By Steve Morris

After getting destroyed by Henry Sibley 13-0 in December, the Vikings boys hockey team found themselves facing perhaps their toughest opponent of the year again Jan. 26.

After the first period of play, the boys skated to a 1-0 hole. North Branch goalie Scott Dennis was the star of the first period, as he held back an aggressive Simley attack.

Early in the second period, Sibley took two quick penalties and gave the Vikings an opportunity to get on the scoreboard. The Vikings could not capitalize on the two-man advantage.

At the 10:34 mark, junior forward Jake Lenards put a puck past the Sibley goalie to tie the game at 1-1.

Right: Jake Lenards

He was assisted by senior center man Jack Williams. The home team found themselves in the penalty box again and gave Sibley a 5-on-3 man advantage of their own.

Sibley capitalized on their 5-on-3 advantage to take a 2-1 lead.

With two minutes left on the clock, sophomore center Lane Noyes exploded past a Sibley defender and headed to the net,where he was hauled down from behind while shooting and was subsequently awarded a penalty shot.

Noyes came in on the goalie slowly and tried to make the goalie move laterally, before making the decision to try and slide the puck lower right. Noyes had about six inches of daylight, but his shot slipped off the front of his blade and harmlessly went wide of the goal.

“Tremendous first two periods of play. The kids played great hockey during that stretch, perhaps the best of the season so far,” head coach Darrell Schulte said.

The Vikings took a late penalty in the period and with 36 seconds, Sibley screened sophomore goalie Scott Dennis and rifled a low shot past his outstretched leg pad for the 3-1 lead to end the period.

In the third period, the Vikings ran out of steam and surrendered five goals to close out the game with am 8-1 loss.

Dennis saved 31 of 39 on the night.

A  rebound heads for the corner after North Branch goalie Scott Dennis made a sprawling save during their game against Simley Jan. 26 in Chisago Lakes.  

Photos by Steve Morris

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