North Vs. South

On Tuesday, January 24th, the North St. Paul and
South St. Paul varsity hockey teams came together to compete for a win. After
the junior varsity ended with a loss to the South St. Paul Packers, the spirits
of the varsity team weakened.
“I went through the day confident that the JV team and the
varsity team would come out with a win,” says Ryan Nicolai, a starting forward
on the varsity team. “After the JV unexpectedly lost, this made the team
question ourselves and our abilities.”
The game began rather aggressive as the Polars knew that
they would have some competition on their hands. The fans that were seated in
the stands were jumping up with excitement every time the puck was near the
net.
“It took us a while to get into the swing of things during
the first period, but when we left to the locker rooms after the buzzer it was
2-1, North St. Paul. This score is too close for comfort and we were determined
to get farther ahead,” says Frank Flaherty, a right wing.
And this is exactly what they did. During the second period,
the determination to put a few points between North and the opponent was
obvious. The checks became more violent, the penalties became more frequent and
the goalies became more exhausted.
“We scored three goals in the second period, giving us a
significant amount of leeway and lifting a weight off our shoulders,” says
forward, Justin Oliver.
The third period was by far the most intense, as one would
have expected. The Packers were getting frustrated the farther they fell behind,
so they began to pick up their game. Unfortunately, the odds were not in their
favor.
Jimmy Karel, a defenseman says, “North beat the
South, 8-5! It was a great game.. obviously.”