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Spartans and Raiders tie 2-2 at the Big Pumpkin

By frederick61, 10/26/13, 1:30PM CDT

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Superior’s Keelan Golat center of the picture watches his shot just beat Rosevilles goalie Kyle Roy stick save to tie the game 2-2 late in the third period in action at the Big Pumpkin tourney being played at the Bloomington Ice Garden this weekend.

Friday night at the Big Pumpkin Tourney being played at the Bloomington Ice Garden (BIG), the Superior, WI Spartans tied the Roseville, Mn Raiders.

The operative words in above sentence are the abbreviations for Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The Superior Association, despite being a Wisconsin team, has followed Minnesota Hockey rules when forming their youth teams.  By Superior doing so, their Spartan teams can compete in District 11 (along with Duluth teams, Cloquet, Proctor and Hermantown).  This year, despite being a smaller association in numbers (Superior’s population is approximately 27,000) they have formed a peewee AA and peewee A team for the second year in a row following Minnesota guidelines.

There is a simple reason for Superior following Minnesota Hockey rules when forming teams, cost.  The Superior Association is in WAHA’s Region 1 and its nearest competitor is a 150 mile round trip, most competitors are well over 200 miles.  Minnesota’s District 11 teams are a 10-20 minute drive across a bridge.

Ten gallons of gas plus an overnight stay and there goes $200 from a parent’s budget.  Multiply that by 20 and that is a cool $4000.  So they play Minnesota Hockey, but it costs them.  They can’t play in the Wisconsin State Tourneys with the same teams.

This year at the Big Pumpkin, they showed up with a veteran peewee AA team with eight returnees, but they were facing another team loaded with veterans (7) in Roseville.  The two teams battled through three 14 minute periods and ended up in a tie.  It was a good game.

The First Period

The first few minutes of the opening period set the tone for the whole game.  Superior came out and pressured the Raiders constantly deep in Roseville’s zone.  The Raiders were “Raiders”, striking on rushes often with a man advantage.  Both Roseville goals were scored off of rushes; both Spartan goals were the result of setting up in the Raider’s zone and getting the puck low.

The Spartans scored first four minutes into the period.  They had established puck control down low and were successful in moving the puck side to side before hitting a forward in front of the net.  They caught the goalie moving in the wrong direction.

Superior’s Peter Hansen put the puck in the net; his score gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead.  Xavier Patterson got the assist.

Roseville came back, skating hard after Hansen scored and pressured the Spartans in the Superior zone for the next few minutes, but couldn’t get the good shot on the net.  Gradually the Spartans took control of the game until a Superior tripping penalty put the Spartans on the penalty kill at the 6 minute mark.

Superior killed the penalty, but had to play a scrappy defense, mostly in their zone for the rest of the period.  They held on to their 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

The Second Period

The game changed at the start of the second period.  Both teams picked up the pace and started to use the wide rink to hit the passes on the far wing.  It resulted in an entertaining up and down game.

Each team would launch an attack and usually get turned by the defense, but not always.  It was Roseville that started to assert itself in the Superior zone.  Often on the simplest of plays, the Raiders would turn deadly and score.

Five minutes into the second period, Superior drew a hooking penalty.  On the power play, a hard Roseville shot from the left face off circle resulted in a nice glove save Superior’s goalie Nick Magnuson.  A Raider tried to knock the puck out of Magnuson’s glove and was quickly given a slashing penalty.  The 5-on-4 became a 4-on-4.

When Superior picked up a penalty 30 seconds later, the 4-on-4 became a 4-on-3.  Roseville took advantage of the big ice and the added room, established control in the Superior zone, and moved the puck well.  Roseville’s Nik Norman scored when he walked the puck out of the left side and beat Magnuson through the 5-hole on a quick hard shot to tie the game 1-1.  Ryan Peterson got the assist.

A minute later, Roseville scored their second power play goal.  The first goal made it a 4-on-4 game and when Roseville’s penalty expired, the Raiders had a 5-on-4 advantage.  Roseville’s Ryan O’Neill gained control of the puck low left in the Spartan’s zone and sent a weak side pass through Superior’s goal tender to a breaking Michaela Arnold.  She put the puck in the net, rolling it first off the body and tapping it in with her stick.  O’Neill got the assist.

Roseville led 2-1 at the end of the second period.

The Third Period

Play in the third period slowed.  It had to.  Both teams had been skating hard for the first 28 minutes on the big ice and they were starting to tire.

Roseville drew two successive penalties in the first five minutes of the third period.  The Raiders’ power play kept the Spartans off the board, killing both penalties.

Halfway through the third period, Superior started to pick up the tempo.  Their forwards started to generate rushes into the Roseville zone beating the Raiders’ defense on the outside edges and pressuring Raiders’ goalie Kyle Roy.

At the 8 minute mark, a Spartan holding penalty put the Raiders’ on the power play.  Superior killed the penalty, but gained control in the Raider zone coming out of the penalty kill.  A Spartan forward put a hard shot on Roy from the left faceoff circle.  Roy made the save at the top of the left crease, but could not control the puck.  It bounced to his right and to Spartan’s Keelan Golat. Golat rapped the puck into the net just beating Roy’s stick.  The goal tied the game 2-2.  Hansen got the assist.  The game ended in a 2-2 tie.

Why not Superior?

Superior’s association teams have been playing Minnesota Hockey for years.  Their association’s participation has helped the District 11 youth hockey programs by forming teams that provide those associations equal competition that they need to make their programs affordable.

But it cost the Spartan kids the opportunity to participate in post season play on teams and with teams that they play all winter.  At YHH, the vote is to let them play in Minnesota’s post season youth tourney’s.  With the split to peewee A and AA, the competition is certainly needed in D11.  And no one can argue that the Spartans are not competitive.

What's next?

Both teams continue pool play at the Big Pumpkin Saturday.  Superior plays Prior Lake and Osseo/Maple Grove.  Roseville plays OMG.  Superior remains in the hunt for shot at the championship Sunday; the tie ended Roseville’s chances at the championship.  The Raiders could spoil OMG’s day.

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