On Thursday, Dec. 6, the Hopkins/Park girls hockey team will take on their toughest opponent of the season so far.
The 3-4 Royals will take on the 3-2-1 New Prague Trojans for the first and only time this season.
The Royals come into the game hoping to bounce back from a two game losing skid. This includes a 7-6 loss in overtime against Duluth. Coming into the game, Duluth was 0-5.
New Prague comes into the game hoping to start another win streak after recently dropping a game against the Mound Westonka White Hawks 6-0.
Currently, the Royals sit fourth in the conference, behind Edina, Wayzata, and Eden Prairie. This is better than last year, when Hopkins/Park finished bottom of the conference.
The biggest key for the Royals is to stay out of the penalty box. What killed the the most against Duluth was penalties, where they took 12 separate trips to the box. Anytime you are shorthanded, it is hard to control the play, so the Royals need to stay away from taking any unnecessary penalties against New Prague.
Some players to watch in the game for the Royals are Mary Gleason and Erin Brousseau, who lead the Royals in points. Gleason has 13 points this season, including the hat trick she had. against Duluth. Brousseau has 12 points and tallied five of those in the loss to Duluth.
Players to watch for New Prague and Kaitlyn Blair and Lindsey Bjerke, who each lead the team with nine points. Blair had seven of those points in a game against Red Wing, including a hat trick and four assists. Bjerke enters the game on a five game point streak.