The Raiders entered the week 9-6 with games against the bottom two teams in the Metro East Conference, the co-op of St. Paul/Two Rivers (SPTR) (4-13) and Simley (8-9) and things did not go as planned for Hastings. Against the Riveters, Hastings fell 1-2 extending their losing streak to four games. The game against the Spartans was another goalie clinic put on by Victoria Steinke and Sydney Ries. The two combined for 73 shots on goal and a shutout tie in overtime. A tie is not how a team wants to break a losing streak, but the streak was broken none the less and now Hastings looks to get back on track with just eight games left in the regular season.
Against the Riveters
The two teams have historically been fairly evenly matched, and this season is no different. The meetings they have had are always fun with a lot of high energy action and they often end in close scores or even overtime games. SPTR jumped out to the early lead scoring 2:10 into the first period and it took Hastings until 2:35 left in the second to tie things up. Raider newcomers, eighth grader Haley Siebenaler connected with ninth grader Anni Schriefer who hit the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. The celebration was short lived with the Riveters taking the lead for good 11 seconds later.
In the loss, both teams had 29 shots on goal, Steinke stopped 27 of the shots she faced for a .931 save percentage. The big difference in the game was the penalties. Hastings played undisciplined hockey logging 12 penalty minutes on six infractions compared to the Riveters four minutes on two infractions. The extra defensive time spent short a player wears on a team not just at that time in the game, but also for the season. Hastings has seen 41 powerplays this season compared to 53 short handed scenarios. The good news is the Raiders penalty kill is 90.6 percent for the season.
Against Simley
The game against Simley was equally as impressive energy wise with a lot of puck movement and offensive scoring chances. Hastings outshot Simley 43-30 but with both goalies on fire, no one was able to sneak a puck across the crease to earn a victory for their team even with the extra period.
As noted in the opening of the story, both Steinke for Hastings and Ries for Inver Grove put on a goalie clinic, and they are fun to watch. They did the same thing back on Dec. 5 when the two faced 25 and 35 shots respectively. Hastings won that contest 1-0.
Penalties were much closer this game, Hastings had eight minutes on four infractions while Simley had six minutes on three infractions. Looking at the penalties called, five of them were checking or roughing type penalties which reinforces the high energy and aggressive play these two execute when they face each other.
Up Next
As the regular season winds down the girls travelled to Farmington on Jan. 14, we will have that recap next week. Your next chance to see them in action is in Apple Valley on Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. They travel again on Jan. 17, this time to Hudson for a 7:00 puck drop. They return home for South St. Paul on Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. for on of their last two home games.