By Ainsley Schafer
In a crushing 14 -1 victory against No. 8-seeded La Crescent-Hokah on February 19th, the No.1-seeded Northfield boys hockey team advanced to the next stage of Minnesota State High School League boys hockey sectionals and closed out the program’s final game at the Northfield Ice Area.
Setting the tone for the rest of the game, the Raiders put six goals into the back of the net by the end of the first period. Henry Webber opened the floodgates at minute 6:14 with the first goal and assists from Charlie Becker and Christian Whiteman.
La Crescent-Hokah’s defence faced immense pressure from Northfield’s relentless attack. The first period ended with 22 shots on goal for the Raiders and 0 for the Lancers.
Northfield doubled their shots in the second period and nearly tripled them in the third period with a total of 60 shots on goal by the end of the game.
In the second period, the Raiders put away another five goals. But as the game heated up, so did the players. Both teams received penalties in the period, resulting in multiple power play opportunities for either side.
Christian Whiteman took advantage of these opportunities and earned back-to-back goals with both a cherry-picked shot followed by a power play goal. Jacob Peters followed up with two more back-to-back goals, putting the score at 10 – 0 and earning himself a hat trick for the night.
Not letting Northfield get away without a scratch, the Lancers’ Owen Webinger earned his team’s first goal 30 seconds into the third period. Northfield closed out the period with another two goals, solidifying the 14 – 1 win against La Crescent-Hokah and marking the final Boys Hockey Game played at the Northfield Ice Arena.
Work began in August 2025 on the new Northfield Ice Arena, which is expected to be completed in August.
Northfield is next set to face Rochester Lourdes at 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Rochester Recreation Center.
Ainsley Schafer is a Senior at St. Olaf College and a news intern with KYMN radio covering Northfield sports. Contact her at news@kymnradio.net
