Mike Randolph’s pregame snack has nothing to do with nutrition. 

The Duluth East head coach, now in his 29th season behind the Greyhounds’ bench, spent at least a portion of Saturday afternoon gnawing on fruit snacks in preparation for his team’s battle with Wayzata. 

“I had a lot of them before the game and had them between periods, Randolph said with a grin after his Hounds completed a come-from-behind 4-2 win over the Trojans.

The win came on the heels of a lackluster tie on Friday night against No. 10-2A White Bear Lake, in which the Hounds (1-0-1) squandered a 3-0 lead en route to the 3-3 draw. 

“Coming out here today and getting the win in front of the home crowd was big,” Duluth East senior forward Garrett Worth said, adding that a mandate had come down from Randolph regarding the play of the Hounds’ standout players. 

“He said it’s his way or the highway, (and that) we better be ready to go today,” Worth said.

Part of Randolph’s way included splitting one of the most talented forward lines in the state, separating the senior trio of Worth, Ian Mageau, and North Dakota commit Ryder Donovan. 

“I moved them all on different lines and then I put them back together in the third period,” Randolph explained. 

“They’ve played so much together and they’re pretty hard on each other,” Randolph continued. 

“Sometimes I think it’s best to break them up a little (and) give them a little breathing room.” 

The lineup shifts worked initially, as the Hounds drew first blood just five minutes into the game, with senior forward Porter Haney scoring his first goal of the season.

Wayzata would take a 2-1 lead in the second frame, with senior forward and Minnesota commit Colin Schmidt ripping a shot into the upper-left corner fo the Hounds’ net and junior forward Joel Matthews sliding another puck through goaltender Lukan Hanson’s legs minutes later. 

Ricky Lyle knotted the game with a powerplay goal early in the third, and Worth netted the game-winner from close range less than a minute later. 

Donovan added an empty-net goal to ice the game in the final minute for the final score of 4-2.

Worth said that after last night, the Hounds learned they need to channel their collective energy more effectively. 

“There were a lot of nerves, a lot of hype (entering) this season,” Worth said. 

“We just gotta calm those nerves, and we’re going nowhere unless we do it as a team.”