The trip for sections was to Rosemount. Hastings was the fifth seed facing the fourth-seeded Irish. Hastings entered the contest at 13-12, winning only one of their last five games. Rosemount finished the season 11-9-5 having closed their last five games 1-1-3, so both teams were looking to right the proverbial ship.
The first period was well fought by both teams even with Rosemount outshooting the Raiders 10-3. Junior goalie Victoria Steinke, as she had been all season, was superb in net for the Raiders, solidifying her bid for any available conference awards. The Raider defense was great in front of Steinke keeping the shots from Rosemount at only 10 despite the Irish’s best effort. 200 feet the other way, Hastings was only able to muster three shots on the Irish before the period ended tied at zero.
The second period started with much of the same, a flurry of shots from Rosemount and Hastings doing their best to fend them off. Steinke did her best to keep pace with the Irish, but with each rebound, Rosemount inched closer to scoring. At 6:33 into the second, the first goal found its way in, a third rebound that was unable to be cleared by the Raider defense, something they had done well in the first period. Rosemount scored two more times, each on second or third chances in front of the goal.
The second period felt as if it had been troublesome for Hastings in their losses for most of the season. What is not clear is why. The biggest difference for the second period is the long line changes which can change the rhythm of the skaters. Whatever the reason, the game entered the third period with Rosemount up 3-0 and they added an insurance goal in the third to go up 4-0, which is where the game finished.
Overall, Rosemount outshot Hastings 39-15. By stopping 35-of-39 shots she faced, Steinke finished the game with a .897 save percentage. Statistically, the strangest piece of the game was the lack of penalties. There were several calls both ways that were completely missed or ignored by the officials, as the saying goes, they were letting them play the game. The one penalty of the game was a hooking penalty late in the third on Hastings and the Raiders successfully killed that penalty.
The Raiders finished the season with 13 wins and 13 losses. Jade Schauer and Addie Seleski finished the season tied in the points lead with 20 points. They both also finished tied for the assists lead with 13. Lauren Muhl finished the season as the Raiders' leading scorer with eight goals. Five Raiders finished tied for the second most goals with seven. Schauer, Seleski, Grace Petrich, Olyvia Erickson and Autumn Burt. Steinke played 1,284 minutes of the Raiders season in net with Addison Lanning logging 38 minutes in relief. Steinke faced 731 shots stopping 672 for 2.34 goals against average with a .919 save percentage. Lanning faced 13 shots, stopping 12 for a .923 save percentage.
Hastings loses a total of nine seniors from the varsity roster: Autumn Burt, Madyn Hanson, Ava Hoffman, Emily Thuet, Brooke Townsend, Gabi McDowell, Kyra Erickson, Maddy Schuster, and Bree Balster. All of us at the Journal wish these wonderful young ladies the best in their future endeavors and thank them for their support throughout the past seasons.
