YOUTH HOCKEY: Worthington topples Sauk Rapids, loses to Willmar

It was a tale of two different games for Worthington during its Pee Wee B hockey road trip last weekend.

Worthington 2, Sauk Rapids 1

SAUK RAPIDS — The Trojans defeated the Storm by a one-goal margin Saturday night at the Sports Arena East.

Worthington shook off its four-hour drive to Sauk Rapids and a tentative first period to rally from a 1-0 deficit with second- and third-period goals.

A minute into the second period, a goal from the Trojans’ Eric Heidebrink tied the game at 1. Linemates Max Carlson and Karter Honius set up the tally from Heidebrink.

Worthington picked up its play in the third period.

Forwards Tom Bauman, Anthony Fogelman, Ryan Newman and Emilio Matias worked aggressively with Heidebrink, while Carlson and Honius created a number of good scoring chances through forechecking.

The best of the Trojans’ chances was a shot from Newman that deflected harmlessly off the goal pipe after beating the Sauk Rapids goalie.

Worthington, frustrated until its effort was rewarded, received a tie-breaking goal from Heidebrink with 3:39 remaining. Honius posted his second assist of the game.

The Trojans held off the Storm, which pulled its goalie in favor of gaining an extra attacker for nearly the final 2 minutes of the game.

Worthington goalie Sam Fellows earned the victory by making 27 saves on 28 shots.

Sauk Rapids outshot Worthington 28-14 but the Trojans defensemen, led by co-captain Seth Voss, Davis Moore, Lance Hibma, Bryce Olsen and Parker Valen, did an excellent job of limiting the Storm’s ability to create good scoring chances.

Willmar 8,

Worthington 1

WILLMAR — The Trojans did not bring their crispness and focus from Sauk Rapids to Willmar on Sunday.

The Cardinals picked up a loose puck and tapped it into the net during the first period, when Worthington failed to clear the puck from its zone.

Willmar scored the first three goals of the second period to take a 4-0 lead. But the Trojans finally got on the scoreboard at the 12:37 mark, when Carlson buried a wrist shot from the high slot after Moore passed him the puck from the boards.

In the third, Worthington’s hope of a rally ended during the initial 3 minutes of the period. The Cardinals scored three times to go ahead 6-1 as Willmar outskated the Trojans in their defensive zone.

With the game in hand, the Cardinals tacked on two more third-period goals to secure their victory.

Willmar outshot Worthington 25-18.

Goalies Carter Ponto and Sam Fellows split the time in goal for the Trojans. Ponto made 12 saves on 15 shots, while Fellows had five saves on 10 shots.

Worthington is 12-6-2 overall this season and leads District 4 with a 5-2-2 mark as one league game remains.

The Trojans host Fairmont in a District 4 contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Worthington Arena. Worthington ends regular season play at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, when it hosts Sioux Falls East Orange.

Tags: sports, youth, hockey, trojans