Glenn Strandberg
Sports Editor

A quality start to the season was temporarily derailed for the boys hockey team last week as they lost to White Bear Lake on Saturday, 6-1, which came on the heels of an agonizing 6-5 defeat at Hastings on Thursday.

The White Bear Lake game never went Forest Lakeís way. Head coach Carl Brandt felt his team came out flat, but they were able to stay in the game, down only 1-0 after the first period.

Courtesy of three power play goals in the second, the score abruptly changed to 4-0 in favor of White Bear. The Rangers didnít find the back of the net until the third period.

ìYou canít be a man short against White Bear Lake, they have a good power play,î Brandt said.

Senior Brett McGee was assisted by senior Alex Lindeberg for Forest Lakeís only goal, but any thoughts of a miraculous comeback were put on ice when White Bear piled on two more in the third.

Sophomore Paul Moberg was solid in goal, making 26 saves, but the Forest Lake offense could manage only 16 shots on the night.

Even though it was a more decisive loss, the White Bear Lake match-up might be easier to write off because the end result became more apparent as the game wore on.

The Hastings loss, however, was one that leaves coaches and players counting sheep until the wee small hours.

Moberg made 31 saves, but it was just one impossibly timed shot that made the difference.

When Forest Lake came back from being down 3-1 after the first period, and down 4-1 after two, the third period turned into a wild affair when the Rangers scored three goals in a five minute stretch. Jake LaMotte, Matt Wethammer and Zach Knight tallied the three scores, with Wethammer assisting on the LaMotte and Knight goals, while they all received a little help from Jeff Bohnen and Andy Fritzinger.

Hastings would respond 60 seconds after Knight evened the game at four, and less than a minute after that, Forest Lakeís Kyle Young used an assist from Jake Kogler to tie the game again.

More than five minutes elapsed until the game headed to certain overtime. Five, four, three, two, one second was left on the clock when Hastings charged the net and Brandon Boyd scored to make it 6-5 in favor of the Raiders.

ìThe boys played really well, they came back in that game and really were outplaying them,î Brandt said. ìAll the momentum was on our side.î

The Rangers (2-4) will attempt to land in the winning column on Thursday, Dec. 21, when the defending state champions, Cretin-Derham Hall, pays a visit.

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