Boys Hockey: Bengals Down Orioles in Blowout

The Blaine Bengals proved that they are state contenders this season with a 8-2 blowout win against the Osseo Orioles. Blaine’s dominant offense was just too much for the Orioles.

Senior Jon Kallestad started in goal for the Bengals. While sophomore Brian Broos and senior Tanner Vescio started at defense, and Seniors Riley Tufte, Luke Notermann and Alex Penn started at forward. This starting lineup is reminiscent of the one that brought the Bengals to state last year.

This was Blaine’s first game of the year and Osseo’s second, so the first period was a little sloppy with both teams making inaccurate passes and missing checks. This did not stop the Bengal’s potent offense as Riley Tufte scored unassisted just three minutes into the game. Tufte is listed as a “A” grade prospect by the NHL Scouting Commission and really showed that tonight. He dominated all ends of the ice, and used his huge stature to his advantage.

The Bengals took a lot of shots and the puck remained in the Osseo zone for most of the period. The game was also very physical as there were a lot of big hits. Osseo forward Max Otto and Blaine forward Austin Johnson went to the box about 10 minutes after Tufte’s goal. They were the first of many penalties in the physical game.

At the five minute mark Luke Notermann scored top shelf after teammate junior Max Bautch stole the puck and gave it to the accurate Bengal forward. Luke Notermann and Riley Tufte really clicked against the Orioles. Notermann had a great year last year and he seems to be in even better form tonight as he scored a hattrick. Notermann led the Elite League in goals this season and it really showed Tuesday night.

Just two minutes later senior Griffin Fussy scored off a nice pass from behind the net from senior Mason Landborg, while senior Grant Boege earned the secondary assist. The Bengals always seemed to be a few steps behind the Orioles. The Bengals played sloppy at times and missed some of their passes but they always managed to get the puck in the net. At the end of the second period they had ten shots on goal to Osseo’s two.

The second period was a hard hitting period and Bengals got on the power play early but could not score. The second period was a period of many scoring chances, with Blaine acting on those chances and scoring three goals. At 12:02 Mason Landborg tipped a shot from Tanner Vescio and put the Bengals up by four; while Grant Boege earned his 2nd assist of the night on the goal as well. Osseo reacted quickly and in two minutes Captain Eric Lyons scored on the powerplay.

Later in the period, Tufte scored again in front off a pass from junior Lincoln Erne to make it 5-1. Austin Johnson went on a breakaway just after but missed after attempting to go five hole. At the one minute mark, Tanner Vescio took a slap shot that turned into a rebound for Luke Notermann who easily put it away. Riley Tufte assisted on the shot as well. The second period was a very Blaine oriented period except for the lone Osseo goal.

Blaine started the period off with a bang when Notermann went on a breakaway and scored off the backhand. He was assisted by sophomore Brian Broos, who got his first Varsity point, and senior Patrick Buck. Just one minute later at 14:27, Lincoln Erne got his second point of the night on a goal and a second assist in two minutes for Buck, to make it 7-1. Erne played on Varsity last year but this year poses to be his breakout year.

The game continued to be one of Bengal dominance and physical checking as numerous of penalties were called. Austin Johnson continued to be physical and stretched the rules and got a 10 minute minor penalty. Blaine was up by seven so the running clock was put into effect in the 3rd period as well.

With a minute left to play Osseo junior Max Johnson scored a wrist shot to cut the Bengal lead to 6. This was obviously too late and the game ended with a 8-2 Bengal victory.

The game really showed what an offensive power Blaine was. There were some doubts about how much depth the Bengals really had, but these doubts went away as the Bengals showed that they could keep the goals coming. Tufte and Notermann also had great games with former having two goals and the latter having three. They showed that they can work together and are one of the top duos in the state. The Bengal’s performance Tuesday night really showed that they are a team ready to challenge for the state championship.

Blaine plays conference and now section rival Spring Lake Park at Forgerty Arena at 7pm Saturday night. Be there and support your Bengals!