The MWHS boys hockey team opened the home season Thurs. Dec. 1 defeating the Chaska Hawks 7-3 then falling the following evening to Warroad 5-2 at Thaler arena.

Thursday against Chaska, junior Jack Brandstetter opened the scoring at 4.23 when he shot the puck off  the Hawk goaltender from the corner,  bouncing the puck into the back of the net (Smith, Williams). Two minutes later Brandstetter dug the puck out of a crowd in the offensive zone firing a low shot from the slot area beating the goalie at 6.28 for his 2^nd tally on the evening (Williams). At 7.04 defenseman Blake Brandstetter fired a low shot from the right point for his first varsity goal (Williams). With 2 minutes left in the opening frame Chaska scored after a flurry in front of MW netminder Andy Seats on a third rebound ending 1^st period scoring with the White Hawks leading 3-1.

Early in the 2^nd, Jack Brandstetter completed the hat trick at 2.06 on a rebound of a Riley Williams shot on a 2 on 0 breakaway (Williams, Smith). Williams’ assist was the seniors fourth of the game, extending the lead to 4-1.  Chaska tightened the score at 10.03 on the power play with a weak side rebound finding the back of the net. The White Hawks played a very physical 2^nd period with several hard hits on the Chaska skaters and dominated scoring opportunities with 19 shots on goal leading 4-2 at the break.

The White Hawks scored an important goal early in the 3^rd   at 1.29 when Adam Sjoquist won a faceoff  getting the puck back to the point for a David Bingham tip in of a Blake Brady shot from the blue line. The goal extended the lead to 3.  Later in the period, senior defenseman Will Griffith scored (Sterne) with a shot from the center of the blue line off of a face-off at 10.24. At 16.16 Jeremy Schulz scored on a nice short-handed give and go for the junior’s first varsity goal (Smith).  The assist was Smiths third of the game. Chaska scored with .34 sec. left on the power play to finish scoring on the evening. MW launched 54 shots on goal in the game with White Hawk junior goal tender Seats making 31 saves. Final score, Mound Westonka 7, Chaska 3.

 Fri. Dec. 2 the 7^th ranked Warroad Warriors made the long trip down from the border to face White Hawk boys in what is always an exciting game for both the players and fans.  MW wasted no time getting on the board when sophomore Hunter Smith shot the puck off the Warroad goalies skate from the left corner 34 seconds into the 1^st period.  Warroads hard fore-checking style kept the White Hawks bottled up most of the period with the home team holding a 1-0 lead at the end of the period.

The Warriors scored early in the 2^nd at 1.39 off a White Hawk turnover behind the net and then took the lead late in the period at 15.57 off another MW   defensive zone turnover. The White Hawks had several scoring chances in the period with loose pucks in front of the Warroad goaltender but could not bury the puck falling behind 2-1 at the end of the 2^nd.

Warroad opened 3^rd period scoring at 1.03 with a low shot from the right circle beating MW, senior goaltender David Engel. At 3.03 Smith scored his second on the night with a snipe, skating in from the point, firing a shot from the right faceoff circle to keep the game close. Engel made several sharp saves in the period (30 in the game), but the White Hawks could not keep the Warriors off the board giving up 2 more goals in a 5-2 defeat.

Next up for the White Hawks, at St. Michael/Albertville Thurs. Dec. 15 and at Providence Academy Sat. Dec.17.