Park boys hockey: Wolfpack wallop rival Woodbury

It couldn’t have come at a better time.

Park snapped a four-game skid Saturday to pick up its second victory of the season with a 5-2 win over District 833 and Suburban East Conference rival Woodbury at Bielenberg Arena in Woodbury.

The Wolfpack, which played without senior forwards Nick Moser and Jacob Garr, needed a big performance from its other forwards and got it from senior Chris Peterson and junior Eric Stoffel. The duo scored two goals each to help lead Park (2-10-1, 1-6-1 SEC) to its first win since Dec. 27.

“It was big because both of them have been snake bitten this year,” Wolfpack head coach Jay Moser said.

Peterson scored what proved the game-winner in the second period at the 7 minute, 44 second mark and added a power-play goal in the third period. Stoffel tied it up at 2:14 of the second period and also added a third period goal.

“We were getting some power plays,” Moser said. “Even though we’re not very effective on the power play it allowed us to get some chances. The power plays themselves gave us some momentum.”

Park finished 1-for-6 on the power play, but finished with 31 shots in its first conference win of the season.

The Royals (5-7-3, 0-5-3 SEC) served 16 penalty minutes, including a 5-minute major in the second period. Woodbury killed the 5-minute major, but playing shorthanded for so long had an impact.

The Royals finished with just 19 shots on goal. Wolfpack goaltender Matthew Palmquist turned away 17 shots for his first victory of the season.

“He made a few very good saves that kept the momentum in our favor,” Moser said.

Nick Moser missed the game because of a separated shoulder and Garr missed the game because of a game disqualification for a checking from behind major penalty Thursday night against Mounds View in a 5-1 loss.

Despite the lineup shuffle Jay Moser said the team has started to put together a more consistent effort in the last three games.

Mounds View powerful in 5-1 win over Park

The Mustangs (10-2-2, 6-1-2 SEC) who are ranked No. 17 in Class 2A and lead the Suburban East Conference got going right away against Park.

Jacob Tretsven scored 3:20 into the game and added a power-play goal at 10:28 to build a 2-0 lead.

The Mounds View power play proved potent, going 3-for-6 and tallying two goals in the third period.

Moser said the game didn’t feel like a matchup between the top team in the conference and a last-place team despite the score.

“That was a fantastic game,” Moser said. “We played really well for three periods.”

The Wolfpack didn’t help itself out either when given a man advantage. Park finished 0-for-6 on the power play. Stoffel scored the lone goal in the second period at 10:18 to temporarily make it a 2-1 game. The Mustangs responded 14 seconds later with a goal from Andrew Bjorklund.

“It came down to power plays,” Moser said. “We’re not skilled enough to take advantage of them.”

Mounds View outshot the Wolfpack 35-28. Kyle Strand made 30 stops in goal for Park.

The Wolfpack faced Rosemount Tuesday in Rosemount, after the Bulletin went to print. Park plays East Ridge Thursday at Cottage Grove Ice Arena.

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