Sports
Game of the Week: Henry Sibley Faces Waconia In Boy's Hockey Opener
Henry Sibley faces Waconia in their season opener at the Spartan Cup Friday.
MENDOTA HEIGHTS PATCH GAME OF THE WEEK
Boy’s Hockey
(0-0, 0-0 Classic Suburban Conference) vs. Waconia (0-0, 0-0 Wright County Conference)
CHEAT SHEET
SITE: St. Paul Academy – Spartan Cup
TIME: 5:30 p.m. Friday
LAST MEETING: Henry Sibley defeated Waconia 6-3 at the 2009 Spartan Cup.
ON THE LINE
The game matches two teams who are hoping to show improvement this season. Henry Sibley has dropped from Class 2A to 1A for next season, due to its enrollment. The Warriors went 7-19-1 last season and lost to Eastview 6-3 in the first round of the Section 3AA playoffs. Waconia was 6-19-1 overall and 0-14 in Wright County play. The winner advance to the Spartan Cup championship game Saturday evening, while the loser will play in the third place game. Henry Sibley lost to host St. Paul Academy in the title tilt last season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jake Lempelius - Henry Sibley forward
The senior had nine goals and seven assists last season and is the team’s leading returning scorer. He had five games of two points or more last season.
Ryan Mattson – Waconia forward
The junior had eight games of two or more goals last season, including a season-high four against Hutchinson. He finished with 27 of the team’s 69 goals last season.
WARRIORS WIN IF...
They can make up for the loss of their top four scorers from last season.
WILDCATS WIN IF...
They can find additional scorers to take the pressure of junior standout Mattson.