Hockey

        The 2025 State Boys Hockey Tournament is history but how did some of the Northern Lakes Lightning players feel about playing at the Xcel Energy Center and in front of the big crowd.
        Drew Paulbeck was one of nine seniors on this years team and one of the captains. He had a great career, how would he assess his time with the Lightning. “I started off with an injury but I would say it went up from there.” I would say so, 38 goals this season and 61 points for the year while going over the 100 point mark for his career. What about the State Tournament, “It was fun and I was sad to play my final high school hockey game Saturday but I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with any other group of guys no matter what the game results were.” How about your teammate Wyatt Balmer winning the Herb Brooks Award, “That was awesome and well deserved.”
       Parker Fulton had a nice year as well and the sophomore really contributed with 11 goals and 11 assists. How did he feel about stepping on the ice at the Xcel Center, “I looked around and tried to soak it all in. It was crazy and took a few minutes to get comfortable in warm-ups.” What about the experience as a whole, “It’s something I’ll never forget the rest of my life.It was an unreal experience and we had the best support from all our communities.”
      Kyler Rikala is also a sophomore and although he was just getting his feet wet this season and had just one assist he was an important piece of the puzzle going down the stretch of the season and playoffs. What did he think about being in the State Tournament, “Making it to the State Tournament was a dream come true. Walking into the “X” and the locker rooms was unreal and then stepping on the ice and seeing all the fans and just knowing we were on the big stage was amazing.”
      Hunter Moreland is a junior and was the back-up goalie most of the season. He got to play over eight minutes in the final Saturday but he wanted to go back to the first night at the Xcel Energy Center and describe his feelings at that time, “I was absolutely in shock in the locker room. Everybody was yelling and focused on kicking some butt. When my skates hit the ice it was crazy, my eyes went black and I couldn’t feel my legs for at least two laps. All I could see was the first two rows of fans and the rest was black.”
     Wyatt Balmer won the Herb Brooks Award for 2025. He finished the season with 4goals and a whopping 32 assists. He talked about the award and his career, “It’s an honor to win the Herb Brooks Award and to be recognized at the State Hockey Tournament. There are so many other players, including many of my teammates that could have won this award too. I’m proud to have played for the Northern Lakes Lightning for the last 14 years. The State Tournament appearance and the Herb brooks Award are a great way to finish my Lightning career.”
     It has been a wonderful year for the Lightning with so many great moments and outstanding performances. They lose some great seniors including Finn Fogarty, Easton Anderson, Anthony Noyes, Jerome Martin, Preston Verness, Drew Paulbeck and Wyatt Balmer. Coach Mike Randolph had the final words for the 24-25 season, “Very proud of this team! They were a joy to go to the rink with every day. To play on the final day of the season is your goal every season. Can’t thank them enough for the ride!”