Boys Hockey: Roseau ends Warriors' win streak

The Brainerd Warriors had a lot to play for when they hosted the Roseau Rams Saturday, Feb. 2.

A win would not only extend the Warriors' win streak to seven games, but more importantly, it would give them a slight edge over Roseau for the second seed in the Section 8-2A playoffs, which would mean hosting a possible section semifinal later this month.

That explains why the Brainerd coaches and players were frustrated after Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Rams, who also defeated the Warriors 3-0 Jan. 4, in Roseau. Those are the only two losses in Brainerd's last 10 games.

"It's really frustrating because we weren't on our game," said Brainerd coach Dave Aus. "I don't think we gave ourselves a chance. Our locker room was dead quiet after the second period. That's not a good sign."

One reason the energy may have been missing in the locker room was a fluke goal by the Rams in the closing minutes of the middle period that gave Roseau a 3-2 lead it would never relinquish.

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Roseau 4, Warriors 3

• Key: Rams rally to end Brainerd's 6-game winning streak
• Section: Brd 6-3, R 7-2
• Overall: Brd 13-7, R 14-4-2
• Next: Brainerd at St. Michael-Albertville 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4

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That goal, scored by Hanson O'Leary, was the result of the forward winning possession of the puck in a battle with two Brainerd players in front the Warrior net and firing a shot past goaltender Jacob Mitchell.

"That goal was a back-breaker," said Riley Andres, who scored twice for Brainerd. "(Roseau) had a little more puck luck, but they also did a nice job of defending us. We also didn't play our best game. Maybe it's because we hardly practiced this week (with school canceled three days because of dangerously cold weather conditions)."

Roseau did start out cold and didn't get its first shot on goal until six minutes into the opening period. The Rams did have the best early scoring chance on its second shot just 30 seconds later, but Mitchell robbed the Rams' Jarrett Nelson, who was alone in front and tried to backhand a shot in the net.

Mitchell only had five saves in the first period, but three of them were difficult stops, including deflecting away a high shot from close range by Roseau's top scorer Aaron Huglen.

Brainerd scored one minute later when Mike Laber jammed a shot from the side of the net past netminder Oliver Lee. Roseau tied it 3:23 later on a similar goal when Jordan Moser flipped a shot from the side of the net that just crossed the goal line inside the post to make it 1-1.

Roseau grabbed a 2-1 lead on the power play at 9:46 of the middle period when Josh Olson tipped Tal Halliday's long shot past Mitchell. Brainerd tied it 1:27 later when Riley Anders fired a wrist shot along the sideboard that entered the net just under the crossbar for a power-play goal.

The Rams regained the lead on O'Leary's tally with 2:40 remaining in the second period. Roseau extended the lead to 4-2 just 55 seconds into the third period when Paul Huglen deflected a shot into the Warrior net.

Brainerd did cut the deficit to 4-3 with 7:26 remaining when Riley Andres was in front of the Rams' net and deflected in Anthony Manghini's shot from the corner for a power-play goal. The Warriors did pull Mitchell for an extra skater in the final minute, but they were unable to tie the game.

Warrior notes:

• The Brainerd junior varsity tied Roseau 3-3 as Kaleb Sundquist scored twice and Jacob Drietz added a goal. Netminder Jed Klang stopped 19 shots for the Warriors, who enjoyed a 27-22 edge in shots.

• Going into the game, the Warriors had outscored their opponents 30-7 in winning six straight. Also before the game, the Moorhead Spuds were leading the section standings for Quality Result Formula while Brainerd was second with a rating of 18 while Roseau was third with 20. The Spuds and Warriors both gained extra points this season by defeating Duluth East.

Roseau 1 2 1 - 4

Brainerd 1 1 1 - 3

First period: First period: Brd-Mike Laber 6 (Eric Pohlkamp) 7:35; R-Jordan Moser 4 (Aaron Huglen, Paul Huglen) 11:12

Second period: R-Josh Olson 7 (Tal Halliday) (ppg) 9:46; Brd-Riley Andres 9 (Anthony Menghini, Mason Kruse) (ppg) 11:13; R-Hason O'Leary 8 14:20

Third period: R-Paul Huglen 8 (Gavin Gunderson) 0:55; Brd-Riley Andres 10 (Brady Anderson) (ppg) 9:34

Shots on goal: Brd 20, R 19

Goalies: Brd-Jacob Mitchell (15 saves); R-Oliver Lee (17 saves)