Park girls hockey: Wolfpack’s season ends with a 3-2 loss to Apple Valley

The Park girls hockey team made it to the second round of section play after defeating Burnsville on Wednesday, Feb. 8, but fell to Apple Valley on Saturday, Feb. 11, ending the season.

The second-seeded Wolfpack, which finished with a 14-11-2 overall record and was 9-8-1 and fifth place in the 10-team Suburban East Conference, had a winning season with consistent play that contributed to the victory against Burnsville, but wasn’t enough to defeat Apple Valley.

Park senior goalie Allie Morse’s save percentage of 91.5 percent and 591 saves for the regular season earned her a place as semifinalist for the Senior Goalie of the Year award and her 23 saves against seventh-seeded Burnsville helped the ‘Pack achieve a 4-0 shutout victory in the opening round of the Section3AA tournament.

Solid play was also evident in the Pack’s offense play; they scored 77 goals this season, while their opponents were only able to make 63. Their four-goal differential in their game against Burnsville (9-12-5) exemplified Park’s ability to outscore their opponents.

In the win over the Blaze, Madison Nelson put Park on the scoreboard midway through the first period (assist Monica Martineau); Allie Thalhuber soon followed with a goal of her own (assists Alicia Wagenman and Martineau). Thalhuber scored again six minutes into the third period (assist Natacia Larson) putting the Wolfpack ahead 3-0. A goal from Mary Turitto gave them a final score of 4-0.

Unfortunately, three days later, third-seeded Apple Valley (14-12-1) proved too much for the Wolfpack. After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, Park was able to tighten the score, but it was not enough to beat the Eagles. Park’s Monica Martineau (assists Nelson and Wagenman) scored midway through the second period, putting Park on the scoreboard. Then, Anna Keys’ goal brought the score to 3-2.

The ‘Pack’s ability to come back in the game and compete after falling behind, illustrates the solid play the team has shown throughout most of the season. However, Park was unable to overcome Apple Valley’s early lead for Saturday’s game, and the game ended 3-2.

Park must now say good-bye to six seniors – Morse, Larson, team captain Catilin Quinn, Kate Loera, Thalhuber and Callie McCarthy.

On the year, Turitto, a junior, led the Wolfpack in scoring with 40 points on 24 goals and 16 assists, followed by Quinn (11 goals, 21 assists, 32 points), Thalhuber (14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points) and Keys, a sophomore. In addition to Morse, Park junior Caitlin Tate went 3-1-1 in five starts with a 2.38 goals against average and 91.8 percent save percentage.

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