Eagles avenge last playoff defeat

DAVE CLARK

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- The New Ulm Eagles girls hockey team beat the Dodge County Wildcats in the first round of the Section 1A playoffs with a football score.

It was the Eagles by two touchdowns and a field goal, winning 17-0 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

The rout of ages helped erase memories of last year's loss to a 15th seeded Faribault squad that embarrassed the second-seeded Eagles in the first playoff game. New Ulm (13-8-2) now moves on to play Saturday night at 7 p.m. against Austin at home.

"We rectified ourselves from last year," Eagles coach Todd Nelson said. "It was good to get out, skate aggressively and get the win."

The Wildcats actually outskated the Eagles in the first five minutes of the game, but at 6:37, Tiffany Hoffmann scored the first of her five goals by ripping a slapshot past Wildcat goalie Alissa Green with assists from Angie Seifert and Amber Reinhart. Thirty-five seconds later, Kyla Hoffmann got the first goal of her evenings' hat trick with a goal from about a foot in front of Green, aided by Jocelyn Janni and Danelle Bode.

At 8:22, Tiffany Hoffmann flipped a shot just above Green's right shoulder with assists from Mary Otis and Korynn Fischer. The Eagles took a breather for three minutes, then made it 4-0 as Stephanie Stewart posted the first of her four goals as she pushed the puck past Green after a scramble in front of the net and help from Emily Drexler and Sam Richter.

Twelve seconds later, Drexler blew it past Green for an unassisted score and Tiffany Hoffmann wrapped up the first period assault by stickhandling the puck around Green, with assists from Liz Bode and Otis.

Kyla Hoffmann opened the scoring parade early in the second period, going in untouched after taking a nice pass from Janni, who had received the puck from Danelle Bode.

Any concern of an overtime contest was pretty much eliminated on Danelle Bode's rebound goal off Green's stick that made it 8-0 with the help of Janni and Kyla Hoffmann.

Mary Otis took the same rebound advantage on goal number nine half a minute later, this time with assists from Tiffany Hoffmann and Reinhart.

Stewart made it 10-0 after two beautiful passes from Megan Tess to Drexler. More great passing occurred on goal eleven as the puck went from Janni to Danelle Bode to Kyla Hoffmann to net.

Kyla Hoffmann then helped Danelle Bode put the puck past Green's right knee, which may have been the last major body part of the goalie that had not felt the breeze of hard plastic.

Tiffany Hoffmann opened period three with two unassisted goals, followed by Stewart's third score of the night, aided by Richter. Goals 16 and 17 were unassisted by Liz Bode and Stewart, ending the Wildcats misery.

The only positive for Dodge County was that Green did stop 30 other New Ulm shots on goal, while Eagles goalie Kayla Nesvold rejected five Wildcats offensive attempts.