Page 10 Lake Conference Hockey • Thursday , December 12 , 2024 sailor . com
STMA BOYS HOCKEY
Young guns ready to set fire to the ice
JEREMY LAGOS jeremy . lagos @ apgecm . com
Playing in the Lake Conference is no easy task but the St . Michael- Albertville Knights are poised to be pesky .
The top line of Braeden Waller , Owen Volkenant and Easton Monahan are all sophomores . Speed and skill come naturally to those three , which should help the Knights find the back of the net more often than last year . Only three players scored 10 or more goals last season and two graduated .
Already having a season playing in the Lake under their belts , Waller , Volkenant and Monahan are young veterans . There will never be an easy game in the Lake but their experience will be helpful .
One of those three
2 - Junior forward Levi Antoine 3 - Sophomore forward Braeden Waller 4 - Senior defenseman Jack Johnson 7 - Junior forward Tate Helland 9 - Sophomore forward Easton Monahan 10 - Senior forward James Anderson 11 - Junior forward Brady Luedemann 12 - Senior forward Alex Hernandez 13 - Senior defenseman Colton Mclellan 14 - Junior forward Tanner Esterberg 15 - Junior defenseman Henry Braun 18 - Sophomore defenseman Dylan Faucher 19 - Junior forward Henry Robinson 20 - Sophomore defenseman Wyatt Tauer 21 - Sophomore forward Owen Volkenant 23 - Sophomore defenseman Caden Clark 25 - Sophomore forward Hunter Hansen 26 - Senior forward Aiden Hogan 30 - Junior foaltender Lucas Ingebrigston 31 - Sophomore goaltender Ethan Johnson
players who did score 10 goals last season was now junior forward Tanner Esterberg . He has a nose for the net and knows how to get himself open . He plays with senior captain Alex Hernandez .
Two lines that can score are paramount to a successful season and while the Knights won ’ t be contenders for the Lake Conference crown , they will make teams work for wins in 2024-25 .
Manning the blue line is senior captain Jack Johnson . Johnson and sophomore Colton McLellan will be the top defensive pairing for STMA .
Jack Johnson has been around the block a few times for the Knights . He is a four-year veteran and his leadership will be a strong presence with only three other seniors on the roster .
Having Jack Johnson patrolling the blue line will be important for a new goaltending duo .
Junior Lucas Ingebrigtson and sophomore Ethan Johnson are both new to the varsity roster and will split time unless one of them is able to take control of the starting job .
A hot start to the season is giving the blue and gold added confidence . They have scored 13 goals through the first
( SUN PHOTO BY JEREMY LAGOS )
St . Michael-Albertville senior forward and captain Alex Hernandez ( left ) celebrates scoring a goal against Osseo on Nov . 30 at Dick Vraa Ice Area . Hernandez had two points against the Orioles . Pictured behind Hernandez is senior defenseman and captain Jack Johnson .
two games of the season , both wins . That ’ s more goals over a two-game stretch than they had all of last year .
Esterberg and Waller potted two goals during an overtime win against Spring Lake Park / Coon Rapids . Esterberg added three more and Monahan found the back of the twice during a blowout win over Osseo in game two .
Volkenant leads the team with seven points thanks to five assists . Waller and Esterberg are tied for second with six points each . With three assists , Monahan has five points early . Hernandez ’ s two goals are tied with Volkenant and Monahan for third .
Maintaining that level of production all year isn ’ t likely but it ’ s a positive sign . A team that averaged just over two goals per game a year ago would like to add one or two to that total .
Improved play from special teams will go a long way to helping the Knights improve on last year ’ s five-win total .
The power play is at 25 percent , almost 20 points higher than where they finished in February . The penalty kill is at 75 percent , also nearly 20 points higher than the 2023-24 team .
Limiting the amount of penalties they take will be key too for a team that takes too many .
Head Coach Sean Fish and company will just focus on getting better day by day and take the season one game at a time .
There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the prospects of this team with a lot of key players who will be around for a while yet .