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Donovan is dynamite: Irondale sophomore scores four times in win

By by Gary Giombetti Sports Editor 11/25/2011, 9:07am CST

Donovan is dynamite: Irondale sophomore scores four times in win

HIBBING - The Hibbing/Chisholm High School girls hockey team knew they had to slow down Samantha Donovan or it was going to be a long night.

The Bluejackets will probably see the Irondale sophomore in their dreams.

Donovan scored four goals as the Knights cruised to a 7-0 high school girls hockey victory over the Bluejackets Friday at the Hibbing Memorial Arena.

Hibbing/Chisholm coach Pete Hyduke biggest concern was Donovan, and that was his main talking point prior to the game.

"They have a couple of bonafide scorers, and she's a tremendous player," Hyduke said. "We had to say inside of her and take her away. We didn't do that.

"We weren't disciplined enough. We looked like a team at the beginning of the year with a mixed lineup. I know where we can get, and I know what this team has. We have to get them there. That's our job."

Actually, the Bluejackets came out storming the Irondale defensive zone to start the game, which made the Knights take a penalty and putting Hibbing/Chisholm on the power.

"We played in spurts," Hyduke said. "I really loved what we were doing, but we weren't consistent enough throughout the entire game."

The Bluejackets did put some pressure on during the man advantage, then a break down in their defensive zone put the puck on the stick of Donovan.

She broke in alone and scored short-handed at the 3:51 mark of the period and from there it was all Irondale.

"Every break down we had, every mistake that we made with the skill Irondale had, they made us pay for it every time," Hyduke said. "That goal changed the complexion of the game.

"You have to put that stuff behind you. You can't dwell on the things that happened. Once it happens it's over. You have to look forward. That's what we preached the whole game."

Hibbing/Chisholm didn't get the puck into the Knights' end of the ice for almost seven minutes following that goal.

That Irondale pressure led to another goal at the 8:19 mark of the period on a goal by Maddie Rog.

The Bluejackets finally put some pressure on during the last three minutes of the first period, but they couldn't beat Irondale goalie Gillian McDonald.

"That was a good spurt, then we started the second period well," Hyduke said. "We were doing some good things, then we took some penalties."

The Knights would score two straight power play goals, both by Donovan at the 10:15 and 13:00-minute marks of the period.

Rog would score at 15:32 to make it 5-0 after 34 minutes of play.

"They were extremely skilled, and they made all of their shots count," Hyduke said. "That took us right out of the game there."

Rog would score at 3:58 of the third period to put the game into running time, then Donovan notched her fourth goal at 14:31 to end the scoring.

"At times, we did enough good things to know that we have something to build with," Hyduke said. "We'll move forward."

Hibbing/Chisholm goaltender Dory Johnson had 28 saves. McDonald finished with 13 stops.

Irondale 2 3 2 - 7

H/C 0 0 0 - 0

First Period - 1. I, Samantha Donovan, sh, 3:51; 2. I, Maddie Rog (Sena Hanson), 8:19.

Second Period - 3. I, Donovan (Maddie Hentges), pp, 10:15; 4. I, Donovan (Hentges, Lindsey Kueng), pp, 13:00; 5. I, Rog, 15:32.

Third Period - 6. I, Rog (Alex Toupal), 3:58; 7. I, Donovan, 14:31.

Goalie Saves - Irondale, Gillian McDonald 5-6-2-13; Hibbing/Chisholm, Dory Johnson 8-12-8-28.

Penalties - Irondale 3-6; Hibbing/Chisholm 4-8.

Knights off to a quick start

By Brian Meyers sports writer 11/25/2011, 7:14am CST

Knights off to a quick start

Knights off to a quick start

Brian Meyers
sports writer

The Irondale High School girls hockey team got its season off to a solid start last week with three road victories. The Knights dispatched Henry Sibley, Hibbing/Chisholm and Grand Rapids/Greenway with a combination of solid defense and plenty of offense.

Irondale head coach Tom Rodefeld has to be happy with his team's defense through the first three games. The Knights surrendered only four goals last week as senior goaltender Gillian McDonald and senior captains and defenders Megan Gjere and Rachel DeKanick led the defensive effort.

McDonald stopped 38 of the 42 shots she faced last week while playing every minute of all three games.

"It's this idea of keep them at zero as long as you can and take advantage," Rodefeld said following the Sibley game. "The young forwards are coming along. This is not the days of 8-7. We would love a 1-0, defensive struggle."

Offensively, sophomore forward Samantha Donovan has stepped out from the shadow of former Irondale standout Meghan Lorence, who is now a member of the University of Minnesota women's hockey team. Lorence left the Knights as the program's all-time leading scorer and it appears Donovan is ready to take a run at that record. She began the season seventh on Irondale's all-time scoring list.

Through three games, Donovan has 10 goals and 12 total points. She got the season off to a fast start by scoring all four of Irondale's goals against Henry Sibley on Nov. 15 and apparently enjoyed it so much she put up four more last Friday against Hibbing/Chisholm in Irondale's 7-0 victory.

Donovan collected four more points the next afternoon against Grand Rapids/Greenway and she scored twice and added a pair of assists.

"It's a different team, that's for sure," said Rodefeld. "The young forwards are really buying into that defense-first system that's created some of those transitions that Sam's been able to take advantage of."

Irondale will try to keep things rolling Friday, when the Knights host their third-annual Thanksgiving weekend tournament. The two-day, four-team tournament at the Super Rink in Blaine features Irondale versus Moose Lake Area at 5:30 p.m. and Mounds View against Coon Rapids at 8 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday, Friday's losing teams battle for third place at 5:30 p.m. while the winners hit the ice in the championship game at 8 p.m.

Brian Meyers can be reached at bmeyers@lillienews.com.

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