The Princeton game on Saturday ended the Stars’ away games for the regular season, so they wanted to make it a good one. And that it was, a 3-2 victory.
The Stars started out really great. They were passing great, playing hard, and maybe a little too aggressively after Courtney Karsch was called with a checking penalty. Of course, in girls hockey, they are more strict on the checking rules. Not only did this penalty cause Karsch to be in the penalty box, but also caused her to break her stick blade. With the help of Emily Doll, Karsch was okay in the stick situation.
On the ensuing power play, Princeton scored their first goal after the third try in front of the net. The Stars knew and felt they were still in the game and that even though they were behind, they played well.
The second period went very well. Within five minutes of the period, Melissa Jungles scored with an assist from Karsch. The game was now tied at 1-1. This period was the worst period for penalties. Princeton was called with roughing and tripping, while the Stars’ Anne Bohlman was called for slashing and Marya Losinski holding. So both teams were pretty even.
Before the last period, the Stars talked about what they had to keep doing and what they had to do to win the game. They stepped out on the ice with pride that they could win. And they did.
After skating hard, passing well, and playing aggressively, Karsch scored a goal that was greatly assisted by Turkowski. This put the Stars in the lead by one. The Stars were called with a tripping penalty, which put Princeton on the power play again and they scored their second goal. Now tied 2-2 with about five minutes left in the game, the Stars pulled through and Natalie Rinn scored with assists by Missy Sieben and Mary Beth Johannes. Rinn’s goal ended the game with a 3-2 Stars victory.
The Stars upped their season record to 16-3 with the win.
River Lakes: 0 1 2 - 3
Princeton: 1 0 1 - 2
Morris
The Stars traveled to Morris on Thursday and won 2-0.
Knowing that a rough game was in store for them, the Stars prepared themselves for the first period. In the beginning there was high competition for the puck and unfortunately for the Tigers, the Stars scored with only a few minutes left in the first period. The goal was scored by Melissa Jungels, unassisted.
To start the second period, the Stars were fired up and ready to score some more. This period was actually brought down a level by the fact that no one scored. The Stars had passed well and played well. This was still a close game and the Stars knew that if they wanted to win they had to pick up the pace.
The third period was a little nerve racking. Again, the competition was very high and everyone could see that both teams were really fighting for every loose puck. Morris was called with a couple penalties, which put the Stars at an advantage. With some great fight for the puck in front of the Morris goalie, Kari Turkowski scored, assisted by Natalie Rinn.
This is how the game ended for the Stars, with another victory.
River Lakes: 1 0 1 - 2
Morris: 0 0 0 - 0
Willmar
The Stars shut out Willmar 4-0 on Tuesday, Jan. 12.
Goaltender Shari Vogt stopped all 27 shots to record the shutout.
The Stars scored one goal in the first period, two more in the second, and another in the third.
Jenny Habben scored with an assist from Courtney Karsch in the second period.
The victory moved the Stars into first place in the Central Lakes Conference at 3-0. Willmar lost at home for the first time in conference play and dropped to 3-1.
The Stars finally played at home yesterday against St. Cloud and play at home tomorrow against Willmar.
River Lakes: 1 2 1 - 4
Willmar: 0 0 0 - 0