DHS looks to skate 3 full periods

Dickinson High boys hockey coach Dallas Kuntz said despite the team’s 2-1 record, it still hasn’t played three full periods.
He’s probably right.
The Midgets have shown glimpses of solid play but haven’t put together a full 51 minutes.
Dickinson looks to play back-to-back full games when it hosts Bismarck Century at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Hazen-Beulah at 4:15 p.m. Saturday.
“I’m looking for us to play a full game of hockey,” Kuntz said. “We haven’t played three full periods yet and Century is as good of a team as ever. Growing up, I played Century and it was always a big rivalry. These boys need to understand that whether it’s Bismarck High, Century or Hazen, every point is important from here on out.”
In three games, the Midgets have scored 16 goals and given up 13. However, nine of the 13 goals came in the Midgets’ first loss against Bottineau-Rugby on Saturday. The Midgets have picked up a West Region win against Williston and have a nonconference win over Sidney, Mont.
Michael McChesney, a sophomore forward, leads the team with seven points (four goals and three assists). Junior Kass Dvorak had four goals and one assist while senior Alex Turcotte has one goal and four assists. Junior Matt Pavek has four points - two goals and two assists - after missing a majority of the Sidney game and the entire Williston game because of injury.
“It’s nice to be back. I was out for a couple games, but I’m back and ready to go,” Pavek said. “We are going to try to move the puck this weekend. We have our lines together and just keep rolling from there.”
Dickinson’s two goalies are senior Brett Schweitzer and sophomore Eric Schaper. The two have a save percentage of 81.2 and have allowed 4.3 goals per game.
The Midgets have had eight players score a goal and a total of 10 players tally at least one point. The team effort is there, but Kuntz is hoping the intensity is going to follow.
“Every rep, every shift and every time they are on the ice, they have to skate like it’s their last shift,” he said. “Our first three games we were tentative. We played in spurts. If we skate hard every shift and play as a team, good things are going to happen for us.”
Dickinson wrestling ready for first home dual
The Dickinson High wrestling team spent the first two West Region duals of the season on the road.
The Midgets won’t have to travel for their next dual.
Dickinson hosts Bismarck St. Mary’s in a West Region dual at 6 p.m. today.
“It’s a big dual,” Dickinson head coach Adam Orton said. “St. Mary’s is supposed to be tougher than they have been in the past.”
The part the Midgets enjoy the most about home duals is the hometown crowd.
“The crowd, that’s why I love home duals,” Dickinson junior Austin Hutzenbiler said. “Everyone always wrestles better at home because the crowd is there and you don’t want to lose in front of your home fans.”
Dickinson has captured wins in its only two duals this season, beating Mandan and Minot. The Midgets handled the Braves and squeaked by the Magicians.
To beat the Saints, the Midgets are going to have to be at the top of their game, Orton said, and he feels like the team’s lineup should fare well against St. Mary’s.
“We opened up great against Mandan and I couldn’t have asked for a better dual,” he said. “Against Minot, I think we didn’t show up as much. We got the win, but we weren’t as intense as we were in Mandan. Hopefully we learned from that for this upcoming dual.”
Midgets girls hockey team gaining confidence
After taking a 5-2 loss against Fargo North on Saturday, Dickinson High head coach Al Takle said it looked like the girls had just won the game.
The reason for the added confidence is the Midgets took the Spartans down to the wire. Fargo North scored a pair of goals in the final 2 minutes.
“Last weekend was a really good weekend for us,” Takle said. “We showed that we could compete with those teams from the east. In the past against those teams, we’ve kind of gone into those games hoping that we could hang on. Our message to the girls is we can’t be satisfied with just being close. We need to start winning games.”
In two statewide games this season, the Midgets have been within one goal in the third period, which is an area the team hasn’t been for the last two seasons. Kira Zastoupil leads Dickinson with three goals in four games, while Kennadee Fritz, McKenna Love and Rachel Lantz each have two points.
The Midgets have confidence heading into a doubleheader this weekend, hosting Grand Forks at 5:15 p.m. on Friday and Devils Lake at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“Since day one of hitting the ice until this week in practice, we continue to get better every time,” Takle said. “We’re really starting to understand the game much better and we are very happy with that. We feel that’s going to continue.”