Girls hockey team outshot 46-8, still wins 3-1 behind goalie’s stunning performance
When a hockey game concludes with a final score of 3-1, and one team outshoots its foe by a whopping 38 attempts, it’s usually pretty obvious which team is on the winning end of the scoreline.
Not when Erin O’Neil is between the pipes.
As reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Osseo Sun Post, the Hopkins (Minn.) High girls hockey team somehow topped Minnetonka (Minn.) High 3-1 on Saturday night despite being outshot by a count of 46-8.
In fact, a cursory glance at the box score makes it pretty obvious exactly how Hopkins emerged with a victory. While Minnetonka could only slip a single shot past O’Neil, Hopkins got goals from Shortie Sheran, Jillaine DeYoung and Nina Rodgers.
Hopkins’ performance in net was spectacular, yet it was hardly her first. The goalie has been the true standout in Hopkins’ 15-5-1 start, which brought the Royals closer to Minnetonka, which currently sits in the league’s top spot.
Still, even for O’Neil, Saturday’s 45-save victory was an eye popping performance.
“Today, we ran into a hot goalie,” Minnetonka head coach Eric Johnson told the Sun Post. “She did a great job of freezing rebounds, and when she didn’t, she was able to clear the puck to the corners. She deserves all the credit. Hopkins buried its chances, we didn’t. That’s hockey.
“She was good up high, good down low. O’Neil was good in our previous game with them, which we won 1-0.”
Evidently the second time around, O’Neil was even better.
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