LITCHFIELD — The Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato girls hockey team rang in the winter season with a victory.

Hosting Minnesota River in a matchup between Section 2A teams, the Dragons emerged with the 2-0 victory in the 2021-22 season opener at the Litchfield Civic Arena.

Minnesota River is a co-op of southern Minnesota schools: St. Peter, Cleveland, Belle Plaine, Le Sueur-Henderson and Tri-City United.

After a scoreless first period, Litchfield/D-C was able to tally both its goals in the second. The first came at 7 minutes, 15 seconds while the second came at 12:38.

In net, Dragons freshman Kira Kuechle got the shutout victory over the Bulldogs. Kuechle is replacing a four-year starter in Avery Stilwell. In 2021, Stilwell had a .908 save percentage with a 4.09 goal against average and a 3-11-1 record.

Litchfield/D-C is looking to improve from its 3-12-1 record in 2020-21. The Dragons feature a young roster with just three seniors: Emily Johnson, Emmy Haataja and Adriana Iverson. Included on the Dragons’ roster are four juniors, two sophomores, six ninth-graders and two eighth-graders.

Johnson is back in the lineup after leading the Dragons with six goals last season.

Litchfield/D-C will look to keep its winning ways going on Tuesday at Princeton. The game is the start of a four-game road trip, with games against Silver Bay, Moose Lake and Prairie Centre. The Dragons won’t be back at the Litchfield Civic Center until Dec. 2 when they take on Willmar.

Litchfield/D-C 2,
Minnesota River 0

Minnesota River (0-1-0) 0 0 0 — 0

Litchfield/D-C (1-0-0) 0 2 0 — 2