'12U Rocks' is the Theme of Hockey Action
“12U rocks” is a theme of the MBA Storm 12U girls hockey team this winter, and the team truly did rock in a 9-1 victory over Park Rapids on Saturday morning, Dec. 17, on the road. “Rocked” can be understood as “ready to play,” as truly these skating athletes were smooth and determined on the ice, building cushion on the scoreboard.

The MBA offense was proficient passing the puck, and the score reflected that strong suit. Kendra Schwendemann, Celyst Evenson and Jaimie Bergerson formed a line that scored six of the team’s nine goals. On defense, Kelly Mahoney, Dani Schultz, Monica Lindblad and Lizzy Vick all impressed with their play, coaches noted, and they kept the Park Rapids skaters away from the MBA net. This group also set up the offense with some nice passes. Park Rapids only shot eight pucks at goalie Rachel Staton.

PERIOD 1
Kendra Schwendmann scored early, assisted by Celyst Evenson. This was followed by an unassisted goal by Dani Schultz, then Park Rapids followed up quickly with a goal to end the period.

PERIOD 2
Dani Schultz sent the puck into the net, this time assisted on a great pass by Cassie Johnson. Celyst Evenson scored with a nicely passed puck from the stick of Jaimie Bergerson. Jaimie then snuck in an unassisted wraparound goal with 17 seconds on the clock to end the period.

PERIOD 3
Kendra Schwendmann was on a roll and came out in the third period with three unassisted goals in a row. Cassie Johnson scored with 23 seconds left in the game with a great pass from defensive player Dani Schultz. The Park Rapids game was played during a demanding phase of the schedule, a phase that saw the MBA squad in action on the ice the day before. The December 16 action had the Storm skaters on the road against Detroit Lakes, on a night when the opponent would get the scoreboard
advantage, narrowly.

Detroit Lakes has fielded a tough team this year. But the Storm girls put up a good fight, as both the offense and defense worked hard and goalie Rachel Staton had 42 saves. Rachel has impressed with her play to date, coaches noted. The first goal by Detroit Lakes in both the first and second periods were within ten seconds of the start of the periods. Coaches commented that “take away 13 seconds and our girls would have won this game. They just caught us off guard.”

PERIOD 1
DL scored one goal, and MBA’s Dani Schultz scored a goal unassisted. There was also a penalty on DL for tripping.

PERIOD 2
DL struck with three more goals, while MBA’s Kendra Schwendmann scored with an assist from Celyst Evenson. Penalties were on DL for tripping and on MBA’s Cassie Johnson for interference.

PERIOD 3
MBA held Detroit Lakes scoreless, and Dani Schultz scored another unassisted goal. MBA was called for a tripping infraction. Following the games against Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids, the Storm 12U
unit played still another game in this short period of time, hosting Fergus Falls at the Benson Community Center on Sunday, Dec. 18. On this day the Storm was denied victory 5-1 by a very resolved Fergus Falls team. Fergus Falls truly came onto the ice wanting a win, after MBA had beaten them earlier in the season 4-2. The Fergus Falls skaters were fast and played a good game, coaches noted. Those “12U Rocks” MBA girls were ready for the challenge and did a good job holding off Fergus Falls
through the second period. “The girls played a hard game and they deserve a lot of credit,” a coach commented. “They played a lot of hockey this weekend. All in all it was a great weekend of hockey.”
The coaches treated the girls to some ice cream after the game.

PERIOD 1
MBA came out hard with the first goal which was scored by Kendra Schwendmann assisted by Celyst Evenson and Dani Schultz. The goal featured some sharp passing. Fergus Falls answered with a goal on a power play to tie the score up, just before the penalty on MBA’s Lizzy Vick was over. Lizzy got two
minutes for checking. Fergus Falls scored again before the end of the first period to make the score 2-1. Fergus Falls also got called for hooking.

PERIOD 2
Tough ‘D’ on both teams kept the score the same going into the third period.

PERIOD 3
Fergus Falls came on strong with three goals scored. The MBA 12U girls get to rest up for the holidays before heading to Fargo for a tournament. Once again they proclaim “12U rocks!”