The boys varsity hockey team has been on a 10-day break since their 7-2 victory at Rukavina Arena. Meanwhile, the girls team has stayed busy, continuing their attempt to repeat recent history with tough opponents.
The girls went on a hot streak after a dominant 11-0 shutout against International Falls on January 17. They aimed to replicate their success against Hibbing/ Chisholm on January 22, a team they edged out 4-3 in November at Sonju Arena.
The Storm scored four goals against the Blue Jackets, but this time they only allowed one. The first goal came from senior Nina Thorson, who recently celebrated her 100th career goal. Thorson found the net halfway through the first period with a short-handed goal, assisted by sophomore Berkely Hoff and Sarah Stauber after junior Ella Peterson was tripped up.
Thorson added her second goal of the game in the second period, with Stauber earning her second assist. After Hibbing closed the gap to one goal, Thorson completed her hat trick. Peterson and sophomore Reagon Hogenson assisted on the final goal, securing Thorson’s trio.
In a final push, Hibbing/Chisholm pulled their goalie, Bryjah Schnipkoweit, who faced 33 shots throughout the game. North Shore’s goalie, senior Alexa Harrison, turned away 14 of 15 attempts.
Sophomore Berkely Hoff sealed the victory, scoring an empty-net goal at 16:06 to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Storm celebrated Parent’s Night on January 24th at Sonju Arena before their game against Pine City. In their previous matchup with the Dragons at the Pine City Civic Center in early December, North Shore had triumphed 7-3.
Hoff wasted no time, scoring just 18 seconds into the game with an assist from Thorson. Thorson then added a goal of her own less than five minutes later, with Stauber and sophomore Reagon Hogenson providing the powerplay assists.
Thorson struck again on another powerplay goal, this time assisted by freshman Hallie Komarek, putting the Storm ahead 3-0. Pine City managed to get one past s o p h o m o r e goalie Michaela Lindgren before the 10-minute mark, but the Storm maintained control.
S t a u b er, however, r e s p o n d e d quickly, leveraging a powerplay with Hogenson and s o p h o m o r e Reese Costly to put the score at 4-1 before the period was out.
Early in the 2nd, Thorson scored and got a – is it safe to say SIGNATURE? – hat trick. Hoff and Stauber assisted on the feat. The team unfortunately would give up a shortie and an even strength goal to bring the game into a 2 goal lead. Costley would regain the 3 goal lead with an unassisted goal before Pine City would rally another goal before the end of the 3nd.
The final goal of the evening came from Stauber’s stick, unassisted, and the Dragons were once again slayed with a final score of 7-4. Lindgren stopped 11 of 15 goals while North Shore threw 29 shots on net throughout the game.
The girls faced off against Cloquet/Esko/ Carlton on January 27th, hoping to repeat their December 3rd victory at the Cloquet Area Recreation Center, where they secured a 5-1 win. Unfortunately, this time, they fell short.
The game’s only goal came in the second period, scored by Cloquet/Esko/ Carlton. Despite a strong offensive effort with 29 shots on goal, the Storm couldn’t find the back of the net. Meanwhile, the Storm’s defense stood strong, limiting the Lumberjacks to just 14 shots on goal against Harrison in the net.
