Owatonna Girls Hockey Rallies in Third; Wrestlers Have One Finalist

Owatonna's girls hockey team pulled out a 4-3 win at South St. Paul on Saturday with a big third period. The OHS wrestlers finished in the middle of the pack at the Christmas Tournament.

Junior Brandon Moen was the only Owatonna wrestler to reach the finals in his bracket at the prestigious Christmas Tournament in Rochester. Moen lost a 7-3 decision to Gopher-commit senior Lucas Jeske of St. Michael-Albertville. Sophomore Peyton Robb pinned his way to the semifinals where he lost to senior Victor Gliva of Farmington. Robb lost the third-place match to sophomore Zach Smith of Prior Lake. Owatonna's Cade King started the day in the quarterfinals but settled for eighth place after suffering an injury.

The Huskies finished 16th in the team standings of the 31-team event. St. Michael-Albertville won, edging Apple Valley. Kasson-Mantorville finished third. Farmington ended up seventh, tied with Simley. Albert Lea was 17th.

Owatonna goes to the Rumble on the Red on Tuesday, December 19, in Fargo.

The No. 16A Owatonna girls hockey team traded blows with No. 14A South St. Paul and scored a 4-3 win at Doug Woog Arena. The Packers scored first and the teams traded goals after that until Owatonna netted a pair in the third period. Margo Achterkirch set up Jessica "Betty" VonRuden for each of them. Achterkirch, who earned the Kottke Jewelers' diamond player of the game award, also scored on a breakaway that tied the game at 2-2 in the second period. Owatonna's Meghan Rethemeier scored the Huskies' first goal. Net minder Laura Ebeling made several great saves, including one in the closing seconds while the Packers had a extra attacker on the ice. The game was slowed by 15 penalties, including six for body checking.

Owatonna plays in the Schwann Cup tournament in Blaine starting Tuesday, December 29.