Late charge lifts White past Royal 4-2
The White team scored four unanswered and fought back from a two-goal deficit to rally past Royal Blue 4-2 Sunday afternoon at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
Gretchen Branton (Wayzata) scored twice in the victory and recorded her third goal of the camp as the speedy forward finished strong with the final goal of both halves.
Royal Blue, reeling from a shutout loss the previous night, came out swinging and took an early lead a little more than a minute into action when Brook Pioske (Westonka) scored unassisted. Half a period later, White added to its lead when Samantha Stelljes (Maple Grove) pounded home a close range shot from the edge of the crease, and Royal looked to be on its way.
Down the stretch of the first half, Ellie Andersen (Fergus Falls) and Branton would score to answer for White and knot the score at 2 heading into the break.
In the second, McKenna Freerkson (Dodge County) broke through with the eventual game-winner following a scrum in the crease, and White added an insurance goal in the final minute when Branton converted on the power play.
In net for White, Maria Widen (Burnsville) stopped 9 of 11 shots in the first half, while Brooke Cassibo stopped all 13 shots she faced in the second half. For Royal, Hannah Skavnak (Rogers Bantam A) made the start and stopped 12 of 14 shots. Abigail Thompson (Mounds View) made 13 saves on 15 shots in the second half.
White improves its record to 1-0-1, while Royal drops to 0-2.
Gold holds on through a late flurry for a 2-1 win over Green
Gold took a one-goal lead late in the first half, then held on through a scoreless second to capture a narrow 2-1 victory over Green Sunday afternoon in St. Cloud.
Samantha Kittelson (Minnetonka) got things started for Gold when she netted the equalizer 5:32 into the game (assisted by Kayley Crawford and McKenzie Rich), followed by a score in the final minute of the half when Sadie Long (Holy Family) scored unassisted to record the eventual game-winner. It was Long’s third goal of the camp, which puts her in a tie atop the leaderboard.
It was Green who struck first when Hanley Block (Alexandria) scored just three minutes in, though the Gold goalie tandem of Jori Jones (Roseville) and Alexandra Pellicci (Holy Family) would put a lid on things thereafter. Jones started the game and stopped 10 of 11, while Pellicci stopped 20 of 20, including a couple of key saves down the stretch to preserve the lead that led to Gold improving its record to 1-0-1.
In net for Green (0-2), HalleeAnn Bailey (Alexandria) started and made 11 saves on 13 shots. In the second half, Skylar Vetter (Lakeville Bantam AA) stopped all 15 shots she faced.
Sky Blue burns bright, adds another shutout win to its collection with 5-0 victory over Red
Sky Blue jumped out early and did not up a bit en route to a 5-0 victory over Red Sunday afternoon at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
Mikayla Kelley (Eastview) finished with two goals and an assist to lead the way as Kelley opened the scoring 6:57 into the first half to push Sky Blue along.
Following Sky Blue’s 4-0 win over Royal on Saturday, Sky has outscored the opposition 9-0, and firmly holds first place heading into Monday.
Aside from Kelley’s three points, Olivia Haag (Benilde-St. Margaret’s) scored for the second straight game, as did Grace Kuipers (Eden Prairie) to make it three from Sky Blue to already have multiple goals for the camp.
Also for the second straight day, Sky Blue’s goaltenders combined for shutout. Molly Haag (Burnsville) started between the pipes and stopped the three shots she faced, before Isabel Varner (Buffalo) closed out the second half and turned aside 10 shots to preserve the goose egg.
Red drops its record to 1-1 for the camp. Playing in net for Red, Emma Klenken (Marshall) started and allowed three goals on 13 shots before Annabelle Langton (Elk River) finished the second half by stopping 21 of 24 shots.