Trojans fall to Skippers in 2AA hockey

The New Prague Trojan boys hockey team knew going in that it would be a tall task in their Section 2AA quarterfinal game.

The opponent was Minnetonka, a team that spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the state, and was still ranked No. 2 going into the post season. The Skippers were the No. 1 seed in the section and the Trojans No. 8.

You couldn’t have envisioned a worse start for the Trojans. The Skippers got the game’s first goal just 1:28 into the game, then added another just 36 seconds later. The third goal came less than a minute later, and just three minutes into the game the Skippers led 3-0.

"Our nerves were at an alltime high, even though we talked about not letting it be that way," said Coach Cory Lonke. "But it’s natural, we’re playing big-school hockey and it’s a big jump for our kids as far as skill level."

Lonke took his timeout after the third goal and looked for his team to regroup. They answered the challenge, getting a few shots on goal over the next few minutes and not allowing any more goals in the first period. They led 3-0 after one, having outshot the Trojans 18-8.

"I was proud of the way they came back and played hard," Lonke said. "There’s no doubt Minnetonka was the better team, but we weren’t overwhelmed the way we could have been after the bad start."

The second period started rough again, with the....

To see more on this story pick up the February 28, 2019 print edition of The New Prague Times.