It was a clean sweep Thursday night for Raider athletics, as Hastings Boys Hockey, Girls Hockey, Boys Basketball and Girls Basketball all secured wins.
Boys Hockey
The Raiders were playing their 5th straight 3 game week, and their 5th game in 7 days, and were taking on a Two Rivers team ranked 10th in MNHockeyHub’s Class A poll. The Raiders would strike first, when Brody Larsen found the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead with 3 seconds left in the first period. Two Rivers would eventually tie it up when a puck deflected in off of someone to make it 1-1 in the second period, but mere seconds later, while they were still announcing the Two Rivers goal, it was Austin Shanks punching it in to reclaim the lead. The Raiders then held strong the rest of the way, and Eddie Peine hit an empty net with 53 seconds left. Kody Niederkorn made 26 saves in the win. The Raiders get a much needed rest, not playing again until Tuesday against Lakeville North.
Girls Hockey
Libby Knoll’s goal was the only one that was needed for the Raiders, as Hastings held off Blaine 1-0 to get back into the win column. Bree Balster made 35 saves in the win. The Raiders return to action Satuday at Owatonna (3:00, KDWA will have coverage starting at 2:40).
Basketball
Hastings Boys rallied from a double digit deficit to beat Simley 67-65 in a thriller. The Raiders again got balanced scoring from the team, with 3 players in double figures led by Kellen Nuytten’s 23 points while Owen Bernatz added 16 and Matthew Foss 14. It was the 2nd win in a row for the Raiders, who return to action Saturday at Chaska… on the Girls side, they held Simley to 5 points in the second half, pulling away to win 41-22. Hailey Strain had 19 points, 13 of which came in the 1st half, to lead the Raiders who are now 11-7 on the year and 6-1 in the conference, 2nd only to Mahtomedi. They return to action Tuesday at Northfield
