Austin Packers girls’ hockey falls to Owatonna 8-1

Ezra Oien tallied three goals and an assist, and Chloe Schmidt and Olivia Herzog added two goals apiece as the Owatonna Huskies scored four goals in the second period of an 8-1 win over the Austin Packers in a Big 9 Conference girls’ hockey game at Riverside Arena Tuesday evening.

Schmidt opened the scoring only 29 seconds into the game, and Oien’s first goal at 7:02 increased the Huskies’ lead to 2-0.  Jordyn McCormack then tallied on a wraparound shot for the Packers at 12:02 to cut Owatonna’s lead to 2-1 after one.

The Huskies opened up a 4-1 lead in the second period, but Austin had a chance to climb back into the game with Owatonna’s Samantha Bogen in the penalty box for high-sticking at 6:51 and Sydney Hunst for tripping at 7:49 to give the Packers a two-player advantage for 1:02.  The Husky penalty kill, though, quickly took back the momentum of the game as they did not give up a shot while killing the penalties, and Herzog and Schmidt added goals 10:49 and 16:42 to increase Owatonna’s lead to 6-1 at the end of two.  Herzog and Oien added goals in the third period for the final 8-1 score.

Austin was outshot in the game 58-20 as Shelby Davidson turned aside 50 shots in the net for the Packers, who saw a three-game winnning streak snapped and are now 6-11 in the Big 9 and 9-12 overall on the season.  Austin will wrap up the regular season at home Thursday night versus Rochester Mayo, with the face-off at 7:30 p.m.  The Packers will then start the Section 1A playoffs on Wednesday, February 5th.