Austin Packers girls hockey team downed by Winona 4-1 Tuesday evening

The Austin Packers girls hockey team was looking to get back on the winning track at Bud King Ice Arena in Winona Tuesday evening in a Big 9 Conference and Section 1A matchup with the Winhawks, and it was the Packers falling victim to a four-goal outburst from Winona in the third period in a 4-1 loss.

After a scoreless first period, Maci Talamantes gave Austin a 1-0 lead with only :25 seconds left in the second period, with assists to Sara Wangen and Kate Fox, but Winona tied the game with a power-play goal from junior forward Avery Engbrecht at 2:19 of the third period.  The Winhawks tallied what proved to be the winning goal just over a minute later when Briar Rouleau scored at 3:32, and Kasja Kovala provided some insurance at 4:51 of the period to make the score 3-1.  Eighth-grade forward Addison Burns then notched a short-handed, empty-net goal at 15:20 for the 4-1 final.

Austin outshot Winona 25-18 for the game, and Packer netminder Chloe Schaal turned away 14 of the 17 shots she faced, while Winhawks goalie Aliya Gricius stopped 24 of the 25 shots she faced to earn the win between the pipes.  Austin was whistled for six penalties for 12 minutes, while Winona was called for eight penalties for 19 minutes, and the Packers were 0 for 8 on the power play, while the Winhawks were 1 for 6.

With the loss, Austin is now 2-19-0 on the season, and the Packers will wind up the regular season at home Thursday night with a Big 9 Conference matchup with Red Wing, and you’ll hear the game on AM 1480 KAUS, myaustinminnesota.com and the I Heart Radio and radio.com apps, with the pre-game show from Riverside Arena getting underway at 7:00 p.m., with face-off scheduled for 7:15 p.m.