WORTHINGTON – The Worthington Trojans hosted the talented Luverne Cardinals for a girls and boys hockey doubleheader on Monday.
The Trojan girls were defeated in the opening match 12-0. The Trojan boys lost 8-1, with junior Easton Newman notching the lone WHS goal with an assist from Anthony Jimenez.
Scoring six goals for the Cardinals girls’ hockey team was Kamryn Van Batavia, a phenomenal senior forward with a strong all-around game and an uncanny ability to get pucks in the back of the net.
Girls
Luverne 12, Worthington 0
The Cardinals were impressive. They showcased impressive depth as six players netted twelve goals.
Scoring the opening goal was seventh grade forward Ellisyn Van Batavia with 16 minutes remaining in the 1st period. Payton Behr added the second goal unassisted two minutes later.
Tim Middagh/The Globe
However, the game quickly turned into the Kamryn Van Batavia show, when she scored four consecutive goals to end the first period with a 6-0 Cardinals lead.
A goal by Greta McClure reignited the Cardinals offense in the second period, and Kamryn Van Batavia notched her fifth with a loud clash off of the inside goalpost on a one timer slap.
Kamryn’s sixth goal also came in memorable fashion with a power play goal off of a drive to the goal which sent her crashing into the endboards.
Ella Apel scored in period three for the Cardinals. Rylee Kurtz notched her first goal, after assisting in four other Cardinal goals. The younger Ellisyn Van Batavia notched her second and final Cardinal goal with just under two minutes remaining in the game.
The Trojans had five shots in the first period. WHS’ time in the offensive zone was short lived, with several chances killed by falls, giveaways, and well-placed Cardinal sticks creating takeaways.
The Trojan skaters and senior goalie Lillyana Newman prevented several strong Cardinals scoring chances. The Trojans skated hard, and Newman had many saves including two audible stick saves from Cardinal slapshots.
The Trojans face another tough team next when WHS travels to the 9-6-1 New Ulm Eagles on Tuesday.
Worthington 0 0 0 – 0
Luverne 6 3 3 – 12
Girls
Luverne 8, Worthington 1
The Luverne Cardinals were a mixture of strong and smooth with the puck.
The Trojans played tough and hard against the Cardinals, but small errors on the behalf of WHS were exploited often for Cardinals’ goals.
Leading scorers for Luverne were Brady Bork, Brock Behrend and Elliot Domagala with two goals each. Domagala scored the opening goal for Luverne, and added his second goal in the second period on a nifty wrap-around play behind the Trojans net.
The Trojan defense looked solid in period one, as the Cardinals offense was held to only two goals, but a soft deflection by Maddux Domagala off a Henry Hartquist shot in the second period broke open the gates for four goals out of the Cardinals fast-paced offense.
Alexander Schlosser scored his goal for the Cardinals on a shot that was just two quick for a Collin Ahlers glove save.
Trojan Easton Newman scored the lone Trojan goal in the second period on the first power play of the game. Newman scored his goal on an assist from Anthony Jimenez.
Jimenez thwarted a strong Cardinal scoring opportunity in the second period by poking away the puck from a charging Cardinal in a two on one scoring opportunity.
“We tell the team that it doesn’t matter if you are down, it’s about how you get back up,” said Worthington coach Tyler Nienkerk. “I thought our guys showed up and were ready to go to battle.”
The second period ended with a scare for the Trojans as captain Caden Van Briesen was thrown hard into the glass by a checking Cardinal player. Van Briesen returned to play in the third period.
The Cardinals were able to kill a penalty in period three, and Behrend scored his two goals in the third period. The Trojans had a great scoring opportunity sail high as Evan Bumgardner lined Ayden Stugelmeyer up for a shot with a tricky little drop pass.
The Trojans travel to New Ulm on Tuesday for another tough Big South Conference matchup.
Luverne 2 4 2 – 8
Worthington 0 1 0 – 1