The Raiders boys hockey team has had a tough go of things the last few weeks with their last win coming on Jan. 27, a difficult, overtime win against the 5-18 Apple Valley/Burnsville Eagles. Hastings entered the week 13-8 with two games scheduled. First up was a trip to Chisago Lakes (11-12-1) and then another road game to Mahtomedi (12-11).
At Chisago Lakes, the Raiders took the lead at 6:58 in the first period. Luke Wahlstrom connected with Will Savage who gave Hastings their first goal. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Chisago Lakes managed two goals and they took the 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
The second period saw no goal action despite a total of 20 shots from both teams, but 1:01 into the third changed all of that. Connor Zgoda buried a power play shot unassisted to tie the game. Nine minutes later, Chisago Lakes made things interesting, taking the 3-2 lead. Hastings was not done. With 1:28 left in the third, Wahlstrom scored his first goal of the game, a powerplay goal with the help of Zgoda and Blake Vandehoef, tying the game.
The Wahlstrom goal sent the game into overtime but neither team was able to push one past the keepers and the game finished in a tie. Overall, Hastings had 44 shots on goal to Chisago’s 27. Brooks Smyrski finished the night with an .889 save percentage. Hastings had one penalty for two minutes and Chisago had three infractions for six minutes. Hastings scored on 2-of-3 powerplays while Chisago capitalized on their one opportunity.
The game against Mahtomedi did not go so well for Hastings. After outshooting Chisago Lakes, the roles were reversed at Mahtomedi. The Zephyrs outshot Hastings 40-21 and outscored them 5-0. It was a tough night to be a Raider. Smyrski was again in net and there was not a lot he could do to save the game having faced 40 shots. He finished the game with a .875 save percentage. One bright spot for Hastings was their penalty kill stopped both of their penalties, but they were also unable to score on four powerplays.
The Raiders have two regular season games left, Feb. 15 against South St. Paul at 7:00 p.m. then on Feb 17 at 2:00 p.m. against Tartan. The section seeding should happen the next day and then it’s off to sections.
