PROCTOR — Superior’s Brady Haroldson scored his first varsity goal, but the Spartans fell to Osseo 5-2 Tuesday at the second annual Bill McGann Holiday Classic at the St. Luke’s Sports and Event Center.
Coach Evan Nelson said the team started slow, but there were some positives in the win.
“Our start was a little slow and that wasn’t our game plan,” Nelson said. “What we want to do is get pucks in behind the defense and recycle the puck real well and generate offense out of that. We were slow to get that going, but once we did we found a little success — it was nice for Brady Haroldson to get his first varsity goal. It got us off the power play slide we’ve been on the last few weeks.”
Osseo coach David Prokop believed his team was faster and the Orioles tried to used the advantage to maintain possession the majority of the game.
Osseo was able to put 42 shots on goal, but the Spartan defense and goalie Trent Peterson were able to keep the Spartans within striking distance until Ty Prokop struck at the 12:34 mark of the third period to make the score 4-2. Luke Sawicky added an empty net goal with just a few seconds remaining in the game to complete his hat trick.
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Senior Carson Gotelaere thought the team played well, but the small errors during the game cost the Spartans.
“Little mistakes here and there just killed us — like giving up a shorthanded goal, we can’t really have that,” Goteleare said. “Overall, our effort was there, it was just mental mistakes we just have to fix and shore up.”
Despite the loss, Superior (4-4) has been one of the surprises in the early going of the hockey season. The Spartans returned just six players and longtime head coach Jason Kalin stepped down at the end of the season , leading many to believe Superior would take a step back.
Instead of taking a step back, the Spartans are actually in a familiar spot. The Spartans were 3-3 heading into a holiday tournament, losing all three games that week before going on a run to the Wisconsin Sectional final against Hudson.
“We’ve heard it too — it’s a rebuild,” Goteleare said. “We’ve been saying it’s not a rebuild, it’s a reload. We came into it knowing that if we have the mentality that we’re going to be the same or better that we were last year, we’re going to show it. It’s showing off right now, but we’re young/ Once we get that stuff cleared up and get some games under our feet, we should be getting better and better.”
Nelson said he knew the expectations for the Spartans was a slow start with their inexperience in his first year, but he also has seen plenty of positive things, even in the team’s current three-game skid.
“The compete level of these boys is second to none,” Nelson said. “We were chasing all game long tonight and we’ve been in that situation the last three games — all three quality opponents — and we’ve not given up. I think it’s easy for most young groups to throw it in when they’re chasing late in the game. We’ve tried to stay in it as long as we could, but it’s not necessarily about where we’re at today, it’s where we’re going.”
The season already has a familiar feel, with the Spartans taking their lumps against some of the high-level Minnesota talent and Superior’s sectional opponents are among “the toughest in the state,” according to Nelson.
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“Our message in the room is everyday let’s get a little bit better so that come February, we’re ready to make that push,” Nelson said.
The Spartans will play North Shore at 4 p.m. Wednesday at MARS Lakeview Arena in Duluth.
Osseo 2-1-2—5
Superior 1-1-0—2
First period goals — 1. O, Luke Sawicky (Jacob Bodin), 11:49 (sh); 2. S, Brady Haroldson (Tyler Olson, Brayden Severin), 12:39 (pp); 3. O, Davis Wick (Bodin), 16:49.
Second period goals — 4. O, Sawicky (Alec Bjork), 11:50; 5. S, Lucas Williams (Carson Gotelaere, Caden Lia), 16:52..
Third period goals — 6. O, Ty Prokop (Gavin Kzchoska, Brenden Kranz), 12:34; 7. O, Sawicky, 16:52 (en).
Saves — Justin Halvorson, O, 19; Trent Oeterson, S, 37.
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