With Metro West Conference wins over St. Louis Park and Bloomington Jefferson, New Prague’s boys’ ice hockey team took two of three games last week.
Long-term, the setback against Farmington is the one game with noteworthy implications. Farmington is one of the top teams in Section 1AA. The Trojans are 9-6-2 overall, 3-2-1 against teams in Section 1AA. NP coach Brad Drazan said the Tigers will be among the top seeds in the section for the playoffs, a neighborhood where NP wants to reside.
The Trojans faced Chaska Tuesday, Jan. 20, after the newspaper’s press deadline. New Prague will be at Waconia Friday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m., and then return home Tuesday, Jan. 27, to host Chanhassen.
Trojans 5, Bloomington Jefferson 4
New Prague outscored Bloomington Jefferson 2-1 in the third period to claim the Jan. 17 win at the venerable Bloomington Ice Garden.
Grayson Witty (from Walker Andersen) and Jaxen Woitas (from Keenan Huber and Grason Reu) gave NP a 2-1 lead after the first period.
Andersen’s power play goal (from Carson Ashley) in the second period broke a 2-2 tie.
In the third period. Andersen scored twice. Joey Busch and Tyler Applen assisted on the first goal. The second goal was into an empty net and was assisted by Ashley.
NP outshot the Jaguars, 25-24. The Trojans scored on two of six power play chances.
Farmington 2, Trojans 1
A short-handed goal in the second period was the difference between a big win against a section opponent and a tough loss Thursday, Jan. 15, in Farmington.
After the Tigers took a 1-0 lead early in the second period, a Farmington penalty put NP on the power play. But rather than knot the score, the Tigers cashed in on a mistake and took a 2-0 lead.
The Trojans scored their only goal of the contest 76 seconds later. Walker Andersen’s power play goal (from Grayson Woitas and Jaxen Woitas) cut the Farmington lead in half. But the Trojans weren’t able to pull their goalie in the waning seconds of the third period. Both teams fired 32 shots on goal in the game.
Trojans 4, St. Louis Park 1
New Prague took a 2-1 lead to the second intermission and blew the game open with two goals in the third period of the Jan. 13 clash at the NP Community Center.
Owen Dorzinski (from August Beckius) and Walker Andersen (from Caden Breeggemann and Carson Ashley) gave New Prague a 2-0 lead late in the second period. But the Orioles wouldn’t go away. SLP scored with 22 seconds left in the second period, cutting NP’s advantage in half.
The Trojans iced the win with goals from Keenan Huber (from Jack Franek and Joey Busch) and Walker Andersen (from Grayson Witty), establishing a comfortable margin. NP goalie Joey Klose handled all 11 shots St. Louis Park threw his way in the final period. St. Louis Park outshot the Trojans, 39-26, for the game.
The Trojans also played disciplined, committing only two minor penalties in the game.