GIRLS HOCKEY: Trojans fall to Bulldogs in opener

WORTHINGTON — A six-goal second period propelled the St. Peter girls hockey team to an 8-3 non-conference victory over Worthington on Friday.

Tied at 1 after 17 minutes, the Bulldogs’ Maddie Kleschult scored twice in the span of 29 seconds during the opening minute of the second period to give the St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United co-operative program a two-goal cushion.

It went downhill for the Trojans from there.

“We have got to play three full periods of hockey,” Worthington coach Eric Milbrath said. “I know the girls were excited to get the tying goal at the end of the first period, but we might have been a little over-confident after that.”

Anna Amos handed the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead 6½ minutes into the game. She put the puck past Worthington goalie Amanda Bristow after stealing it away from a Trojan defender at the 14:32 mark.

But Kirsten Aljets had the tying goal for Worthington as the clock ticked down in the first period. She redirected a touch pass from Allison Vote and Alivia Rowley past St. Peter goalie Veronica Sinell with 0:14 left.

The Bulldogs controlled the game the rest of the way, outshooting the Trojans 23-4 in the second period and 56-11 in the game.

Chloe Bachman (13:54), Alison Plieseis (9:29) and Chelsea Kaelberer (3:38) also scored for St. Peter in the second period before Amos struck for the second time with 32 seconds left. The Bulldogs built a 7-1 lead after two periods.

After making 48 saves, Bristow, an All-Southwest Conference goalie last season, knew she had to keep her focus.

“The key is to keep mentally focused, stay strong and stop the puck,” Bristow said. “If I you give up a goal, you have to move forward and be ready for the next shot.”

St. Peter took an 8-1 edge in the third period on the second goal from Plieseis with 1:31 left.

But the Trojans were not finished.

Worthington’s Betsy Thompson and Allison Kremer, both All-Southwest Conference honorable mention picks last season, scored in the game’s final minute.

Thompson’s goal came with 56 seconds showing before Kremer’s tally happened as 15 ticks remained.

Milbrath was proud of his players for making a comeback.

“I learned that these girls have a lot of heart and passion for the game of hockey,” said Milbrath, who guided the Trojans on Friday for the first time as a head coach. “I am proud of them.”

Despite the five-goal loss, Worthington takes some positive energy into its next game.

In 14 previous games against St. Peter since 2005, Worthington had been outscored 104-3, including 12 shutouts.

“I feel like we had one bad period,” Milbrath said. “We tied in the first period. We won the third period 2-1. But it shows that we have to play three full periods.”

The Trojans are idle until Nov. 27, when Worthington hosts Marshall at 5:30 p.m.

Tags: sports, girls, hockey, trojans