The Eagles were on a mission to bounce back from a fourth place finish at the Rochester Holiday Invitational and despite a slow start, they accomplished their mission. Northland Pines defeated Medford 8-4 last night and remain in second place in the Great Northern Conference standings.

Colton Raymond started the scoring off of a rebound but Medford came right back just thirty seconds later when Dylan Hraby tied up the game 1-1. Raymond didn’t like that and came out to take back the lead when he fired the puck right over Spenser Scholl’s shoulder. Scholl had several big saves in the first period, saving the puck on a breakaway by Jack Rhode and snatching the puck right up on a slapshot by Tyler Hunt.

Noah Wittkopf came out strong, scoring thirty seconds after the first faceoff of the second period. Linemates Colton Raymond and Ryon Ritzer picked up assists on the tally. Adam Sima and David Sauvola, both freshmen, suited up for their first varsity game and recorded their first varsity points: assists on a goal scored by TJ Ebert. Medford scored two quick goals after Ebert’s goal, cutting the Eagles’ lead 4-3.

Nick Dean was back in the Eagles’ lineup after missing the majority of the season with a foot injury and did not disappoint, recording eight shots on net throughout the game. Dean, with the help of Tyler Hunt, set up Jack Rhode as he went top shelf on Scholl. Connor Cox closed out the period with a big goal that sent the Northland Pines student section roaring with excitement.

The game was 6-3 in favor of the home team going into the third period, but not for long. The Wittkopf brothers, Noah and Tucker, scored two goals just twenty seconds apart from each other and Connor Cox, Ryon Ritzer, Nick Dean and Tyler Hunt each picked up assists on the goals scored right in front of the net. A Medford goal was scored by Klayton Kree after he launched the puck right past Pines’ goalie Ethan Polich.

Northland Pines won their first game of the new year 8-4 over Medford and will face another Great Northern Conference opponent, Lakeland, on the road on Thursday, January 7th and hosts Fond du Lac Springs on Saturday for a non-conference matchup.