Minnetonka goalie Jacob Berger blocks this shot with his chest for one of his 29 saves for the Skippers. Photo by Brian W Nelson - click for full size image
A much-needed victory on Senior Night didn’t earn Minnetonka much fanfare from the crowd in the stands.
That’s because the game was at the Plymouth Ice Center, home of the Skippers’ Lake Conference foe Wayzata.
Minnetonka managed to ruin their rival's celebration and end a five-game losing streak by defeating the Trojans 5-1 on Saturday night.
The victory also provided some salve for the Skippers, who were burned on their Senior Night by a 4-2 loss to Hopkins 4-2.
“It hurt a lot to lose our senior game, so it feels nice to get one under our belt,” Minnetonka senior goalie Joe Berger said. “It feels good to win again.”
Berger was key in the victory, stopping 29 of 30 shots. He has played in 22 games this season and is 7-7-1 with 383 total saves (.901 save percentage) and has a 2.74 goals against average.
“It finally felt good to get on the right track,” Berger said. “The whole team was rolling tonight.”
Several seniors contributed in the victory, including forward Gavin Payne, who opened the scoring with a goal in the second period and had an assist. Payne now leads the team with 13 goals, 19 assists and 33 points.
Defensemen Ben Hersman and Pieter von Steinbergs each had an assist and defenseman Ty Cousineau tallied his first goal of the season, a shorthanded score from Minnetonka’s defensive zone that capped the night for the Skippers.
“I saw the turnover and buried it into the open end,” Cousineau said.
Minnetonka coach Brian Urick said the Skippers played with a high sense of self-assurance in defeating Wayzata, even after a scoreless first period.
“I’m really impressed,” Urick added “They got some confidence and played well.”
Urick said the confidence stems from the seniors, a group that also includes forward Nick Greene and defenseman John Schultd. Greene is the team's second-leading goal scorer with 12 and has 17 points.
“I can’t say enough,” he added. “Those guys come to work and do their best every day.”
Most of the seniors have played together since Bantams, Berger said. And as regular-season winds down, the group is focused on achieving a goal it established at the start of the year.
“We’ve talked about some of our goals as seniors, and our team’s goal is to get to the state tournament at the end of the year,” Cousineau said.
First Report
Sophomore forward Max Cavanaugh had two goals in Minnetonka’s 5-1 win over Lake Conference rival Wayzata at the Plymouth Ice Center on Saturday.
Senior forward Gavin Payne finished with a goal and an assist for the Skippers (12-10-1, 3-4), ranked No. 13 in the Class 2A coaches poll.
Payne opened the scoring with a goal 5 minutes into the second period. Minnetonka increased its lead to 2-0 as junior forward Pierson Pass scored off an assist from senior defender Ben Hersman.
Cavanaugh capped the scoring the second period with a slapshot to give the Skippers a 3-0 lead with less than 5 minutes to play.
Minnetonka build a 4-0 lead when Cavanaugh scored 3 minutes into the third period.
Sophomore defenseman Hank Sorensen netted Wayzata’s lone goal, finding the net with a hard shot from the blue line midway through the final period.
Senior defenseman Ty Cousineau added a shorthanded goal at 12:49 of the third, scoring from the Skippers’ own defensive zone.
Minnetonka senior goalie Jacob Berger made 29 saves, while junior goalie Alex Schilling finished with 18 for No. 9 Wayzata (10-11-2, 3-4).
