hockey

With wintery weather rolling into southern Minnesota, Saturday's Section 1AA semifinal boys' hockey tilt between Owatonna and Lakeville North was postponed and rescheduled for Tuesday, February 27 at 5:30PM at the Rec Center in Rochester on 104.9FM and the new Kat Kountry 105 app.

Owatonna edged Farmington 3-2 in the quarterfinal round of the Section 1AA boys' hockey playoffs Thursday night at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna. The Huskies advance to the semifinals at 5:30PM Saturday, February 24 against top-seed Lakeville North at the Rec Center in Rochester with coverage on Kat Kountry 105FM.

Faribault beat La Crescent 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night in the first round of the Section 1A boys' hockey tournament. The Falcons go to top-seed Albert Lea Thursday at 7PM with the coverage on Power 96 radio. Eighth-seed Faribault lost to the ninth-seen Lancers 4-1 on February 1. Their only lead on Wednesday came at 6:31 of overtime when Braden Schroeder wheeled around in the offensive zone and fired a shot from the top of the left circle into the net.

The Steele County Blades junior hockey team grabbed a quick 2-0 lead over the Dells Ducks Saturday but needed a late goal to get the victory, keeping the estimated 800 fans on the edge of their seats throughout the contest. Zach Bettmeng scored the winner midway through the third period for the 4-3 win.

The Owatonna boys' hockey team will open the playoffs at home Thursday, February 22. The Huskies face Farmington at 7PM at Four Seasons Centre in the Section 1AA quarterfinals on KRFO AM1390. The teams did not play this season. OHS beat the Tigers 3-2 last winter in a regular season game.

A pair of 14-game basketball winning streaks were snapped Saturday. The Owatonna boys fell to Rochester John Marshall 62-46. NRHEG lost at Redwood Valley 63-61.

Lakeville South rallied with a three-goal third period to unseat defending Section 1AA girls' hockey champion Farmington 6-5 in front of a packed Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna. The arena emptied and refilled for Red Wing's 4-1 victory over Rochester Lourdes in the 1A title game. The Cougars and Wingers advance to the state tournament at Xcel Energy Center February 21-24.

Rochester Mayo's boys' basketball team hung close with Owatonna until the final four minutes of Tuesday's game at OHS with the Huskies prevailing 74-58. Owatonna led just 37-35 at the half. Dalton Kubista scored 26 points and has 999 for his career. OHS goes to Red Wing Friday for a 7:30PM game on KRFO AM 1390.

Lakeville South has one of the top goalies in the state. Owatonna never had the chance to test Lexi Baker, a finalist for the Let's Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year Award. South stormed the Owatonna net early and beat the Huskies 7-0 in Saturday's Section 1AA semifinals. The Cougars advance to the finals Thursday at 5PM at Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna where they face a rematch with Farmington, who won the title last year.

Senior Laura Ebeling grew up watching her older brother Luke play goalie for Owatonna and said, "I want to be a goalie too." She started hockey as a skater but then around U-10 indicated she wanted to go between the pipes. She says her father asked her, "Are you sure?" Laura is in her third year on the varsity and turned in a fantastic performance Wednesday night to extend her career at least through the weekend.