WHS hockey boys off to strong start

The Waseca High School boys’ hockey team started their season far from home at Big South Conference rival Redwood Valley Saturday, Nov. 26.

It was a rocky start, with Cardinals scoring two goals within the first five minutes. Waseca did a much better job preventing any other scoring chances, keeping it 2-0 at the end of the first period.

Outside of one last goal by the Cardinals, it was the Bluejays’ game the rest of the way. Senior forward Kyle Ahlschlager went off, scoring five of Waseca’s six goals. His hat trick in the second period helped Waseca tie the game 3-3. With an additional goal by Solomon Wilson, the Bluejays won 6-3.

In addition to his goal, Wilson had an assist. Contributing more assists were Griffin Krautkremer (3), Lucas Groll, Hunter Anderson, Keaton Roeker, and Armando Balderas.

Waseca 6, Fairmont 5

The Bluejays’ first home game was supposed to take place Tuesday, Nov. 29 against Winona. But the game was postponed due to weather. Instead, the boys played another Big South team in Fairmont.

Both teams were physical all game and combined for 24 penalty minutes. It came to a head in the second period when a scrum broke out. Waseca’s offense was aggressive on the power play and the Cardinals felt they got too close to their goalie before the whistle was blown.

The rhubarb ended with two players from each team drawing minor penalties.

With a 1-1 tied game, Waseca soared to a three-goal lead less than five minutes into the second period. Fairmont replied with two straight in the second and one more three minutes into the third. The teams traded blows until Waseca came out on top late in the final period. Hunter Anderson scored the game-winner on a breakaway shot at the top right corner of the net on a power play. When the game ended, the teams had a few words to say to each other before shaking hands.

A majority of Waseca’s offensive success came from the power play where they scored three of their six goals. Senior forward Griffin Krautkremer earned a shorthanded goal in the second period.

Ahlschlager again had a fantastic game with four goals. Lucas Groll contributed both his assists on two of Ahlschlager’s goals.

Luverne 11, Waseca 1

Luverne has always been a tough team in the Big South, and the Waseca boys found out that is the case again this year when they traveled to their rink Saturday, Dec. 3.

Things looked promising in the first period when Ahlschlager scored the first goal of the game over two minutes in. However, the Cardinals shut them down the rest of the game, answering with four goals in the first period and seven in the second.

After getting a wake-up call from Luverne, Waseca continued going through the Big South gauntlet with a road trip to Worthington Dec. 6 and a home game against Windom the following Thursday. The Bluejays travel to New Ulm Tuesday, Dec. 13.