Girls Hockey: Wingers win at end of overtime

It’s beginning to seem like a regular occasion as the Red Wing girls hockey team played another overtime game Tuesday against Shakopee, winning 5-4 in Shakopee.

The win came in the Wingers’ (12-5-1, 6-1 Missota) fifth overtime game of the season and kept eighth-ranked Red Wing in the hunt for a conference championship.

“Big win for us,” Wingers’ head coach Scott Haley said. “I told the girls, ‘You win tonight and it’s going to be an entertaining month of January.’ It’s fun being in the hunt for the conference championships. That’s the goal and mission of the kids and that’s not happening without a win tonight.”

Junior Paige Haley scored the winning goal with 44 seconds left in overtime and finished with three goals. Sophomore Emily Stegora tallied two goals and sophomore Nicole Schammel had two assists.

Amy Menke led Shakopee with three goals and an assist. Lauren Hespensheide added a goal and an assist in the loss.

“We obviously had some issues,” Scott Haley said. “You got to stop Amy Menke for them and Hespensheide. It was kind of back-and-forth all night with those two.”

Hespensheide put Shakopee ahead first with a goal 1 minute, 12 seconds into the opening period on an assist from Menke. Stegora responded two minutes later with an unassisted goal of her own and the score remained tied 1-1 into the first intermission.

Menke and Paige Haley scored two goals apiece in the second period to tie the game at 3-3 going into the third period. Stegora scored a power-play goal 8:55 into the final period and Menke netted another goal at 9:44 to send it to overtime 4-4.

Paige Haley’s game-winning goal was assisted by Schammel.

Senior Lisa Nibbe made 33 saves for Red Wing in the victory, including some key saves in the overtime, Scott Haley said.

The Wingers host Academy of Holy Angels Tuesday.

Tags: red wing, sports, prep, girls, hockey