Alexandria girls' hockey: Cardinal girls even record to 3-3

• Congrats

Lauren Niska (21), Becca Illies (37) and Shelby Iverson (38) were congratulated by the bench after the Cardinals scored a goal in their first home game recently. Alexandria claimed a win over Moorhead last week before falling to state-ranked Mound-Westonka and Orono over the weekend. (Lori Mork, Echo Press)

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After picking up a 4-2 non-conference win over Moorhead on Tuesday night, the Cardinal girls’ hockey team traveled to the Twin Cities to face a pair of state ranked teams in Mound-Westonka and Orono, and fell 6-3 and 5-2, respectively.

The Cardinals traveled to River Lakes last night, Tuesday, and will play at home on Friday with Simley visiting the Runestone Community Center.

Alexandria is now 3-3 overall.

Alexandria 4,

Moorhead 2

Four different players found the net for Alexandria as the Cardinals rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to shut down Moorhead and win 4-2 Tuesday night.

Melissa Drown’s goal at 7:25 in the first period got the Cards started on the right foot, but the Spuds countered with two goals before time ran out for a 2-1 lead.

“Their line relentlessly peppered the goalie, finally getting a rebound goal to set the tone of the game,” said head coach Andy Shriver. “The match up resulted in very physical play.”

It took until late in the second period before Alexandria could counter Moorhead’s output of the first period as Lauren Niska scored at the 10:37 mark, despite dominating in shots on goal 17-5.

“The second goal came from the point when Lauren sent the puck flying from the blue line, assisted by Shaneé Herd and Melissa Drown,” said Shriver.

In the third period, Alexandria settled into a smooth rhythm that produced two goals as McKenzie Revering scored on a power play on assists by Shelby Iverson and Herd.

“The girls fought until the end, sealing the deal with an empty net goal from Shelby Iverson, assisted by Becca Illies and Madi Houska,” said the Cardinal coach. “Bailey Serum held her own between the pipes, stopping a total of 18 shots.”

Mound 6, Alexandria 3

Orono 5, Alexandria 2

The Cardinal girls met a pair of state-ranked and undefeated teams over the weekend, falling to No. 9 Mound-Westonka 6-3 and No. 7 ranked Orono 5-2.

“The girls had a productive weekend on the ice, although the scoreboard might not support that notion,” said Shriver. “Mound and Orono both played a very complete, aggressive style of play that gave the Cards all they could handle.

“Although these strong teams exposed some vulnerabilities, there were some bright spots as well. Bailey Serum put up two solid games in goal, facing 34 shots Friday night and 40 shots on Saturday.

“The Taylor Ellingson-centered line, with Melissa Drown and Hannah Hansen on the wings, played some of its best hockey of the year, scoring a pair on Friday night, as well as feeding defender Shaneé Herd on a set play from center ice to score a nice goal on Saturday.”

Ellingson and Shelby Iverson both scored goals Friday, with Lauren Niska hitting the net on a power play goal.

Anna Carlsen picked up the other goal on Saturday night.

“We would have loved to win either or both games, but the experience of knowing how the state caliber teams play and what we need to do to get there is invaluable,” said the coach. “The girls played well, and we know what to do at practice today.”

ALEXANDRIA GAME STATISTICS

MOORHEAD 2 0 0 — 2

ALEXANDIA 1 1 2 — 4

FIRST PERIOD

ALEX – Melissa Drown (Taylor Ellingson, Lauren Niska) 7:25, MHD – Haley Ludwig (Taylor O’Connell, Julia Stetz) 8:23, MHD – Kristen Drechsel (Tori Davis) 11:20.

SECOND PERIOD

ALEX – Lauren Niska (Melissa Drown, Shaneé Herd) 10:37.

THIRD PERIOD

ALEX – McKenzie Revering, pp (Shelby Iverson, Shaneé Herd) 6:09, ALEX – Shelby Iverson, empty net (Becca Illies, Madi Houska) 16:34.

SHOTS ON GOAL – Moorhead 11-5-4—20, Alexandria 7-17-14—38.

GOALIE SAVES – Beth Myers, Moorhead, 22. Bailey Serum, Alex, 18.

ALEXANDRIA 1 1 1 — 3

MOUND-WESTONKA 1 1 4 — 6

ALEXANDRIA SCORING – Lauren Niska 1 goal (power play), Taylor Ellingson 1 goal, Shelby Iverson, 1 goal, Madi Houska 1 assist, Nicole Bartels 1 assist.

MOUND-WESTONKA SCORING – Liz Schepers 2 goals, Grace Holmen 1 goal, Mackenzie Kratch 2 goals, Jori Mazurek 1 goal

SHOTS ON GOAL – Alexandria 22, Mound-Westonka 34.

GOALIE SAVES – Bailey Serum, Alexandria, 28; Emma Polusny, Mound-Westonka, 19.

ALEXANDRIA 1 1 0 — 2

ORONO 2 2 1 — 5

FIRST PERIOD

ORONO – Stephanie Knight (Emily Knight) 3:23; ORONO – Katherine Spurlock (unassisted), 11:38; ALEX – Anna Carlsen (Shelby Iverson, Shaneé Herd), 16:43.

SECOND PERIOD

ORONO – Rebekah Smith (Ellie Martini) 5:10; ALEX – Shaneé Herd (Lauren Niska) 5:19; ORONO – Emily Knight (unassisted) 11:07.

THIRD PERIOD

ORONO – Rebekah Smith (Sarah Harrison, Brianna Bren), 11:03.

SHOTS ON GOAL – Alexandria 7-9-7—23; Orono 12-14-14—40.

GOALIE SAVES – Bailey Serum, Alex, 35; Ava Lambert, Orono, 2; Casey Hartfield, Orono, 19.

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