Rochester John Marshall High School Athletics

The scoreboard said Rochester John Marshall was 10 goals better than Rochester Century during the regular season.

But the Century players realized Monday that the regular-season scoreboard didn't matter.

The Panthers played one of their best games of the season with their season on the line and pulled out a 2-1 victory against JM in the first round of the Section One, Class AA girls hockey playoffs at the Rochester Recreation Center.

Rochester John Marshall fell behind early and couldn't recover in a 6-0 regular-season ending Big Nine Conference girls hockey loss against Owatonna at Four Seasons Centre on Thursday.

Margo Achterkirch and Chloe Schmidt scored two goals each for the Huskies (11-5-0 Big Nine, 15-7-0 overall), and Maylynn Prokopec had three assists.

Owatonna outshot JM 31-15, including 11-1 in the first period, when the Huskies scored three times.

"We came out flat and we paid for it," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "It's not the way we wanted to end the season and go into sections. We need to get back to work and get ready to go next week."

New Prague scored four times in the first period and didn't let up en route to a 9-0 girls hockey victory against Rochester John Marshall at Graham Arena IV on Tuesday.

The Trojans (14-10-1 overall) put a damper Senior Night for JM's three senior leaders — Delaney Adams, Kaycee Neumann and Cassidy Greer.

The Trojans tacked on two goals in the second period and three in the third, and outshot JM 55-12. Cassidy Gowin made 46 saves for the Rockets (7-17-0)

"(New Prague) is the best all around team we've seen all year so far," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "We spent too much time in the box for the second straight game. The girls never quit, though. They kept working until the end. Cassidy Gowin played well. Every goal they scored was a good shot or a nice play."

Tyler McGrath made 21 saves in the win for Red Wing, and Anysia Heimer stopped 30 shots for the Rockets (5-11-0, 7-15-0).

"After the first period we settled down and played really well and played right with them," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "Anysia Heimer played probably her best game of the season. She made some really big saves to keep us in it."

Ashley Koehler scored the Rockets' lone goal, in the third period, making a nice move around a defenseman and burying a shot top-shelf.

JM (5-10-0, 7-14-0) scored once in the second period, by Cassidy Greer, and once in the third, by Ally Halverson. Cassidy Gowin made 18 saves, as the Rockets outshot the Cougars 35-26.

"The second period we let the game get away from us," Chapman said. "We stopped being aggressive in front of our own net. Mankato did a good job of blocking shots. We'll get back to work (today) and make ourselves better for our next game.

"I am really proud of the girls for never giving up and battling until the end. We could've given up after the second but we came out strong and finished hard and played well."

Cassidy Greer led the way for the Rockets; the senior forward had a hat trick and an assist. She was one of two Rockets with a four-point game; Ally Halverson had two goals and two assists. Kaycee Neumann, Delaney Adams and Lauren Hugeback had one goal apiece for the Rockets.

Morgan Sammon added two assists, while Josie Nichols and Greta Freed had one each, and Cassidy Gowin earned the victory in goal.

It was Mayo's eighth win in its last nine tries, though it was coming off a 4-2 loss to Owatonna on Friday.

"Well, we brought our legs today," Mayo coach Mike McCormack said. "It took awhile to get our forecheck moving but when it kicked in we were able to limit JM's time and space and force some turnovers."

Mayo peppered JM goalie Anysia Heimer with shots, totaling 37 of them. Maddie Lutz, Brooke Leone and Megan Adair had two goals apiece. Eryn Fjelsted had a goal and two assists.

JM's lone goal came from Ashley Koehler.

McCormack and Alexis Stich scored in the first for Austin, then Myia Hoium and McCormack scored in the second period.

JM pulled within 4-2 when Ashley Koehler scored at the 4:21 mark of the second period and Ally Halverson scored 1:09 later. But the Packers sealed the win when Hannah McMasters scored with seven minutes to go.

The Christmas break worked wonders for Rochester John Marshall.

JM entered last week's Austin Merchants Holiday Classic girls hockey tournament with two wins in its first 13 games.

Thursday night, the Rockets picked up their fourth victory in nine days, thanks in large part to a hat trick by senior forward Cassidy Greer.

JM let a two-goal lead slip away in the second period, but it responded in fine fashion, scoring the final three goals of the game for a 6-3 Big Nine Conference victory against Mankato West at Graham Arena I.

"The girls came out and played a strong game on both ends," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "It was a great win for us, big two points in the conference (standings)."

Rochester John Marshall traveled to the Austin holiday tournament this week with two victories this season. The Rockets are leaving Austin with five.

JM put together perhaps its most complete performance of the season on Friday, beating Worthington 10-2 — and outshooting it 52-21 — to finish the tournament 3-0 and share the championship with Rochester Lourdes.

Ally Halverson and Ashley Koehler each had a hat trick for JM (5-11-0 overall), while Cassidy Greer had two goals and two assists. Greta Freed had one goal and one assist, Morgan Sammon also scored one goal, and Alyssa Kang had three assists.

Anysia Heimer earned the victory in goal for JM, stopping 19 of 21 shots. Josie Nichols, Kinsey Torgrimson, Kaycee Neumann and Lauren Hugeback had one assist each.

A month ago, Rochester John Marshall was shut down in a three-goal loss against Austin.

Thursday, the Rockets turned the tables and won their second consecutive game in convincing fashion, beating the Packers 6-1 at Riverside Arena in a Austin Merchants Holiday Classic girls hockey game.

"The girls played a full game and it showed in a big way," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "We came out from the drop of the puck and played amazing.

JM's six-goal outburst was highlighted by Ashley Koehler's hat trick and a highlight-reel penalty-shot goal by Ally Halverson, who deked to her forehand side, then pulled the puck back across her body and scored with her backhand.

Greta Freed also scored twice for JM.

Rochester John Marshall scored first and had a big second period as it defeated Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 4-2 at the Austin Merchants Holiday Classic girls hockey tournament Wednesday.

Ashley Koehler scored an unassisted goal 4:21 into the game to get the Rockets off on the right foot. Litchfield tied the score 1:25 later and it was 1-1 after one period.

JM (3-11-0) broke the game open in the second. Ally Halverson scored 6:28 in, then Cassidy Greer scored the game-winning goal just less than five minutes later. Josie Nichols assisted on both goals.

Kinsey Torgrimson added another JM goal 1:13 after Greer's for a 4-1 lead. Delaney Adams earned a nice assist on the play, winning a puck battle along the boards before feeding Torgrimson.

"The score and shots don't show how this game went," Rockets coach Josh Chapman said. "The play was very even. The girls worked hard and deserved better. We outplayed them in the second and third period."

Owatonna (5-2-0 Big Nine, 7-3-0 overall) led 2-0 after one period and 4-1 after two periods.JM's goal came in the second period on a nice play off a faceoff. Ally Halverson won a draw cleanly and sent it to Greta Freed, who fired a shot past Huskies goalie Laura Ebeling on a power play.

Anysia Heimer also played well in goal for JM (2-7-0, 2-11-0), making 23 saves.

"Anysia made some huge saves," Chapman said. "I'm very proud of our effort and am very excited to see what the second half brings the girls."

Rochester John Marshall struggled to generate much offense early and it proved costly in a 7-2 Big Nine Conference girls hockey loss against Faribault on Saturday at the Rochester Recreation Center.

"We didn't show up ready to play again," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "It's hard to win games when you only show up for the last period. We hung tight in the first and had an opportunity going in to the second but just couldn't pull it together."

JM (2-6-0 Big Nine, 2-10-0 overall) scored both of its goals — by Ally Halverson and Lauren Hugeback — in the third period to pull within 5-2.

Sydney Kanstrup scored 39 seconds in the third for a 6-4 East lead. JM's Greta Freed answered less than two minutes later with her second goal of the game, but the Rockets couldn't find the equalizer.

Morgan Sammon scored her first varsity goal, while Ashley Koehler and Josie Nichols also scored for the Rockets, and Kinsey Torgrimson had two assists.

Cassidy Gowin made 29 saves for JM (2-4-0, 2-8-0), which was outshot 35-23.

"We didn't show up tonight," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "Plain and simple, we didn't come ready to play. We lost every battle in front of the net which cost us all seven goals. We didn't do our jobs. It's a very frustrating loss after how well we've been playing."

Kinsey Torgrimson scored JM's lone goal, her first varsity goal. It came on a two-on-one rush when Josie Nichols slid a pass to Torgrimson, who scored on a heavy wrist shot.

Anysia Heimer made 24 saves for the Rockets, who play host to Mankato East at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Graham Arena.

Rochester John Marshall broke through with three goals late in the second period and held off rival Rochester Century for a 4-1 Big Nine Conference girls hockey victory on Thursday at Graham Arena.

Four players scored once each for JM — and seven players had a point — which outshot Century 33-28 and earned its second consecutive victory.

JM's Josie Nichols scored the only goal in the first period, her first varsity goal.

The score remained 1-0 in the Rockets' favor until Century tied it at 1-1 with 2:20 to go in the second.

That's when JM turned on its offense. Kaycee Neumann scored 12 seconds later, the game-winning goal, giving JM a 2-1 lead. Alyssa Kang made it 3-1 just 41 seconds later — with 1:27 to go in the second — and Cassidy Greer capped the scoring with a goal with five seconds remaining in the period.

Greta Freed scored 33 seconds into the game to spark Rochester John Marshall to its best performance of the season — and its first victory — a 4-1 Big Nine Conference girls hockey victory against Albert Lea.

"The girls earned and deserved this victory," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "They've put in a lot of hard work and it finally paid off. I'm very proud of our group of girls. Everyone stepped up and did their jobs."

JM (1-3-0 Big Nine, 1-7-0 overall) led 2-0 after one period and 3-0 after two periods.

Ashley Koehler scored twice for JM, including one goal at 2:21 of the first period. Kaycee Neumann scored just 13 seconds into the second period for a 3-0 lead, then Koehler scored midway through the third for a 4-0 lead.

The Wildcats led 2-0 after one period, then scored four times in the second period to pull away. Anysia Heimer played well in goal for JM, stopping 34 shots.

Kaycee Neumann scored the Rockets' goal, with an assist from Greta Freed.

"We played really well the first period. We didn't generate a lot of offensive chances but our D zone was good," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "Greta also had a very strong game."

Rochester John Marshall scored first, but Austin responded with the rest of the goals in a 4-1 Big Nine Conference girls hockey victory at Riverside Arena on Tuesday.

"The girls worked hard and we had plenty of opportunities," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "We need to find scoring somewhere, need to get hungrier off of the chances we get in front. It's frustrating for the girls to not get rewarded for their hard work."

Ally Halverson scored an unassisted goal for the Rockets with 1:30 to go in the opening period.

Princeton scored early and never trailed as it defeated Rochester John Marshall 9-2 in a non-conference girls hockey game Saturday at Graham Arena.

Princeton led 4-0 after one period and 7-2 after two.

The Rockets (0-5-0 overall) received second-period goals from Lauren Hugeback — her first varsity goal — and Ally Halverson, who also assisted on Hugeback's goal.

"Our defense played well, kept them to the outside and moved the puck very well," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "Josie Nichols and Greta Freed played their best games of the year so far.

"The girls played really hard," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "They never stopped working even after a couple of first-period goals we would like back."

Anysia Heimer made 22 saves for the Rockets (0-2-0, 0-4-0). Ally Halverson scored JM's goal, in the third period with assists from Kaycee Neumann and Lauren Hugeback.

"We came out in the second and had several chances that we couldn't find the back of the net on," Chapman said. "Morgan Sammon had a strong game defensively."

Kaycee Neumann scored her first goal of the season for JM on a power-play in the third period, with assists from Ally Halverson and Katherine Wheeler, who recorded her first high school point.

"Wheeler played well. She worked very hard," Chapman said.

JM received a strong effort from its line of Halverson, Kang and Ashley Koehler. They acounted for all of the Rockets' scoring and helped JM put 33 shots on goal, just one less than Mayo.

"It's a good game for us," JM coach Josh Chapman said. "The girls came out, played really hard in the last two periods. We played well enough to win, but just didn't have the bounces."

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Cassidy Greer scored the first goal of the season for JM (0-1-0). It came on a power-play at 12:05 of the second period and was assisted by Alyssa Kang.

Holy Family (1-1-0) was led by Molly Garin (four goals, three assists) and Sadie Long (three goals, two assists).

The Rockets are a first-year program, in a way, as they not part of a co-op for the first time in years, as their agreement with Lourdes came to an end after last season. JM will have a new coaching staff in place, too, as former Rochester Lourdes boys hockey assistant coach Josh Chapman has taken over. The Rockets will again be led by talented forwards such as junior Ally Halverson and senior Kaycee Neumann. JM also has some veteran defenders reutrning in freshman Greta Freed and senior captain Delaney Adams. Junior Lauren Hugeback, who played on Rochester's state tournament-qualifying U15A team last season, will also bolster the defensive corps.

"I feel one of our strengths will be our leadership from top to bottom," Chapman said. "We have a group of players who are willing to go the extra mile for each other. We have a strong returning group as well as some incoming players who will make an impact on and off the ice. The girls have been working extremely hard and are excited to have our own identity."

Read the full article in the Post Bulletin.