Storm 12U play hard during district tournament
The MBA Storm 12U girls had the misfortune of a first game loss in the
district tournament held in Park Rapids on Feb. 18-19.

Despite that loss, the 12U team had a very hard-fought and well-played
tournament, in the view of coaches, fans and parents, and the final
place finish was sixth. This was shy of what was required to advance on,
as only the top four teams (among seven total) got the nod to climb to
regionals.

The Storm were hoping for one of those nods, but Detroit Lakes proved to
be an obstacle right at the start, as this tough foe had the winning
advantage 10-1. So the Storm had to regroup for consolation play. The
only goal that DL let by was unassisted by Dani Schultz in the second
period.

Then it was on to the second game against Park Rapids. The Storm played
with a winning flourish this time, downing Park Rapids 2-1 with the
first goal getting scored by Kendra Schwendemann, assisted by Dani
Schultz. In the second period there were no goals for either team.
The third period saw Dani Schultz score what proved to be the
game-winning goal, unassisted early in the period. Park Rapids came back
late in the period with a goal to make the score 2-1, but the Storm
defense kept the puck out of their zone to keep Park Rapids from scoring
again.

The third and most exciting game for both the players and spectators had
the MBA Storm matched against Alexandria. Fans anticipated an exciting
game as these teams proved to be closely matched during previous regular
season play.

Back when these teams had their first regular season clash, the outcome
was a tie. The Storm lost in the second matchup and won in a tournament
that the Storm hosted in early February.

Alas, the Storm couldn’t duplicate that winning form in the district
re-match, as it was Alex celebrating at game’s end, with the score 6-4
in their favor. This was anybody’s game late, and Alex was able to
celebrate only after a hard-fought triple overtime and shootout.
The first period saw only one goal scored, by Alexandria, and in the
second period the Storm came back with a goal by Dani Schultz unassisted
to get the score tied. Hailey Kotts scored next, her first goal of the
season, assisted by Dani Schultz and Jaimie Bergerson to make the score
2-1 in favor of the Storm.

The third period saw Dani Schultz score again, this time assisted by
defensemen Monica Lindblad and Kelly Mahoney, to make the score 3-1. At
this point all looked well for the Storm with only six minutes left in
the third period. But Alexandria came back with two goals to tie it up
at 3-3.

The first overtime saw the teams skate five-on-five for five minutes
with no score. In the second OT the teams skated four-on-four for five
minutes with no score.

The two quite tired teams took the ice for the third OT as this marathon
grew. Now the format was three-on-three for a ten-minute period, but
again the stalemate could not be broken!

On to the shootout: This consists of both teams choosing five shooters,
and each has a chance to shoot at the opponent’s goalie.

Alex had the first shot and scored. MBA’s Kelly Mahoney shot next and
scored to make the score 4-4. MBA’s other shootout attempts were stopped
by the Alex goalie. Alex had two more shots that scored to make it 6-4.
Coach John Schultz commented: “The MBA team never gave up. They really
fought hard and should be proud of their play. It came down to shooting
ability and practice time.

“All in all the MBA Storm has really come a long way and had a great
year! Our first-year skaters have really come a long way, and it’s fun
to see them come together as a team and do so well.”

Cutline: The MBA Storm 12U girls pose under some inspiring words and
display a banner representing their team at the close of an
excitement-filled season on the ice.