According to sophomore goalie William Pinney, the game Thursday went worse than expected technically, but the team won 3-1 regardless.

“I think it went okay, I think we could play better but we came out with the win so that’s what matters,” Pinney said.

Coach Chris Dahlin said although the players sometimes try less when it comes to playing easy teams, they were able to keep up effort throughout the game.

“I think in some games we have a tendency to not always have a great effort against lesser opponents, but today I thought that we kept the effort up and outcompeted in the whole game,” Dahlin said.

According to coach Dan Batdorf, the team has not won a game in the Victoria Recreation Center in years.

“In this rink, this was the first time we’ve had a win (for some time). We just haven’t had much luck here,” Batdorf said.

According to Pinney, this win makes them a target for other teams, while giving Park a confidence boost.

“I think that it gives us more of a confidence in our team and makes other teams really want to beat us,” Pinney said.

According to Dahlin, the players must be stepping up their game each match in order to go into the Sections tournament.

“You have to play better each game and come into Sections playing your best games and going on that trend the whole way through,” Dahlin said.

Batdorf said the team just needs to fully engage in the game plan while playing.
 

“When we get into the games, we have to commit to our systems and commit to the plan we have for the game,” Batdorf said.

According to Dahlin, the team hopes to be playing better with each game, although that doesn’t guarantee much due to hockey’s unpredictable nature.

“You never know what’s going to happen in play-off hockey at any level, and obviously coming into the sections, if we’re playing better hockey, that’s what you hope for,” Dahlin said.

The team’s next game is against Bloomington Jefferson at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Bloomington Ice Garden.

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