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December 3, 1999
Eagles skate past WestBy PAUL DUNLAP Journal Sports Editor NEW ULM -- With bitter rival Mankato West in town, a raucous home crowd at Vogel Arena demanded a good showing from their New Ulm boys' hockey team. The Eagles didn't disappoint. New Ulm scored three goals in a span of 2:38 late in the second period, pulling away to defeat the Scarlets 5-1 in nonconference action. The game was typically physical as the two squads combined for 24 penalties. "It was a very physical game," Eagle coach Tom Macho said. "There were a lot of penalties that took away from the game a little bit. We took advantage of some things, and definitely were the quicker team tonight. We never gave their defensemen time to do anything, and that was the key to the whole game I think." New Ulm would score just one goal in the opening 15 minutes, but it was one for the highlight reel. Defensemen Brian Meier took the puck in his own zone on the power play, sidestepped a couple of checks, and put it past Scarlet goaltender John Kennedy at the 6:04 mark to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. "What's even more amazing is that (Meier) has been on the varsity four years and that's his first (goal)," Macho said. "His first goal ever, and it was a beauty ... end-to-end, top-shelf. That's the way you want to see it scored, and it gave us a big boost." Most of the first period was marred by penalties as West was called for six and New Ulm for four. "The refs had said they were going to call (penalties) right away just to keep the thing under control," Macho said. "They did a nice job in such a physical game." The Scarlets would knot the game early in the second as Danny Umhoefer scored past Eagle goalie Gary Wurtzberger on a rebound at 1:49. Travis Roberts got credit for the assist, but that would be as close as West got. Craig Coil put New Ulm back in front at 2:31 on an assist from Ryan Neuman, and junior Nate Richter pushed the edge to 3-1 at 10:11 on an assist from Al Wurtzberger. That goal opened the floodgates as a power-play goal from Jacob Holm at 12:24 followed by a David Sellner tally just 25 seconds later gave the Eagles a four-goal edge. Meier assisted on Holm's goal. "That's one thing we've been talking about," Macho said. "If anybody scores on us, we're going to have to come back right away, put the pressure on, and try to make it up. We did that tonight." The Eagles would hold on to that advantage throughout the remainder of the game, thanks in large part to a solid defense and great play from Gary Wurtzberger between the pipes. Wurtzberger finished the night with 22 saves on 23 shots, and teammate Isaac Forstner added one save in mop-up duty. "Gary's going to be OK," Macho said of his sophomore netminder. "He made some nice saves, some important ones at the right times. You always hope your goalie makes those one or two big saves for you, and he did. Every one we needed, he made." New Ulm improves to 1-1 on the season with the win. The Eagles host St. Michael/Albertville in a Saturday matinee. Game time is 3 p.m. at Vogel Arena. "After what happened Tuesday (a 6-0 loss to Austin), we needed to have a better showing," Macho said. "I walked in tonight knowing I didn't have to say anything -- they knew what they had to do and they did it." MKTO WEST 0-1-0 -- 1 NEW ULM 1-4-0 -- 5 FIRST PERIOD NU-Meier (unassisted) PP 6:04. SECOND PERIOD MW-Umhoefer (Roberts) 1:49; NU-Coil (Neuman) 2:31; NU-Richter (A.Wurtzberger) 10:11; NU-Holm (Meier) PP 12:24; NU-Sellner (unassisted) 12:49. THIRD PERIOD No scoring. Saves: MW (Kennedy) 9-13-15 -- 37; NU (G.Wurtzberger/Forstner) 3-12-7/1 -- 23.
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