By Abby Painovich
The Dragons’ boys hockey team packed up their gear, loaded the bus and rode in anticipation to the Chisago Lakes Ice Arena where they would face the North Branch Vikings in the semi-final round of playoffs. The Vikings came out strong, scoring a goal less than two minutes into the game to which the Dragons responded with a goal not long after. The score was 1-1 going into the second period but with the Vikings dominating play, the Dragons were forced to give up two goals. They fought hard all game, causing many scoring opportunities in their favor but to no avail. With seventeen minutes left to play, the Dragons and Viking took the ice in a flurry of green and red. The Dragons, pushing hard in the third, down by two goals, were able to find the back of the net, cutting the lead to none. It was now 3-3 with both teams battling to gain the lead. It wasn’t until there was 36 seconds left in the game when the Vikings finally scored to win the game. The Vikings proved to be too much for the Dragons, forcing them into three penalty kills, which resulted in three powerplay goals for the Vikings. Although well fought and fought right to the end, the Vikings ended the Dragon’s season with a score 3-4 and a record of 21-6. The Dragons had a great playoff run and a season that would go down in the record books. Their final record, 21-6, ties the all-time Dragon Hockey record. They also finished first in the Two Rivers Conference for the third year in a row and went undefeated in their conference. Within the Pine City records, they tied the record for most wins in a season with 21, and to gain momentum heading into the playoffs, they went on a 14 game winning streak, breaking the record for the longest win streak. They were also able to beat teams that they have not been able to beat over the past ten years. Within their conference, they boasted 5 All-Conference players, 2 All-Conference Honorable Mentions, and 6 Academic All-Conference players. Losing 9 varsity players, Coach Grant Nicoll will look to his returning players “that learned from this senior group” to lead the team next season. Even though the Dragons will lose almost two lines, next year they expect to come back stronger than the season before. Coach Nicoll is looking forward to the upcoming season and expects another winning season. Regardless of the loss of numbers, they will have “15 letter winners [returning] including 5 of our 6 starting defensemen as well as our two varsity goalies. We also return 2 of our top 4 scorers,” according to Coach Nicoll. Next season the Dragons will strive to win the conference and make it to the state tournament. Congratulations to the Dragons on winning season and a special congratulations to Howard Hodena and Landon Dematti!
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