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Bounce back performance

Magicians hockey blanks Mandan 7-0 for first win

Alex Eisen/MDN Minot High junior Tatum Hertz (white) gets tangled up with Mandan's Jackson Zittleman in the first period of a West Region hockey game played Tuesday evening at Maysa Arena.

Three days after getting smacked 7-0 by the defending state champions Grand Forks Central in its home opener, the Minot High School boys hockey team strolled back into Maysa Arena Tuesday night with something to prove against Mandan.

The Magicians (1-1-0, 1-0-0 West Region) regrouped with an identical 7-0 shutout over the Braves (1-1-0, 0-1-0 West Region) for their first victory of the season.

“The kids responded with a good effort,” MHS co-head coach John Grubb said. “We didn’t like our effort (against Grand Forks Central). Win or lose, our effort wasn’t good enough last weekend. It was a 7-0 game, but we are just happy that the kids moved their feet all three periods.”

Six different Magi skaters scored in the contest. Junior goaltender Odin Nelson picked up the shutout by making 11 saves.

However, not everything went as smooth as the final score suggests. The Magi racked up 21 penalty minutes on five penalties across the first and second periods.

Alex Eisen/MDN Magi junior Mason Diehl (left) celebrates with teammate Samuel Opozda (11) after Minot's second goal Tuesday against Mandan.

Minot’s aggressive forecheck had to be reeled in a little bit early in the game after a five-minute major penalty was given to Tatum Hertz. The junior defenseman dangerously ran a Mandan skater into the boards on a body check from behind.

The Magi’s defense held up down a man and seconds after the penalty was killed off, Minot opened the scoring on a rebound goal poached by senior forward Jake Viall. The assist was given to senior defenseman Zachary Pedersen on a shot sent in from the blue line.

“I kind of think it helped us,” Grubb said about the early penalty. “It got us skating. We had to work a little harder while we were short (a man) and everybody had to battle a little bit. I think it got us into the game. But, we never want a five-minute major, obviously.”

Junior forward Mason Diehl extended Minot’s lead with 2:13 left in the first period. In a gutsy solo effort, Diehl forced a turnover, kept the puck in the offensive zone, slipped past a defender and beat Mandan goaltender Maysion Mattern in a matter of seconds.

“A little bit of luck,” Diehl said. “A fluky bouncer that went under the pad and went in. Honestly, just luck of the draw. It is what it is. Hard work pays off. Just put pucks in the net. They don’t ask how. They ask how many.”

After the first 17-minute period, Minot had a 2-0 lead and a 11-4 advantage in shots on goal.

A pair of first varsity goals by sophomores Jack Plemel and Peyton Philion pushed the Magi up 4-0 in the second period. Plemel redirected a shot from the point by Patrick Heide, while Philion picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone for a short-handed, unassisted breakaway goal.

Minot scored its first power play goal of the season three minutes later with 15.6 seconds left in the second frame. A cross-crease pass from Diehl set up an easy tap-in finish for senior forward Brock Bergrude.

“That’s the team we are going to have to be,” Grubb said. “We are probably not going to have a kid that is going to score 30 goals. But, if we can get a lot of guys in that 10-15 goal range, that’s the team we need to be. We played four lines tonight and a lot of times you can’t see a difference between the four.”

Goaltender Aaron Blowers replaced Mattern to start the third period for Mandan. He held his own until Mandan’s Samuel Peterson went to the box with a five-minute major penalty for boarding.

Diehl sniped his second goal of the game on the ensuing power play and then senior defenseman Logan Braaten added another goal 55 seconds later on a 5-on-3 opportunity.

“This is a big bounce back. This is huge for us,” Diehl said, who had two assists to go with his two goals.

Minot outshot Mandan 35-11 and had 14-4 advantage in quality scoring chances.

The Magi have their first road game of the season Thursday against Devils Lake. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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