On Saturday, the boys hockey team secured their first win of the season in front of a spirited home crowd at Drake Arena. The boys played Rochester Lourdes, a familiar foe that they were unable to beat in the past two seasons.

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Eliana Mann

GAME TIME. As lineups are announced, the Spartans lock in for the matchup ahead against tough opponent Rochester Lourdes.

“They’ve [the Spartans] played Rochester before, so they know how [the Eagles] play and they definitely want to win,” team manager Dylan Bump said during the matchup.

Bump’s prediction proved correct: this time, the Spartans came out on top of the Eagles with a nailbiter 4-3 victory at the end of three 17-minute periods.

From the first puck drop, the Spartans looked strong. An early goal, just 24 seconds in, at the hands of defenseman Casey Lynn kickstarted the team’s momentum. Later on in the period, the Eagles were charged with a minor penalty for tripping, but the Spartans were unable to capitalize on the power play. They still held a one-goal lead, but the teams were evenly matched throughout the period, with action on both ends of the ice. One close call inches from the goal line had Spartan goaltender, Isak Bildtsen, reaching behind himself to make an acrobatic save. The first period finished with 12 shots on goal for the Spartans, and 11 for the Eagles.

In the second period, the Eagles came out with energy, dominating the first minutes of play. Two power play opportunities contributed to this one-sidedness, but the Spartan penalty kill was successful, keeping the score at 1-0. However, 14 minutes into the period, Spartan forward Liam Huddleston found the back of the net with a goal, and the crowd went wild.

Huddleston said, “I was able to make the goal happen by crashing the net and looking for a rebound.”

The second period finished with 22 shots on goal for the Spartans and 20 for the Eagles, and with a two-goal lead, it seemed like the Spartans might run away with the game.

The third period proved that this would not be the case, and had everyone in the arena on the edge of their seat. Eagles forward Dominic Troutman opened up scoring with a goal just under two minutes into the period. Almost immediately after, the Spartans responded, with goals from forward Ethan Peltier and defenseman Cooper Olson, reigniting the team’s spark. They had an impressive 4-1 lead, but unfortunately, were not able to maintain it. Eagles forward Jack Roe scored 14 minutes into the period, followed by Troutman with his second goal.

With the Eagles just one goal away from tying the score, there was a new edge to the game for the remaining minute and 47 seconds on the clock. The Eagles pulled their goaltender in exchange for an extra skater on the ice, attempting to make a final push. Just before the buzzer sounded, an intense scramble occurred in front of Bildtsen, but he managed to keep the puck out of the net. After some verbal and physical jabs were exchanged between teams, the Spartans were able to celebrate their victory, albeit one that came down to the wire. The third period finished with 31 shots on goal for the Spartans and 39 for the Eagles. Each team also drew a penalty during this period.

After starting their season with two difficult losses, the Spartan victory was much needed for the team to begin finding their footing.

“I think they’re doing a lot better today. They’re locked in, they’re hungry out there looking for more goals,” said Bump.

However, there are still aspects of the game to be improved upon.

Captain Henri Peltier said, “As always, there are things we can do better. We’re still looking to improve on our defensive systems and getting pucks to the net, and picking up rebounds.”

The Spartans look to build on their win on Thursday when they will take on Holy Angels at Richfield Ice Arena at 7:30 p.m.

This article has been revised to reflect the following update: A quote from goal-scorer Liam Huddleston was added on Dec. 4.