Posted: 1/11/06
Girls hockey looking to hit .500
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Joe Drennan
Sports Editor
Fighting to reach the .500 mark for the first time all year, the Forest Lake High School girls hockey team looked like they might accomplish that goal after pulling within one game after beating Mounds View in overtime, but a strong Cretin-Derham Hall team has the Rangers waiting another week to hit .500.
The Rangers started the week off with a 4-3 overtime victory over Mounds View last Tuesday to bring their record to 7-8-1, but lost to Cretin-Derham Hall 3-2 Saturday.
In the Mounds View game sophomore Kelsey Blum gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead 4:47 into the game on a goal that was assisted by sophomore Torri Shelafoe, but Mounds View scored two goals before the period ended.
ìMounds View came out really aggressive and pressured us, playing the kind of hockey that we like to play,î Rangers head coach Paul Kendrick said. ìThey really created some difficulty for us early on, but we stepped up and took away passing lanes and forced them on their heels.î
The Rangers and Mounds View exchanged goals early in the second period. Mounds View scored 2:26 into the second, but sophomore Kathy Crudo scored a goal at the 3:28 mark to keep the Rangers within one.
ìItís fun when youíre coaching and the girls turn to you and say, ëYou know youíre right, we can change the flow of the game,íî Kendrick said.
Crudo added a power play goal at the 7:29 mark of the third period to tie the game. In the overtime period senior Anna Johnson scored the game winner just 1:02 into the period.
ìWe started to take charge about midway through the third period and our conditioning really showed as we were wearing them out,î Kendrick said.
Saturday the Rangers had a solid first period against Cretin-Derham Hall as both teams went into the intermission tied 0-0.
ìI think our first period was technically and tactically our best period weíve played all year,î Kendrick said. ìMy thoughts during the intermission were that I was wondering if we could maintain that intensity.î
Cretin-Derham Hall came out firing in the second period and scored three goals.
ìWe got caught running a little bit in the second period and ended up getting down,î Kendrick said. ìAfter we were down 3-0 I called a time out and we talked about refocusing.î
The Rangers got refocused and scored a goal before the period was over. In the third period the Rangers were trying to take advantage of the fact that Cretin-Derham Hall only had two lines compared to the Rangers three, but they were only able to score one goal and fell short 3-2.
ìI felt in the third period that if we were to be in the hunt, weíd have a chance because of our conditioning and we did,î Kendrick said. ìI was just hoping we could get one more and send the game into overtime.î
Kendrick said special teams is what won the game for Cretin-Derham Hall as they scored two of their three goals on the power play. Five on five the Rangers out scored Cretin-Derham Hall 2-1.
With only seven games remaining in the regular season, the Rangers are 4-3 against their remaining opponents, giving them a chance to finish the season at or above .500.
ìThe girls are making those steps forward that Iíd like to see,î Kendrick said. ìIt just seems that weíre running into teams that are playing their best games of the year against us.î
The Rangers next game is Saturday when they travel to Hastings for a 2:30 p.m. face off.
Forest Lake Times
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880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
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