After suffering a loss against Minneapolis with a final score of 3-5, coach Zach Strouts said one of the team’s most notable qualities is perseverance.

“Our goaltending is one of the best in the state,” Strouts said. “One of the best things that we have is the fight level. The boys just don’t give up.”

Senior Jacob Johnson said the team, which has a 2-3-0 record, made a conscious decision to bring a higher effort level to the game.

“We realized that we couldn’t come into this game with no effort and win. Some of us decided that we needed to up the intensity, and that helped us get those three goals,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Park’s many turnovers gave the opponents many opportunities to score and eventually win the game.

“We turned it over quite a few times on blue lines and those are the vital areas,” Johnson said. “That’s where they got their odd man rushes and how they scored five goals.”

According to Strouts, puck possession is crucial for success in games.

“Turnovers are big in hockey, you have to control the puck and do the little things. If we don’t do those, (we’re) not going to succeed,” Strouts said.

Johnson said by creating many opportunities to score, the team was able to get the puck into the goal.

“We realized that we weren’t going to get fancy goals,” Johnson said. “We decided we were going to sit in front of the net and bang at the goalie until they went in and that’s how they all went in.”

According to Strouts, staying in control and fixing small mistakes is key to getting the team to play at its full potential.

“The aggression is always there with us,” Strouts said. “The composure is what we need to work on. We need to get back to the small things — when we do the small things right, we’re a good team.” 

The next boys’ hockey game will be against Osseo at 3 p.m. Dec. 14 at Dick Vraa Ice Arena.