Alexandria girls' hockey: Cards drop season opener to North Metro

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The Cardinal girls’ hockey team kicked off its season on the road this past Saturday as Alexandria battled North Metro but ultimately came up short in a 4-3 game.

North Metro got two unanswered goals in the final period from Jessica Ward to erase what had been a one-goal deficit for the Stars. Alexandria’s Shelby Iverson scored to make it 2-1 early in the third before Cassie Hemming tied it back up at two apiece almost eight minutes later.

That was the start of a back-and-forth final frame that saw the two teams combine for five goals. Alexandria’s Madi Houska scored off assists from Becca Illies and Iverson to give her team a 3-2 edge just 25 seconds after Hemming had scored the equalizer. That lead for the Cardinals was also short-lived as Ward scored a little more than a minute later before putting in the game winner at 14:37.

That was Ward’s third goal of the night as she completed the hat trick. Illies answered with a first-period goal for Alexandria before a scoreless second period brought the game into the third in a 1-1 tie. Illies and Iverson both finished with a team-high three points in the season opener.

The Cardinals were scheduled to be at Fergus Falls last night, Tuesday. They will open up the home portion of their schedule on Thursday night as they welcome in Detroit Lakes for a 7 p.m. drop of the puck.

GAME STATISTICS

ALEXANDRIA 1 0 2 – 3

NORTH METRO 1 0 3 – 4

SCORING – FIRST PERIOD – North Metro – Jessica Ward, unassisted, 2:25; Alexandria – Becca Illies (Shelby Iverson), 11:46

SECOND PERIOD – No scoring

THIRD PERIOD – Alexandria – Iverson (Illies, Melissa Drown), 1:05; North Metro – Cassie Hemming (Emily Ach, Jasmine Partridge), 9:02; Alexandria – Madi Houska (Illies, Iverson), 9:27; North Metro – Ward (Taylor Anderson, Rachel Hegerle), 10:38; North Metro – Ward, unassisted, 14:37

GOALTENDING – Alexandria – Amy Jost – 4 shots allowed; North Metro – Lauren Torborg – W, 3 goals allowed

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, girls, hockey