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The Raiders girls hockey team entered the section playoffs as the eight seed and they travelled to Apple Valley to take on the number one seeded Eagles on Wednesday night, February 8th. The trip west did not go as the Raiders had hoped it would and they lost 4-1.

Apple Valley won the opening faceoff, flew down the ice on the unsuspecting Raiders and scored on their first rush to the goal, popping the puck over the goalie’s shoulder for the 1-0 lead just 15 seconds into the game.

Apple Valley has the fifth best scorer in the state this year in sophomore Makayla Moran. Makayla’s older sister Marie is 46th in goals scored and fifth in assists, with many of those assists going to her younger sister. They both played a part in the first goal of the game, assisting Avery Ryan. At the end of the first, Apple Valley had clear control of the game, keeping the puck in the Raider defensive zone for most of the period where they outshot Hastings 13-3.

The Raiders, including Balster settled down nicely and the game stayed 1-0 for the next 29:28 when Makayla Moran scored her first goal for Apple Valley and the Raiders were down 2-0 with 4:17 left to go in the second period. Hastings had a little better offensive presence in this period, and they slowed down the shooting of Apple Valley but still trailed in shots on goal 7-9 and more importantly, they trailed 2-0 where it matters most.

In the third, the Eagles went to the penalty box as the game approached the halfway point in the period and Hastings was finally able to mount some true offensive pressure. The Raiders did struggle, as they have all year, at keeping the puck in their possession and in the offensive end of the ice on their third powerplay of the game, but they only needed one opening to make the penalty hurt the Eagles. Kylie Gruden scored the lone Raider goal at the 7:40 mark of the third to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Makayla Berquist and Lauren Muhl both assisted on the goal. With the Raiders breaking the shutout for former Raider Taylor Cozy, the on-ice reaction initially seemed to favor the Raiders. That momentum shift quickly flipped back to Apple Valley as the Raider goal seemed to enrage the Eagles. That is when Makayla Moran took over, scoring two more goals, including one empty net goal to earn the hat trick. Hastings fell 4-1 and their season is over.

Overall, Hastings had 16 shots on goal to Apple Valley’s 38 shots. Hastings had one trip to the penalty box for two minutes and Apple Valley went three times for six minutes. Hastings did capitalize on one powerplay opportunity. Balster faced 37 of the 38 shots, stopping 34 for a .919 save percentage. She recovered well after the first quick goal and stopped a lot of shots, especially on the blocker side. The Raider skaters did a nice job helping Balster by eliminating many rebound chances, it was only of the best overall efforts of the year by the Raiders.

The Raiders finished 9-17 this season under new head coach Jim Joseph. Joseph came into the program new to every athlete and every athlete new to him. After one season of building relationships with the players and getting to know their strengths and weaknesses, next season should be a fun one with higher expectations. He was even seen at youth games and practices, which can be a huge part of the success of the program at the later levels.

The first year of a new head coach seems to be the most unfair to the seniors and Hastings will lose 13 to graduation this year. It is unfair because the new coach is starting at zero and has to go through all of the getting to know the kids and how they operate before he or she can implement their full game plan. Year two, there is much less of the getting to know you phase and more of the “here is how I know you fit in to this kind of game plan” and working on the skills needed to crush it in the game plan. Hopefully, Joseph is here for a long time which would bode well for the success of the program.

With the season ending, there needs to be one more part of the Raider girl’s hockey team that needs to be highlighted, and it is a huge part, Mr. Jim Happe. Happe has been employed by the Hastings Bus company since 1996 and has been the primary driver for the Raider girl’s hockey team since he joined the company. Fans at the rink and parents all know Happe because when he takes the girls to the away games, he is one of the first fans in the stands to cheer on his Raiders and he stays right to the end of the game. He always has the bus warm and is ready to lift the girls’ spirits after a loss or cheer with them after a win. He rarely misses a girl’s game, home or away and it is clear in his 27 years of driving Raider athletes he treats these kids like his own. Sadly, Happe has opted to retire after this year. You won’t have the chance to see him at the rink again this year, but there is one more season he is going to drive, softball. You may catch him driving other charters for things between now and then, and if you do, congratulate him on a great 27-year career and thank him for taking such good care of our Raiders. Enjoy your retirement, Happe! You will be missed.

Long t ime Raider bus driver Jim Happe has been the primary bus driver for girls hockey and a few other sports since he joined Hastings Bus Company in 1996. Happe is one of the Raider G irls Hockey programs biggest fans and he is retiring after the school year is over. When the players found out about his retirement decision, there were a lot of disappointed kids.Picture submitted.

The girls celebrated a powerplay goal by Kylie Gruden in the third period. The goal brought the Raiders within one with 9:20 left in the game. Photo by Bruce Karnick