Benson
The Stars’ game on Tuesday, Jan. 6, was against Benson at Benson. Benson leads their division, the West Central, so the Stars knew it would be a tough game, however, the Stars came home the victor with a 4-3 win.
At the 8:25 mark, Chris Soine scored an unassisted goal by skating the length of the ice and letting a rocket shot go from the top of the circle. The Stars then continued their excellent play by totally shutting down the Benson offense in the period.
The Stars began playing the third period like they did the first. Benson delivered another deadly blow by scoring at the midway point of the period, making the score 3-1. Dustin Looman brought the lead back to one with a great shot in front of the goal. The next time Looman’s line was out, they managed to tie the game.
The next 2:12 minutes were played scoreless, making for a dramatic overtime.
The game was won by two sophomores in the Stars first trip down to the Benson end.
River Lakes owed much of the credit for the win to the reserves. Manthie kept the Stars in the game by making 28 saves, earning his first varsity win.
River Lakes: 1 0 2 1 - 4
Benson: 0 2 1 0 - 3
Mankato East
The Stars’ next opponent on Saturday, Jan. 10, was Mankato East, a team which promised to make for a difficult game. The Stars, however, did not want the six hours on a bus to be in vain.
Mankato East drew first blood with a shot that went passed a screened goalie, Dom Clements. The Stars bounced back five minutes later with a tip by Brett Theisen. The Stars then took the lead with Dustin Looman plowing near the goal and scoring with a shot that deflected off the back of the goalie.
After five minutes of blistering shots by Mankato East due to penalties and failure to clear the zone by the Stars, the Cougars finally scored off a shot in front of the net. Mankato East scored again four minutes later to make the score 3-2.
Jeff Jacobson scored for the Stars with one second left in the period from a pass by Matt Schott in the corner, tying the game at three.
Clements took center stage in the third period, making sensational saves from every direction. Both teams had many chances to score, but the defense prevailed, leading to overtime for the Stars.
Just 14 seconds into the over- time, Brandon Weber followed a shot from Looman for a rebound goal to end the game 4-3, in favor of the Stars.
River Lakes: 2 1 0 1 - 4
Mankato East: 1 2 0 0 - 3