First Period
After a minor scheduling error with the referees, Eden Prairie and Brainerd faced off at the newly remodeled Eden Prairie rink two on Sunday. Both teams played in the BIG Pumpkin in October, both showed signs of promise in Bloomington. Each has had some success this year against the state's best and both have a star player or two that can take over a game.
The Warriors got out of the gate fast. On the first shift Nick Hastings fed Mason Kruse who exploded to the net and fired a wrist shot past Eden Prairie Goalie Ben Bullis for a 1-0 lead for the Warriors.
Both teams skate very well. The pace of the game was very fast with a lot of odd man rushes and great goaltending. On one such rush, one of Eden Prairie standout players Spencer Rudrud went wide and got off a rocket of a shot past Warrior Goalie Jacob Mitchell to tie it 1-1. Fifteen seconds later, Rudrud got loose in front of the net and fired another rocket past Mitchell (linemates Sam Wilhite and Johnny Mittelstadt got the assists).
At the end of the first period it was 2-1, Eagles. Shots were 5-3 in favor of the home team.
