Both Lake Region State College hockey teams played games in Sioux Falls last weekend against Augustana College. The women’s team (2-0) began its season with a pair of wins, while the men’s team (2-5) split its two games. The action came ahead of some weekend home games for both clubs.
The Royals were led by sophomore Veronica Asquith, who scored six of the women’s team’s nine goals. The contests were also the LRSC debut of the team’s new head coach, Sawyer Diseth, who was previously an assistant coach on the Devils Lake boys’ hockey team.
The LRSC women squeezed out a 4-3 win on Friday. Asquith got the scoring started in the 12th minute of the second period, assisted by Sierra Raatz. Augustana tied it during a power play early in the third period.
Asquith put LRSC back ahead, 2-1, on an unassisted goal at 12:22 in the third period. But the Vikings shot back again, tying it just over a minute later. Asquith didn’t let it stay tied for long, this time coming up with an assist to Raatz, who put the Royals ahead 3-2 only 12 seconds after Augustana knotted it back up.
With LRSC less than four minutes away from a victory, it permitted a third game-tying goal. But Asquith came up big yet again, giving the Royals the lead for good at 18:37. She was assisted by Raatz for the second time, and scored three of LRSC’s four goals in the eventual 4-3 win.
The Royals led Augustana in shots on goal, 41-21.
The win on Saturday was much more luxurious, with a 5-1 final. Asquith had three of the Royals’ goals this time, while Arianna Haraseth had two. Jaelyn Buckman played goalie for LRSC after Abby Stewart-Fromm handled duties in the first game.
Augustana struck first with a goal just over five minutes into the game. But Asquith tied it about four minutes later, and Haraseth put LRSC ahead with 1:02 left in the first period. Tatum Provencher assisted both goals.
Asquith and Haraseth each scored another goal in the second period, while the LRSC defense didn’t permit any more scores for the rest of the game. Asquith and Julia Pic were credited with assists on Haraseth’s second goal.
Asquith had an unassisted goal in the third period to put the game away for good at 5-1.
The men’s team, meanwhile, won 3-1 on Friday to end a four-game losing streak.
The Royals gave up a goal less than three minutes in to go down 1-0, but they tied it less than 30 seconds later on Brady Regner’s first goal of the season.
Kaleb Hodny gave LRSC the lead at 6:49. Tyler Kleinjan was part of a double assist on both goals. Brody Steinmetz added a goal in the latter half of the first period to make it 3-1 Royals.
The Vikings scored 11 seconds into the second period to make it a one-goal game, but that was their last score of the contest. Hodny’s second goal of the game made it 4-2 at 5:14, and neither team scored for the remainder of the second period and all of the third period.
It brought the Royals’ record, at the time, to 2-5.
But they lost the following day, getting shut out 3-0 by Augustana. They allowed one goal in each period. Goalie Rowan Cherkas still had 53 saves on the day, but LRSC took 40 unsuccessful shots on its end.