Nine Conference competition as it sits tied for first place with Northfield and Mankato West at 18 points.

The team has been exceptional on both offense and defense, outscoring opponents 32-17 over the course of the last eight games.

Owatonna saw its six-game winning streak be snapped by a 5-4 loss to Waseca last week, but the Huskies managed to get back on track with a 5-3 win over Rochester Mayo to close out the week.

The Huskies win over the Spartans was a grudge match for the opening two periods, but the team managed to take 1-0 and 2-1 leads into both intermissions.

Junior forward Caleb Ringhofer put the Huskies on the board first with a goal assisted by teammate Grady Roush to put the Huskies up just 58 seconds into the game.

The goal would go on to be the only one of the first period, despite the fast start.

Rochester Mayo answered in the second by scoring 8:14 into the frame, but Roush found the back of the net for his second point of the game on a play assisted by Ringhofer and Zachary Roesner that beat the Spartans goaltender with just over one minute left until intermission.

The low-scoring match turned into a fast-action slugfest in the third period when Rochester Mayo took a 3-2 lead behind back-to-back goals in the opening 2:31 of the final frame.

The momentum shift had the home crowd temporarily silenced before Roush and Ringhofer continued their terror on the Spartans defense by scoring his second goal of the game.

Roush took a pass from Ringhofer and Jace Lane and sniped the back of the net to tie the game with just over 11 minutes left.

Time ran low with neither team finding much offensive success thereafter, but just as overtime loomed large, Owatonna’s Brayden Spindler scored his first goal of the season to put the Huskies ahead 4-3.

Spindler’s goal came with just 1:06 remaining in the game and immediately forced the Spartans to play desperate hockey.

The result of the opposition’s errors was a final Owatonna goal scored by Roesner and assisted by Roush to earn the latter his fourth point of the game.

Huskies’ goaltender Braxton Ringhofer had a solid showing in net, allowing just three goals on 30 shots to pick up the win.

Earlier in the week, Owatonna lost its six-game winning streak by falling 5-4 to Waseca in overtime.

The Huskies led 1-0 after the first thanks to a goal cored by Ringhofer and assisted by Roush, but the second period was a disaster for Owatonna as the Bluejays scored four times to go up 4-1.

Owatonna managed to tie the game late in the third period after two goals by Roush and another tally by Roesner, but Waseca’s Otto Schoenrock scored the game winner at the 6:12 mark to win the game for the Bluejays.

Despite the loss, Owatonna’s top line of Roush and Ringhofer has looked excellent.

The former has scored four points in each of the last two games and extended his point streak to seven games, while the latter scored three points in each of the past two contests.

The Huskies’ next game will be on the road at the Northfield Ice Arena against fellow Big Nine Conference leading Raiders on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:15 p.m.

Player Stats

vs. Rochester Mayo

                        G    A    P

Roush               2    2    4

C. Ringhofer     1    2    3

Roesner            1    1    2

Spindler            1    0    1

Monson            0    1    1

Lane                 0    1    1

                                SA  SV  GA

B. Ringhofer      30   27   3