Austin Packers girls hockey falls to Waseca 6-1 Saturday

The Austin Packers girls hockey team was back into action over the long Thanksgiving Day weekend with a non-conference matchup versus Waseca at Riverside Arena Saturday afternoon, and it was the Bluejays scoring six unanswered goals, four of them from freshman forward Maziee Storey on their way to a 6-1 win.

The Packers took a 1-0 lead only :54 seconds into the game when freshman forward Lauren Bowe scored her first goal of the season, with assists to Brenna Haedt and Peyton Squire, two returning veterans for Austin this 2023-2024 season.  Waseca’s Katlyn Schueler tied the game at one apiece after one period of play with a goal at 10:59 of the period, and Storey then tallied three straight goals for a natural hat trick at 9:28 and 14:28 of the second period, and at 3:49 of the third period to make the score 4-1.  Storey’s fouth goal of the game at 5:25 of the third pushed the Waseca lead to 5-1, and Emma Keith’s even-strength tally at 7:21 of the period accounted for the 6-1 final.

The Bluejays outshot the Packers 37-20 for the game, and Waseca was 1 for 1 on the power play, while Austin was 0 for 2.  Ilamay Draheim turned away 19 of the 20 shots she faced to earn the win between the pipes, while Chole Schaal made 31 saves in facing 37 shots for the Packers.

With the loss, Austin is now 0-3 on the young season, and the Packers skate back into action in Mankato Thursday evening versus the Scarlets of Mankato West at All Seasons Arena, with puck drop at 7:15 p.m.