For the Tomahawk Leader
TOMAHAWK – The Tomahawk Hatchet hockey team kicked off its season late last month.
East Merrill United (EMU)
The Hatchets started off the on a high note, coming away with an 8-1 win over East Merrill United (EMU) Blackjacks on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at SARA Park in Tomahawk.
The Tomahawk skaters scored two goals in the first period, four in the second and two more in the third, while EMU was only able to tack on one goal in period two.
Head coach Chris Bembinster noted that the team started out the season with a solid performance against EMU.
“We definitely saw some things from this group that were amazing,” he stated after the game. “We will need to build on what happened tonight to make this season as successful as possible. All that said, the coaches are very proud of this group for how they handled themselves, and of course how they competed tonight.”
Lakeland
Following their season-opening win, the Hatchets hosted the Lakeland at SARA Park on Thursday, Dec. 2 and were ultimately shutout by the Thunderbirds 7-0.
Bembinster call the game the team’s “first serious test of the season.”
“There was a lot of emotion around this game tonight, and it showed in our team as a whole,” Bembinster said after the loss. “No excuses, they just played a better game tonight than we did. We will learn from tonight and better every game we go into.”
Burnett
The Hatchets travelled to Siren on Saturday, Dec. 4, and were defeated by the Burnett Blizzard by a score of 7 to 2.
Bembinster said the team went into the game thinking it had a “very legitimate chance of winning.”
“I, as the head coach, clearly did not have them prepared to compete in that game,” Bembinster stated. “We found ourselves in big penalty trouble, as we took 10 throughout the game, which seemed to wear us out and hurt us mentally.”
Bembinster said the Hatchets would go into practice this week looking to “refocus, in all aspects of the game” before traveling to Pacelli on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
“We believe in this group, we all just need to find the right combination to be successful,” Bembinster stated.
The Tomahawk skaters will host Northland Pines at SARA Park on Thursday, Dec. 9. The game will start at 7 p.m.