The Austin boys hockey team executed its game-plan to a T and came out of Winona with a commanding 7-2 win on Tuesday.

Wednesday, December 08, 1999

The Austin boys hockey team executed its game-plan to a T and came out of Winona with a commanding 7-2 win on Tuesday.

"We played very well," Austin coach Denny Laumeyer said. "It’s so hard to play there, our goal was to get an early lead. To come out of the first period up 3-1 was huge."

Austin got goals from Chris Lynch, Josh Hansen and Asham Bell in the first period. Bell scored his second goal in a four-goal Austin outburst in the second period. Bell’s linemate Nick Bowe also scored in the second period. Andy Klapperick and Nate Hansen capped the Austin scoring.

Winona, which finished third in the Big Nine last season, was frustrated all game.

Austin’s first line of Bell, Bowe and center David Lorenzen outplayed its counterpart, scoring three times to go with their stifling forechecking.

"Winona’s first line is a real solid line," Laumeyer said, "but our forechecking took their offense away."

Bell, a junior, scored twice for the second straight game, while Lorenzen’s three assists matched his output in the opener against New Ulm.

While Austin got off 34 shots, Packer goalie Kyle Olson made 24 saves.

"He came up with five or six big saves and that took something out of them," said Laumeyer, whose team improved to 2-0. "To pick up two points over there is a really big win for us.

"We just played well as a five-man unit on the ice. He were physical and attacked their defense."