Roseau at Blaine
7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 28

This is an intriguing game not from the standpoint of what each team returns but rather from what is no longer there. In recent years, Roseau and No. 12-2A Blaine have traditionally opened the season against each other and this year is no different. What did change is nearly everything else.

Roseau graduated its top eight scorers and regular goaltender from a Class 2A state consolation championship team. No returning Rams player had more than one varsity goal last year and goaltender William Woolever saw a grand total of 9 minutes between the pipes. The only thing familiar to fans of the Rams is coach Andy Lundbohm, who admittedly isn’t sure what to expect from his new team.

Blaine is also in transition, as the Bengals lost longtime coach Dave Aus (now at Brainerd) and a huge senior class that included five of its top six scorers and almost the entire defensive corps.

But the Bengals do have a quartet of players who proved it at the varsity level last winter: junior forwards Riley Tufte and Luke Notermann, senior forward Easton Brodzinski and senior defenseman Jordan Turnquist. Their experience could be key.