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Stillwater holds on late to triumph over Cretin-Derham Hall

By Mike Randleman, SportsEngine, 02/04/21, 5:30PM CST

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The Ponies held the high-powered Raiders to just a pair of goals and got key offensive contributions from some lesser-known skaters.

Stillwater's Alex Corbett (14) looks on as teammate Riley Skuza backhands the game-winning goal against Cretin-Derham Hall's Marko Belak on Thursday night. The Ponies beat the Raiders 3-2 in Stillwater. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

Stillwater's Alex Corbett (14) looks on as teammate Riley Skuza backhands the game-winning goal against Cretin-Derham Hall's Marko Belak on Thursday night. The Ponies beat the Raiders 3-2 in Stillwater. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

Stillwater had a shutout brewing against one of the state’s top offenses that was averaging 5.5 goals per game coming out of the second intermission of Thursday’s game against Cretin-Derham Hall.

The Ponies had to remember to take it in stride.

“Just don’t get too excited,” said Stillwater sophomore forward Riley Skuza. “We stayed steady and stayed tough.”

The chance to hold a top-10 opponent scoreless fell by the wayside, but Stillwater hung on for a 3-2 victory over Suburban East Conference foe Cretin-Derham Hall at the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center.

“It was a big win for us because we’ve kind of been, in coach’s mind, struggling playing our system properly and having the right combinations,” said Stillwater coach Greg Zanon. “I think the guys knew how important of a game this was, and they actually dug in and played our system better. We still have work to do from a coach’s point of view, but they stepped up and played hard.”

The Ponies’ penalty-killing unit held strong in the early going. Two penalty kills in the first seven minutes kept the game from getting ugly in a hurry. The Raiders, ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, not only entered the night unbeaten, but each of their wins had come by two or more goals.

“We have a power play that’s pretty good. To get those couple chances early, I felt really good about the opportunities that presented early,” said Cretin-Derham Hall coach Matt Funk. “[Stillwater] did a good job of killing that off and taking the momentum back and evening it out in which I thought was a really good first [period] for both teams. Then the second period is really when they took it to us.”

Cretin-Derham Hall defenseman Simon Houge (8) finds a lane to Stillwater goalie Nolan LaCosse, resulting in the Raiders' first goal of the night in the third period. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

Cretin-Derham Hall defenseman Simon Houge (8) finds a lane to Stillwater goalie Nolan LaCosse, resulting in the Raiders' first goal of the night in the third period. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

First Report

It took all hands on deck for Stillwater to hand Cretin-Derham Hall its first loss of the season Thursday at St. Croix Valley Recreation Center, as a pair of Ponies notched their first varsity career goals to help lift their team to a 3-2 victory over Suburban East Conference rival Cretin-Derham Hall.

The first period went scoreless, though the Ponies came into the contest averaging 4.6 goals per game and the Raiders 5.5, so something was bound to give way.

The lid came off the net for Stillwater when senior forward Brendan Bernier scored his first varsity goal from close range with 12 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the second period. The Ponies (5-1-0) added on later in the middle period when junior defenseman Tommy Lindeberg fired a shot from just outside the right circle for his first career score, giving the Ponies a 2-0 lead going into the second intermission.

The first varsity goal trend continued in the third period when the Raiders, ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, drew within one. Sophomore defenseman Simon Houge, who has eight assists for Cretin-Derham Hall (6-1-0) this season, scored just 18 seconds into a power play.

Stillwater, however, responded with a power-play goal of its own to reestablish a two-goal lead. Sophomore Riley Skuza got into the crease and snuck the puck past the goalie’s left shoulder with 11:15 left to play.

After missing chances to score on the power play earlier in the game, the Raiders wasted no time on yet another opportunity in the third period. Junior forward Jake Sondreal came up with the man-advantage goal with 3:36 left to cut Stillwater’s lead to 3-2.

The Raiders were on the power play for the final 57 seconds of regulation but could not come up with the equalizer.

The teams are scheduled to meet again on Feb. 27 at Highland Ice Arena.

A couple of fans looked on during play Feb. 4 inside the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center. Attendance was limited for Stillwater's matchup with Suburban East Conference rival Cretin-Derham Hall. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

A couple of fans looked on during play Feb. 4 inside the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center. Attendance was limited for Stillwater's matchup with Suburban East Conference rival Cretin-Derham Hall. Photo by Korey McDermott, SportsEngine

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