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Stillwater's Seven-Goal First Period Stuns Cretin-Derham Hall

02/15/2017, 6:15am CST
By Peter Odney
T.J. Sagissor celebrates a Stillwater goal in the first period of the Ponies’ 9-2 win over Cretin-Derham Hall on Tuesday night. Credit: Peter Odney.

T.J. Sagissor celebrates a Stillwater goal in the first period of the Ponies’ 9-2 win over Cretin-Derham Hall on Tuesday night. Credit: Peter Odney.

On a day commercially devoted to love and warm feelings, Stillwater could not have been a more rude host to their guests from Cretin-Derham Hall.

The Ponies hung seven goals on their Suburban East Conference rival Raiders in the first period alone, en route to a 9-2 victory, clinching at least a share of the league title with two games to go in the regular season.

“You don’t expect that,” Stillwater head coach Matt Doman said of scoring more than half a dozen goals to start a game. “Especially against a team like that where you’re battling for a conference championship with those guys.”

The win gives the Ponies, ranked No. 5 in the latest Class AA state coaches’ poll, back-to-back conference crowns, checking off one of the three concrete goals the Ponies laid out before the season began.

“We want three banners,” Doman explained. “We want a conference championship, a section championship and a state tournament (championship), Doman continued. “Tonight was a big game for that, and Thursday we’ll have the opportunity to win (the conference) solo and hopefully we’ll be ready to go.”

The longest gap the Ponies (20-3-0, 14-1-0) went without scoring in the first period was just over six minutes, as three goals from T.J. Sagissor and one each from Jesse Bjugstad, Michael Kaufman and Matthew Stanton gave Stillwater its insurmountable lead.

Senior forward Luke Manning dished out five assists in the first, and said that the team expected hadn’t expected a seven-goal barrage to start the evening.

“Coming out and getting seven goals in the first period is not what we planned on, but it was really nice to be able to come out and take it to ‘em and have a little leeway the rest of the game,” Manning said.

Michael Kramer and Billy Honsa tallied goals in the third period for the Raiders (16-7-0, 13-2-0), who carried a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup.

Riding a winning streak of its own, Stillwater entered the game with three straight victories since a Jan. 31 loss to No. 6-AA Lakeville North, outscoring opponents 26-3 in that span.

“I think it kind of made us realize that we gotta come out ready for every game,” Manning said, adding that Lakeville North represented a good challenge talent-wise for the Ponies. “I think we’re on a roll coming (close) to playoffs.” 

Cretin-Derham Hall’s Michael Kramer (22) scores in the second period of Raiders’ loss to the Ponies. Credit: Peter Odney.

Cretin-Derham Hall’s Michael Kramer (22) scores in the second period of Raiders’ loss to the Ponies. Credit: Peter Odney.

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Tag(s): State Of Hockey  News