Girls’ hockey takes two of three

It took the best team in Minnesota to do it, but the Warroad Warriors beat the Packer girls hockey team 3-0 on Friday to hand the Packers their first loss of the season.
Fortunately, the girls still picked up two victories last week, beating Fargo South 6-2 on Tuesday and Devils Lake 9-0 on Thursday for their 15th and 16th wins, respectively.
Tuesday’s game saw senior forward Hayley Walsh score two goals and an assist to lead the team and bring her yearly points total to 61.
In Thursday’s game, junior forward Kelly Krahn scored four goals and two assists, and Walsh brought her total to 67 with a goal and five assists.
The next day, Warroad proved too much for the Packers.
“I think they were surprised by the speed of the game,” head coach Pat Johnson said. “We didn’t do the things necessary to compete.”
Johnson explained the team’s need to play strong teams like Warroad to bring out the best in his team.
“We have a tendency of playing down early, but we also have the ability to play at a higher level,” Johnson said. “That’s why we go play games like Warroad. We have to come out harder at the start of games, and I expect them to get better at that.”
The first-place Packers have three road games in the next week. They head to Williston on Friday for a 7 p.m. game before facing Minot on Saturday at 2 p.m. They will then head to Grand Forks on Tuesday to face the KnightRiders at 7 p.m.