Austin Packers girls’ hockey remains unbeaten with 4-0 shutout win at Winona Saturday

Sarah Wangen tallied a pair of goals, Shelby Davidson made 22 saves, and the Austin Packers girls’ hockey team remained unbeaten on the season with a 4-0 shutout win over Winona/Cotter in Big 9 Conference action at Bud King Ice Arena in Winona Saturday afternoon.

With Austin’s Allie Davidson in the penalty box for tripping at 12:45 of the first period, the Packers struck first when Kate Holtz scored unassisted with only :03 left on the Winona power play at 14:42 to give Austin a 1-0 lead.  The Packers increased their lead in the second period to 3-0 when Megan Schultz scored another short-handed goal for Austin unassisted at 7:57, and Wangen’s first of the game at even strength at 13:02 with an assist to Samantha Krueger.  Wangen then finished out the scoring with Austin’s third short-handed goal of the game 9:26 of the third period unassisted to make the final 4-0.

Shelby Davidson earned her first shutout of the season for the Packers with the 22 saves, while Aliya Gricius was peppered with 42 shots and made 38 saves in taking the loss between the pipes for Winona.  Austin was 0 for 2 on the power play, while Winona was not only 0 for 6 with the player advantage, they gave up the three short-handed goals to Austin in the loss.

The Packers are out to a 4-0 start, and they are back in action Tuesday night at home versus the Albert Lea Tigers, with the varsity face-off at 7:15 p.m at Riverside Arena.