Even with 74 shots on net, eight power plays, and five goals, Friday night’s battle between Elk River and Stillwater ground to a close like the slowest mortar against the slowest pestle. 

“There’s not a lot of prettiness about our team,” Elk River head coach Ben Gustafson said after his team emerged with a 4-1 win. 

“We provide ourselves on being a blue-collar, hardworking team.”

Senior forward and captain Connor Bizal echoed his coach’s sentiment after the win and said that the constant physicality helped to slow the Ponies. 

“Especially after the first period, we could tell we were wearing them down,” Bizal said. 

“We wanted to keep being physical.”

The rugged style of play helped the Elks on Friday, as they faced an undefeated Stillwater team that was coming off a 4-3 win in over against Benilde-St. Margaret’s the previous day. 

“That’s a great hockey team, obviously,” Gustafson said of the Ponies. 

“They’ve got a lot of skill and a lot of speed,” Gustafson continued, adding that consistent defensive pressure was decidedly part of the Elks’ game plan. 

“We tried to get under their skin and get in their face right away and (take away) their time and space.”

Elk River sophomore forward Zach Michaelis scored the lone goal of the first period, giving the Elks a 1-0 lead with just 29 seconds to play. 

After a scoreless second, senior forward and captain Connor Bizal stretched the Elks’ lead to 2-0 with a power-play tally early in the third, a cushion that was punctured less than a minute later by Stillwater’s Adam Eisele. 

Junior defenseman Joey Foss added an insurance goal late in the third for the Elks, who capped the game with an empty-netter from senior defenseman Taiyo Larson, ending a four-penalty stretch for the Elks.

“As much as we put a point of emphasis on being physical, we also put a point of emphasis on being disciplined,” Gustafson said.

“I thought we did take too many penalties, especially in the third period,” Gustafson added. 

“That’s something we’re going to have to learn from.”

The game could also prove to be a learning opportunity for junior goaltender Kyle Esperum, who entered the game with less-than-impressive statistics but made 20 saves against the 

speedy Ponies. 

“We’ve (talked) to Kyle about having fun and enjoying the game and not putting too much pressure on himself,” Gustafson said. 

“He’s a great athlete, great kid, and a hard worker.”