The Mankato West boys hockey team was looking for a bounce back effort Thursday night following two straight overtime losses. They got that and then some.
Senior Jaeger Zimmerman recorded his second-career four-goal game as the Scarlets trounced Faribault 11-0 in a Big Nine Conference game at All Seasons Arena.
“We’ve been talking a lot about sticking together and continuing to focus and get better,” said West head coach Nate Olsen. “We got on them early and stuck to our game and tried to build some good habits throughout it. We did a really good job at finishing tonight.”
The Scarlets did get on the Falcons early. Only 1:08 into the game, West’s Jackson Starke connected with his first career goal off a nice feed from Brodie Cox for a 1-0 West lead. Later in the first, Zimmerman scored the first of his two first-period goals at the 8:39 mark of the period. His second goal of the frame came off a loose puck in front of the net at the 13:26 mark. West led 4-0 after the first period.
“Our offense was buzzing tonight,” said Zimmerman. “Guys were just flying around the zone, making passes, and getting good quality shots on net. We’re playing Scarlet hockey now and it feels good.”
West scored early and often in the second period as well. Keaton Dorzek assisted on both of Zimmerman’s first-period goals. He recorded his own goal to start the scoring in the second. He grabbed a loose puck at the blue line and scored the breakaway goal to give West a 5-0 advantage.
Sophomore Jakobe Tosch had a stellar game for the Scarlets. Like Dorzek, he assisted on two first-period goals. He got his first goal nearly midway through the second period on a 5-on-3 power play. Tosch had a goal and four assists.
“(Tosch) is starting to get comfortable playing at the high school level,” said Olsen. “He’s getting some confidence and playing the game the right way. It showed up tonight.”
Zimmerman and Cox each tallied another goal to round out the second-period scoring. West led 8-0. West tallied four power-play goals on the night.
Isaac Ulman got in on the scoring to start the third period. His goal six minutes into the frame gave West a 9-0 lead. Dorzek grabbed his second goal and Zimmerman his fourth to round out the Scarlet scoring. Zimmerman now has 10 tallies on the season.
“(Zimmerman) would tell you he got off to a bit of a slow start compared to where he wanted to be,” said Olsen. “He’s gotten a little more assertive and shot the puck more recently. It’s good to have senior leadership and one of our captains going to the net for us.”
West (6-10-1, 6-3 in Big Nine) hosts New Prague on Tuesday at All Seasons Arena.