Owatonna senior Jessica "Betty" VonRuden scored late in the third period for a 3-2 win over Waseca in the Section 1A quarterfinals. OHS goes to Red Wing for a 7PM Saturday game.

The No. 3 seed Huskies dictated play early against No. 6 Waseca but found themselves behind 2-0 on goals by the Blue Jays Riley Brown and Anna Hoehn. The Huskies finally found the net with two minutes left in the first frame as Meghan Rethemeier knocked in a rebound with assists to VonRuden and Margo Achterkirch. The Huskies had a goal disallowed in the final minute of the period, apparently due to a collision between an Owatonna player and the goalie and trailed 2-1 at intermission. OHS outshot Waseca 20-6 in the first.

The Huskies evened the game in the opening minute of the second on VonRuden's 37th goal of the season. Achterkirch assisted. The Huskies outdid the Blue Jays 15 shots to two in the period but only got the one goal.

Owatonna continued to pepper Waseca's sophomore goalie in the third but the frustration remained along with the 2-2 tie. For the second time the Huskies had a goal disallowed, this time due to an inadvertent whistle. OHS went on their only power play of the game at 9:38 and converted the game winner about a minute later. The same combo of VonRuden from Achterkirch scored the game decided goal. The Blue Jays got a power play shortly after the Huskies scored. But the Huskies burned out that penalty and their late game pressure prevented the Blue Jays from ever pulling their goalie.

Overall shots were Owatonna 50, Waseca 11. The game was the first between the schools. They will play a regular-season game next year. The Huskies (18-8) go to Red Wing (17-8-1) Saturday at 7PM for the Section 1A semifinals on KRFO AM 1390. The Wingers rolled by Albert Lea on Wednesday 9-1. Red Wing beat Owatonna 6-2 early in the season. The Wingers are the five-time defending section champs.

In the other quarterfinals Austin upset Faribault 3-1 and Northfield pulled away from Winona 4-1.

In Section 1AA, second seed Dodge County blanked Rochester 8-0. Bella Wagner scored five goals for the Wildcats, who will host Farmington on Saturday in Kasson. The Tigers blitzed Rochester Mayo 11-0. Lakeville North edged Rochester JM 3-2 in double overtime. The Panthers outshot the Rockets 58-22. North will face Lakeville South on Saturday.

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Scoreboard, Wednesday, February 3
Girls hockey
Section 1A quarterfinals
No. 3 Owatonna 3, No. 6 Waseca 2
No. 2 Red Wing 9, No. 7 Albert Lea 1
No. 1 Northfield 4, No. 8 Winona 1
No. 5 Austin 3, No. 4 Faribault 1
1A semifinals, Saturday
Owatonna at Red Wing, 7PM on KRFO AM 1390
Austin at Northfield
Section 1AA
No. 2 Dodge County 8, No. 7 Rochester Century
No. 3 Farmington 11, No. 6 Rochester Mayo
No. 4 Lakeville North 3, No. 5 Rochester JM 2, double overtime
1AA semifinals, Saturday
Farmington at Dodge County
Lakeville North at No. 1 Lakeville South

The finals in both classes are Thursday, February 11, at the Four Season Centre in Owatonna.

 

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