The first minutes of the opening period was evenly played with both teams having chances.  The Scarlets had the best chance, but Raider goalie Bielenberg made the big stop.  Gradually, Northfield started to build pressure, moving the play more and more into the Mankato West side of the ice.  A high stick penalty followed a minute later by a slashing penalty put the Northfield on the power play.  For one minute they would have a 5-on-3 advantage with the faceoff to the right of the Mankato net.  But the Scarlets’ Tyler Loe, like Cole Younger, stole the puck off the faceoff.  Beating the Raider defense down the right of the boards, Loe cut to the Northfield net to beat Bielenberg.  It was a rare, two player shorthanded score and put the Raiders down 1-0 with just 10 seconds gone in the 5-on-3.  Revved up, the Scarlets killed the 5-on-3 power play and almost killed the 5-on-4 Raider power play.  With five seconds remaining, Ryan Torbenson found Jacob Halvorson in the slot for the score.  After the tying score, the Scarlets were pummeled by the Raiders.  The Northfield offense took over the game trapping the Scarlets in the West zone and peppering the Mankato net with shots from every direction.  The Mankato West team must have felt like the James Gang trapped in a Northfield bank.  They took “incoming” from every direction and Northfield built a 4-1 lead.  It would have been a bigger lead but for the play of goalie Jackson Peterson.  Peterson faced 21 shots on net in the opening period.

Two minutes after pounding on the Scarlets’ defense, Northfield’s Torbenson tipped defenseman Zakary Von Ruden’s shot into the net for the second Raider score.  Thirty seconds later, Jacob Halvorson batted a rebounding puck off a melee in front of the Scarlet goal into the net for a third score.  Thirty three seconds later, Northfield’s Conner Malecha cut left in the slot and beat Bielenberg for the fourth goal.  Northfield had pounded the West net scoring four times in three and half minutes.  But West proved they could fire back.  West called timeout and settled enough to knock the puck loose along the right boards where the Scarlets’ Ben Heichel came up with the puck.  Heichel moved the puck into the Northfield zone and got off a diving shot from the boards that beat Bielenberg to cut the Raiders’ lead to 4-2.       

Northfield has a good power play.  Rested and focused they came out of the locker room and put their skills to good use.  They controlled the puck and the play inside the West zone for most of the first two minutes scoring just before the power play ended.  The Raiders defenseman Nathan Marek passed the puck to Ryan Torbenson in the low right faceoff circle.  Torbenson made a quick move towards the top of the faceoff circle opening up a passing lane to Lucas Halvorson moving into the weak side left.  Halvorson one-timed the pass into the back of the Scarlets’ net to put Northfield up 6-2.  The quick score ended any West chance of a comeback.  The third period became one of West’s defense trying to force the Northfield offense at the Raider blue line.  When the Scarlets succeeded they kept pressure on Raider’s goal.  When they failed, Northfield had a solo or 2-on-1 rush on the Mankato West net.  Jacob Halvorson scored on one rush beating Peterson through the 5-hole after cutting across the top of the crease.  West’s Jimmy Miller scored off of pressure with 10 minutes to go in the game.  Northfield’s Sawyer got his second goal of the game on a breakaway beating Peterson from the right slot.  The game ended 8-3.  Northfield outshot the Scarlet gang 45-29 in the game.  Northfield is likely to go unbeaten in their rest of their regular season games.  Mankato West escaped heading west along the Minnesota River and will play Northfield again.  The next shootout will likely be for the Big 9 title and the #1 seed to Section 1A.  Not that the outcome of the January game will effect the two teams run to state.  It will be a tune-up.  The two are likely to meet in the Section 1A finals.  That matters.

The Raiders have twenty games left to play in the regular season and will be favored to win 17 of the 20.  Only Red Wing and the second game against Mankato West stand in the way of Northfield finishing with 20 game winning season.  The Raiders will play at Mankato East, Rochester Lourdes, Rochester John Marshall, Winona, and Waconia before breaking for the Christmas/New Year holidays.  They will be favored to win all five games playing teams that collectively have 6-14-0 record for the season going into Tuesday’s games.  Northfield will not be playing in any holiday tourney.  Mankato West has a tougher schedule playing Albert Lea and Winona and three tough opponents, St. Cloud Cathedral, St. Cloud Apollos, and “the Bulldogs” (Le Sueur-Henderson, St. Peter, Tri-City United, and Cleveland high schools or LSHSPTCUC) before the holiday break.  Those five teams collectively are playing .500 hockey (10-10-0).  The Scarlet will play in the Duluth Heritage Classic between the holidays.  The Heritage Classic this year includes St. Paul Academy, Apple Valley, the #1 ranked Wisconsin team Hudson, and the #6 ranked Wisconsin team Eau Claire Memorial.  After the holidays Mankato West returns to league play January 7th with a game against Mankato East and then plays a tough St. Paul Academy team January 9th.