Nicole Schlenk and Cynthia Loven recorded hat tricks as East Grand Forks skated to a 10-1 victory over the Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley girls hockey team Monday night at Walker.
Schlenk opened the scoring with two goals in the first 1:55 of the game. Goals by Tiffany Hanson and Loven gave EGF a 4-0 lead after the first period as the Green Wave held a 17-5 advantage in shots on goal.
EGF held a 19-14 edge in shots in the second period as a pair of goals by Grace Beck, including a shorthanded tally, extended the lead to 6-0.
Loven scored twice to complete her hat trick and Schlenk scored to complete her hat trick in the third period. Madison McDonald also scored as the Green Wave led 10-0. Tara Johanning concluded the scoring with 16 seconds to play. Lexi Hinkley-Smith and Taylor Sagen assisted on the Panthers' lone goal of the game.
Park Rapids goalie Kylee Pachel made 35 saves as EGF, which shut out the Panthers 10-0 on Dec. 16, finished with a 45-25 advantage in shots.
EGF, which is rated No. 6 in the latest state Class A poll, improved to 5-1-1 in Section 8A games and 11-4-1 overall. Park Rapids fell to 1-7 in the section and 2-15 overall.
Warroad, the No. 1-rated team in the state, leads the section standings at 4-0-1 (12-3-2 overall) while Thief River Falls, the No. 2-rated team in the state, is 6-1 (13-1-2 overall). Detroit Lakes (3-4 in the section, 6-11 overall) and Crookston (0-6 in the section, 3-13 overall) round out the section standings.
East Grand Forks 4 2 4...10
Park Rapids 0 0 1...1
FIRST PERIOD: 1, EGF, Schlenk (Kovar), :46. 2, EGF, Schlenk, 1:55. 3, EGF, Hanson (Emery), 6:24. 4, EGF, Loven (Pesch), 7:05. Penalties: None.
SECOND PERIOD: 5, EGF, Beck (Chupka, Pesch), 10:50. 6, EGF, Beck, 13:12. Penalties: EGF 2, Park Rapids 1.
THIRD PERIOD: 7, EGF, Loven (Lubinski), :44. 8, EGF, McDonald (Beck, Estad), 4:30. 9, EGF, Schlenk, 11:51. 10, EGF, Loven (Pesch), 15:01. 1, Park Rapids, Johanning (Hinkley-Smith, Sagen), 16:44. Penalties: EGF 1, Park Rapids 0.
GOALIE SAVES: EGF (Birkholz) 5-14-5--24. Park Rapids (Pachel) 13-17-5--35.