The Stoughton Vikings (#3 in the latest WiPH Top Ten poll) have gone to the state tournament in back-to-back years, but they'll face a challenge from Badger South conference opponent Oregon (#9) on Tuesday at the Oregon Community Sports Arena.
The Oregon Panthers come into the game riding a three game winning streak to open the season. Not only have the Panthers won all three of their games, they've yet to allow a goal on the season. The Panthers opened with an 8-0 win over Wausau East, and followed it with 7-0 wins over both Madison West and Sauk Prairie.
The Vikings are on a three game winning streak to start the season and have put up a whopping 32 goals in those three games. Stoughton opened the season with a 13-4 win over Baraboo and followed it with a 7-0 win over Reedsburg/Wisc. Dells. They finished their week with a 12-4 win over DeForest.
With such dominating performances to start the season, there are sure to be questions about both teams as they move on with their schedules. “I think for sure after Tuesday evening vs Oregon, we will have a pretty good idea where we stand as a team,” said Vikings coach Rick Fleming. “No question, our players are pumped up, it should be an electrifying atmosphere, it was last season as well. It should be a lot of fun.”
Part of the Panthers' success this season can be attributed to the fact that they only lost two players to graduation after last season. “We are very lucky to have a great group of young men who are willing to put in the time necessary to compete at a high level,” said Panthers coach Tony Renlund. “All of our players have worked hard over the summer and consequently have shown tremendous improvement as a result of their efforts.”
When asked about the fact that Oregon has three shutouts to open the season, Fleming noted “Oregon's Defensemen are great players, we will have to contain them, as well as [Goalie] Tyler Stensaas.”
Oregon on the other hand is more focused on the process against Stoughton than on the Vikings players. “Focusing on the process allows our team to continue to improve and compete at a high level,” said Renlund.
Renlund added that the focus was on playing sound game, “Our players will come out and play their game. Just like any team we will focus on playing hard, playing smart, and playing together. If we do those things well, good things will happen.”
