19U headed to State as No. 2 seed
Jarrett Wold
Guest Columnist
The final weekend of the regular season was last weekend for the girls. They made the trip to Sidney to play the Rangers on Friday night.
The Oilers came out with hot sticks in the first. The shots on goal were almost even, but the Oilers found the back of the net. Less than a minute in, the Oilers took the lead. Eastyn Wold pressured the Ranger defense causing a loose puck, Aiden Olson was right there to tap it back to Eastyn who made the last defender miss and beat the goalie five hole. A blocked shot by Eastyn was picked up by Emree at the Oiler blue line, Emree wasted no time getting the puck back to Eastyn. She made 1 player miss and won the race to the net and beat the goalie high glove side.
The third Oiler goal was set up by some great passing by the Oilers. Eastyn cycled it to Kaylor Knutson, who found Maddie Greenhaw at the point, Maddie’s shot was deflected right to Eastyn’s stick, and she beat the goalie for her hat trick, low stick side. Faceoffs are so important. Emree pushed the puck forward to Knutson (Knut). Knut chipped it forward to Eastyn who beat the goalie low stick side again to give the Oilers a 4-0 after the first. Sierra Blegen made several key saves in the first to keep the Rangers out of the net.
After Sidney scored the first goal of the second, the Oilers got the offense rolling again. Aiden capitalized on the Ranger aggression and her stick handling, making 2 Rangers miss before smoking a shot past the goalie’s glove. It took the Oilers only 11 more seconds to score again. Knut caused a turnover after the draw and pushed the puck ahead to Eastyn, the defender attacked her, so she made an easy pass to Emree skating through the middle. Emree made 1 quick deke and beat the goalie low stick side. Eastyn would score the last goal of the game, picking up a loose puck in the d-zone and going all the way to the net and finished high glove side.
Blegen was solid between the pipes saving 31 shots.
Sunday featured Girls Hockey Day in Watford City. All girl hockey players were involved in the celebration as the girls took on the top team in the league, Hazen-Beulah (HB).
The Oilers struck first after Eastyn picked up a nice pass off the boards from Greenhaw, she beat the defense wide and the goalie high glove. HB would answer quickly to tie the game. Berkley Wirtz’ forecheck helped get the Oilers back on top. She caused a turnover, chipped it to Bria Samuelson, who tipped it right to Aiden who made a slick move and buried the puck. Hazen would tie it again. The game winner came on a really long shot by Lyrik Olson. The puck was going to the net slow with Eastyn gaining every step, the goalie lost the puck with the pressure and it slid in between her legs.
The third period would be scoreless thanks to a few highlight reel saves by Blegen who had 36 saves in the win.
The win cements the Oilers as the No. 2 seed in this weekend’s State Tournament in Minot. The girls play 2 pool format games on Friday vs. Sidney, 9 a.m., and Crosby, 4:30 p.m. Those games decide who plays in the semi-finals Saturday evening.
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