By Nick Gerhardt
Ten different players scored Thursday for Northfield in a 14-0 blowout victory over Austin at Northfield Ice Arena.
A total of 14 players had a point in the game with junior forward Ayla Puppe leading the way with three goals and two assists. Senior forward Megan Synder had two goals and junior forward Isabelle Stephes scored twice and assisted on a goal. Junior defender Grace McCoshen had a goal and two assists for a three-point night. Others who scored goals included: ninth-grade forward Ashlyn Paukert, eighth-grade forward Emma Peroutka, sophomore forward Emily Beaham, ninth-grade defender Mia Miller, ninth-grade defender Eloise DeBus and sophomore forward Oliva Rasmussen, who opened the scoring with a goal 3 minutes, 14 seconds into the game for her first goal of the season.
The Class 2A No. 15-ranked Raiders (7-3, 4-0 Big 9) grabbed an 8-0 lead after the first period where they outshot the Packers (0-7, 0-4 Big 9) 20-1. Northfield added five more goals in the second period and McCoshen netted the last goal of the game with about five minutes left to play. Northfield finished with 44 shots on goal and held Austin to five for the game.
Sophomore goaltender Macy Mueller picked up her fourth shutout of the season and her third straight as the Raiders have headed into conference play.
In the past three games, Northfield has outscored conference opponents 35-0. In the past four games that figure rises to 41-3.
The Raiders have won six of their last seven games and will take on Class 2A No. 12-ranked Lakeville North (8-2) in a big section contest Tuesday at Northfield Ice Arena. The Panthers defeated rival and Class 2A No. 10-ranked Lakeville South 4-0 Thursday in a section matchup that gave the Cougars their first loss of the season.