The Eagles came to town on Nov. 28 and gave the Raiders their second loss in the young season, 5-1. The Raiders then returned the favor at Visitation on Dec. 1, thumping the Blaze 7-1.

The game against Apple Valley started out with a goal by the Eagles, 3:06 into the first period. Hastings tied the game 1:18 later when Ava Hoffman and Addie Seleski connected with Lauren Muhl.

That is when Apple Valley’s leading scorer and a top twenty scorer in the state for 2022, Makayla Moran, continued her scoring dominance with less than three minutes remaining in the first period. Moran ultimately ended up with the hat trick leading the Eagles to a 5-1 win.

Hastings did a great job not getting in trouble on the ice and was only whistled for one penalty for two minutes. Apple Valley on the other hand had six minutes on three infractions. Neither team was able to convert on their powerplay opportunities.

Victoria Steinke faced 35 shots in goal for Hastings, stopping 30 of them for a .882 save percentage while Eleanor Carlson saw only 24 shots, saving 23 for a .958 save percentage.

The trip to Mendota Heights was one of those trips that should have given the girls a bit of a boost entering the bulk of their season. Visitation has had a rough start to the year at 0-8 heading into the tilt with Hastings. Visitation has been averaging one goal per game offensively and allowing 7.44 goals per game defensively.

The game started rather slow with no goals in the first period and 52 seconds into the second period, the floodgates opened for Hastings. The Raiders scored five goals in the second. They added two more in the third before Visitation scored their only goal on a late power play.

Here is the scoring summary:

Madyn Hanson – short-handed – assisted by Seleski

Grace Petrich – powerplay – assisted by Olyvia Erickson

Haley Siebenaler – even strength – assisted by Kacey Plank

Petrich - even strength - assisted by Seleski and Muhl

Petrich – hat trick – power play – assisted by Autumn Burt and Erickson

Hoffman – even strength – assisted by Maddy Schuster and Sophie Thorkelson

Muhl – even strength - assisted by Thorkelson and Gabi McDowell

Hastings went to the penalty box three times for six minutes and Visitation had 12 minutes on six infractions. Hastings scored on two of the six player advantages and Visitation scored on one of their three.

Steinke saw 18 shots on goal stopping 17 for the .944 save percentage. With the six-goal lead Steinke was given a well-deserved break with just under five minutes remaining. Addison Lanning finished the game seeing one shot. Visitation’s Cadence Cooper saw 43 shots stopping 36 for .837 save percentage.

The next three games for the Raiders are on the road. Dec. 6 at West St. Paul Arena against Two Rivers / St. Paul at 7:00 p.m. Then Dec. 9 at 3:00 at White Bear Lake, then back to a 7:00 p.m. puck drop at Tartan on Dec. 12. The next home game is Dec. 15 against South St. Paul at 7:00 p.m.