HDM2022: Prior Lake and East Grand Forks clash on Hockey Day

The essentials

Prior Lake

Being a part of Hockey Day Minnesota, of course a team wants to win the game. But with an event as special as this, there's a lot more to it than winning and losing, said Prior Lake boys' hockey coach Joe Pankratz.
"Looking big-picture at it, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these kids," Pankratz said.
The Lakers have a lot of seniors on the roster this season, including goaltender Tyler Boschee. A third-year starter, Boschee is 35-13-4 in his career. His 24-save shutout Dec. 11 at Eagan gave him his 32nd career victory, breaking the school record of 31 wins by Joe Buechler (2000-04).
"I think the biggest thing is he doesn't get rattled," Pankratz said. "He's just very comfortable. Consistent and sound back there in net for us."
Senior forwards Alex Bump (Vermont commit), Sam Rice and Will Schumacher often skate together on a line, though they could get shifted around as Pankratz said he searches for "that happy medium of depth and chemistry." Even if they don't play together, they're still talented individually. All three players returned this season after playing juniors in the fall. Hockey Day Minnesota played a big role in the returns, according to Pankratz.
Bump is the squad's leading scorer with 17 goals and 31 points through the firsts 14 games for the Lakers. Pankratz calls him the "engine of the team" and someone they rely on quite a bit.
"He controls the play," Pankratz said. "When he's out there, he's got the puck. And if he wants the puck, he typically goes and gets the puck."
Schumacher brings good vision and a good shot. He's consistently near the top of the team's stat sheet, leading the Lakers in goals and points his sophomore (16-19--35) and junior (15-21--36) seasons. He's second to Bump this season with six goals and 17 points through 14 games.
Rice missed the first six games of the season before sitting out a couple more because of COVID-19, but he's contributed nine points in his seven games. He has really good hands, good feet and "he's got a really good motor" going all the time on the ice, Pankratz said. Younger brother, junior Joe Rice, hasn't played on a line with his brother Sam, so expect to see them get some time together on the ice during Hockey Day.
Senior Riley Dueber is an "unsung hero" and consistently the second-best player (behind Bump) on the team this season, Pankratz said. Dueber is fast with a good shot, and he also announces the starting lineups before every game in the locker room. On the younger side, freshman Levi Eiter only keeps getting better this season and will be someone to "keep an eye on," Pankratz said.
On defense, senior Jackson Anderson leads the way (4-8-12 through 12 games) as someone who played a lot of minutes and is strong on his skates, according to his coach.
"He punishes guys," Pankratz said. "He's very physical, but he's got unbelievable hands and great vision. He's one of the best passers that I've coached."
The rest of the defensive core is made up of role players. Seniors Justin Simonson and Richard Carsten are both solid skaters who play a lot of minutes as well.

East Grand Forks

East Grand Forks was already scheduled to play on Hockey Day Minnesota in 2021 before it was postponed by the pandemic. Last season's team made a run to the Class 1A state tournament semifinals and graduated 11 players from that squad. The Green Wave also lost five of its six defensemen from last year, either through graduation or players moving on to junior hockey.
"It's just been a lot of pieces that we had to replace," said coach Tyler Palmiscno. "We're still kind of waiting for people to step into those roles."
So this year's squad suiting up in Mankato looks a bit different than the team fans tuned in to watch during the last state tournament. The Green Wave is below .500, in the midst of "a little bit of a down year," Palmiscno said, and comes into the week having lost seven of its past eight games.
The Green Wave rolls with junior Jaksen Panzer as the leading scorer; he racked up 17 goals and 32 points through the first 14 games this season. He's already surpassed his goal total from last season when he tallied 14 goals and 36 points in 23 games, ranking second on the team. Panzer committed to the University of North Dakota as a freshman.
"When he's playing well, he's relentless," Palmiscno said. "He's really got that mentality that he's going to do whatever he can to make a play or to help his team win."
Sophomores Grady Magner and Brock Schultz follow Panzer in scoring, each with 15 points through 14 games. Senior Zach Stocker (4-4--8 in 14 games) is another leader on the team with the consistency of his play. Even though he hasn't scored a ton of goals, it's the daily leadership that is extremely important to the team, according to Palmiscno.
In net, the Green Wave goes with a tandem of sophomore goaltenders in Chase Mero and Lucas Wavra. They're both finding their way getting varsity games this season and have been very good in net at times, Palmiscno said. Mero saw some time in goal last year, going 3-1-0.
Hockey Day is different than any other game on the schedule, even from big games like the section or state tournament when teams try to simplify their games, Palmiscno said.
"I think we're going to encourage our kids to look around and to enjoy it," Palmiscno said. "Really soak it all in because it is pretty special to be a part of it."
Photos courtesy of Rick Olsen/SWNewsMedia (Prior Lake) and Russell Hons (EGF)