The MBA Storm girls played a harder-fought game than they are accustomed to, when taking the ice to play Detroit Lakes on Thursday, Jan. 27. The Storm often take command in games, which can be good and bad, because while it's certainly nice to win convincingly, the closer games provide a rigorous test of competitiveness and clutch ability.
The Storm girls passed that test impressively. They turned back the Detroit Lakes skaters by a score of 5-4 in DL. It was the third straight game that required a pretty long trip for the intrepid Storm. The regular wins make the miles roll by easily!
Brooke Falk was up to the task of being part of the winning chemistry in goal. Brooke notched 36 saves. DL put two players to work in goal, Veronica Roy and Veronica Badurek, and they finished with two and 17 saves, respectively.
Sara Rajewsky and Dani Schultz had their usual prominent roles in the scoring effort. These two were instrumental in MBA gaining a 4-2 lead by the end of one period.
Sara Rajewsky struck first, getting the puck into the net at 1:36 with a Schultz assist. It was Rajewsky scoring again at 6:22, this time assisted by Schultz and Kelly Mahoney. Then it was Schultz getting the puck past the DL goalie at 7:54, unassisted. Goal No. 4 was by Schultz at 9:03 and this too was unassisted.
DL scored the last two goals of the first period to stay close.
DL kept creeping forward, outscoring the Storm 2-1 in the second period. Rajewsky scored the Storm's second period goal at :14, assisted by Mahoney and Schultz.
DL picked up momentum and got to within one goal on the scoreboard, but there would be no more scoring in this game as Brooke Falk wielded a reliable goalie stick and said "no." MBA held its advantage with those clutch attributes.
This was the Storm's 17th win of the season against three losses - quite a memorable campaign.
Storm 8, Windom 0
The MBA Storm girls took the ice at Windom on Monday, Jan. 24, and looked quite at home. Brooke Falk, who had taken a break from her first-string goaltender duties on Saturday (the win at Worthington), put the gear on again and excelled.
Brooke got a shutout, her fifth of the season. She in fact only had to perform four saves.
Coach Jeff Mahoney's Storm defeated Windom 8-0 for win No. 16. The Storm scored four goals each in the first and second periods.
Windom goalie Amber Svoboda had 40 saves.
Dani Schultz and Sara Rajewsky were their usual 1-2 punch offensively for the Storm. Each had a hat trick in this Southwest Conference game.
Sara Rajewsky began the night's scoring with an unassisted goal at 4:29 of the first period. Kelly Mahoney scored with an assist from Dani Schultz at 7:24. Schultz sent the puck into the net with assists by Sam Falk and Rajewsky at 9:21. Schultz wrapped up the first period scoring with a goal at 14:37, assisted by Mahoney and Rajewsky.
The Storm took care of business again in period No. 2, building their goal total to eight while keeping the lid on their own goal. Rajewsky and Schultz continued their ice magic at 8:57: Rajewsky scored with Schultz's assist.
Schultz scored with a Sam Falk assist at 14:25. Then it was Sam Falk scoring at 14:56 with assists by Rajewsky and Schultz.
The night's final goal (still in the second) came from Rajewsky with assists by Sam Falk and Schultz at 16:59.
Storm 10, Worthington 2The MBA Storm girls made the long trip to Worthington in southern Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 22. The trip was worth it as the Storm was (were?) in control in all three periods. They came away with a 10-2 win.
The Storm led 6-2 after one period and allowed no more goals after that. The girls could savor their 15th win of the season against three losses. This was a Southwest Conference game.
Brooke Falk took a break as goaltender, and Shianne Wold took over most capably. Wold picked up 14 saves. Her goalie rival on this night was Amanda Bristow who had a save total of 40.
The Storm may have dominated this game but it was Worthington who scored first. Stephanie Pavelko scored unassisted.
The MBA barrage then began, first with Dani Schultz sending the puck into the net at 3:31, assisted by Sara Rajewsky. Schultz scored in unassisted style at 6:31. The Lindblad girls combined for a goal at 7:32 with Hannah getting the goal and Monica the assist.
Worthington's Angie Madrigal scored at 8:43.
Two Storm players assisted on a Kelly Mahoney goal that came at 12:43. Those assists were from the prolific Schultz/Rajewsky duo. Schultz and Rajewsky combined for the Storm's fifth goal of the night. It was Schultz getting the puck into the net at 15:07 assisted by Rajewsky.
Monica Lindblad wrapped up the first period scoring with a goal at 15:29, unassisted. The Storm pulled away on the scoreboard with two goals each in the second and third periods.
Schultz and Rajewsky scored the second period goals, while Wold was putting up a wall in goal. Schultz scored at 5:51, assisted by Sam Falk. Rajewsky put the Storm up 8-2 with a power play goal at 9:54, assisted by Schultz and Sam Falk.
The third period saw Monica Lindblad score with a Mahoney assist at 9:36. Then it was Sam Falk scoring unassisted at 14:30 to conclude the night's scoring. The long ride home must have been accompanied by satisfaction for the winning Storm.
It's a delight for yours truly to be writing about the winning Storm on Friday, Jan. 28, which is my 56th birthday! Yes, I do need reading glasses these days.
More on the MBA Storm girls:The Storm arrived at mid-week with growing credentials for offensive punch. It's a crowd-pleasing style of hockey to be sure. As of mid-week they had outscored their foes 118-36.
Schultz plays center and is tops in the state in goals and total points. This senior student athlete has surpassed 300 points in her career. Eleven times this season she has performed a "hat trick."
Schultz and Sara Rajewsky have become quite the tandem for striking fear into opposing defenders. Rajewsky is a senior like Schultz and she stands No. 4 in the state in scoring. She recently got over the 200-point plateau for her career.
Sara is the granddaughter of Dave and Yvonne Evenson of the Morris area. Dave is a pillar as a Morris barber!
Sara's hat trick total for the season is five.
The senior rolls also include stalwart goaltender Brooke Falk. Brooke frequently chalks up shutouts. Her save percentage is a dazzling .933.
The "Storm" nickname is preceded by "Morris Benson Area" and let's accent the "area." Schultz will get her diploma at our Morris Area High School this spring. Rajewsky will walk across the stage at Benson. And Falk isn't even from Morris-Benson; the goalie is a senior at Minnewaska Area.
There are six total seniors on the roster. In addition to the players already mentioned here, we have Kelly Mahoney, Sam Falk and Monica Lindblad.
Some concern is spelled for the future because graduation is going to leave a void. The number of juniors on the roster: zero. The number of sophomores: zero. The number of freshmen: one. Wow!
As the Fred Willard character in "A Mighty Wind" would say: "Wha hoppened?"
There are two eighth grade skaters. Finally the numbers stabilize when you get down to the seventh grade, where the total is six skaters.
The proud head coach of the winning 2010-11 unit is Jeff Mahoney. He has 100 career wins on his resume.
Below is a link to the MBA Storm girls hockey schedule page on Pheasant Country Sports - nicely presented:
http://www.pheasantcountrysports.com/teamschedule.php?yid=1011&tid=2068&sid=1230274
Boys hockey: 12-1 win over Windom
The MBA varsity boys downed Windom in a decisive 12-1 final on Monday, Jan. 24, in Windom. Click on the link below to read Gary Hansen's top-notch coverage of this game from the MBA Storm website:
http://www.mbastorm.com/news_article/show/76214?referrer_id=217802-morris-benson-area-storm-hockey-news
Boys hockey: 7-0 win over WorthingtonThe Morris Benson boys took care of business nicely in a 7-0 win over the Worthington Trojans on Saturday, Jan. 22, in Worthington. Click on the link below to read Gary Hansen's game summary from the MBA Storm's website.
http://www.mbastorm.com/news_article/show/76053?referrer_id=217802-morris-benson-area-storm-hockey-news
Here's a link to the fine new MBA Storm website itself:
www.mbastorm.com/
-Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment