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Raider Girls Hockey (31) had their high flying and high scoring quick start grounded by the Fergus Falls Otters (3-1) to finish out the last week and the two-day long-distance road trip. The first game of the week was at Red Wing (04), game two was at Detroit Lakes (0-4) and the final game was at Fergus Falls (31).

The first three games for Hastings went the way of the Raiders in a big way with the team winning by scores of 5-0, 14-0 and 13-0. Yes, you read that right. Hastings outscored their first three opponents 32-0 through a combination of solid goalkeeping by both Alexis Steinke and Bree Balster, solid defense and aggressiveness in front of the net getting second and third shots.

Head Coach Jim Joseph has asked the girls to create chaos in front of the net on offense and they have succeeded in that for the first three games, outshooting opponents 164-36. For every one shot from an opponent, Hastings has made nearly five shots against.

Against Red Wing on Nov. 15, Hastings plastered the young Wingers goalie with 59 shots total. 49 came in the first two periods. With the Raiders having an 11-0 lead after two periods, Coach Joseph was asked about keeping the game respectful while keeping the kids focused and maintaining that scoring mentality.

“About halfway through the second, I started telling the girls to work on our power play plays,” said Joseph. “The plays that focus on a lot of puck movement with calculated shots. They had great puck movement, and you should notice that most of our goals have multiple assists listed.”

The importance of the puck movement is not only development of the player’s skills on offense, but also forcing the players to hold onto the puck, eating up more of the clock. Hastings put only 10 shots on goal in the third stanza compared to 22 in the first and 27 in the second.

Hastings also had two penalties for four minutes. Red Wing played a clean game regarding penalties.

Balster had her first official start in goal against Red Wing and kept 14 shots from the Wingers out of the net. Balster played a clean game, shaking off the early season rust and settling in nicely.

The Raiders then took the long, overnight road trip to Detroit Lakes on Nov. 17 to take on two very tough opponents. The first game against the Lakers in Detroit Lakes was expected initially to be the most difficult game of the early season. Hastings changed that narrative early, scoring quickly and often in this game as well. The Raiders scored 4-of-24 shots in the first, 7-of-25 in the second and 2-of-10 in the third, winning 13-0. The Raiders outshot the Lakers 59 to 9.

The biggest surprise of this game was the sheer number of penalties called and there could have been more. Hastings was charged with two penalties for a total of four minutes. On the other hand, Detroit Lakes had nine penalties for 21 minutes. Those 21 minutes did include a five-minute major, but did not include a 10-minute game misconduct that was tacked on to that major penalty.

The Raiders responded properly to a team that was clearly playing less than a clean game. They responded by scoring. They didn’t retaliate physically with cheap shots; they kept scoring, frustrating the Lakers defense and goalie. That kind of frustration can affect a team for more than one game.

Defensively, Steinke kept all nine shots out of the net and earned her second straight shutout and the third straight for the Raiders on the season. Steinke also did a great job of communicating to her skaters to facilitate the setup on the offensive side of the rink.

The final game of the week occurred on Saturday the 19th against the Fergus Falls Otters. Hastings entered the game undefeated, and the Otters came in at 21. Fergus Falls scored in each of the three periods to win 3-0. Two of their goals were on the powerplay.

Hastings had two penalties for four minutes. Fergus Falls had two penalties for 17 minutes and the second five-minute major with a 10minute game misconduct the Raiders have seen in two days.

The Raiders had plenty of chances to score against the Otters, but the puck luck was not on their side. The Otter goalie made many good initial saves, and the Raiders subsequent shots were often stopped by luck with the keeper often being out of position to make the saves. The opposite was true on the other end of the rink. Balster made many of the initial saves and the rebounds took Otter favorable bounces to then be put in the back of the Raider net. Hastings actually outshot Fergus Falls 22-21 in the 3-0 loss.

The loss at Fergus Falls will give the Raider coaches areas of opportunity for the upcoming practice before they host the East Ridge Raptors on Nov. 22.

On the season, the most remarkable stat after four games is of 15 Raider skaters, all 15 have contributed to offensive points. Kyra Erickson leads the Raiders for points with a total of 11 (2 goals, 9 assists).

The Raider goalies are led by Alexis Steinke 22 shots on goal with 22 saves, 0.00 goals against average and a 100.0 save percentage. Bree Balster is right behind her with 35 shots on goal with 32 saves, 1.50 goals against average and a 91.4 save percentage.

With the Thanksgiving holiday, the next chance to catch Hastings in action is Nov. 26 when they host the Duluth Northern Stars at 2:00. Hopkins comes to town on Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Sophomore forward Jade Schauer scored three times against Red Wing enroute to a 14-0 Raider win. Schauer has four goals and four assists in four games for the Raiders. Photo by Bruce Karnick