The hockey team upset the Churchill Bulldogs, 2-1, Feb. 16, to advance to the next round of the playoffs. In the regular season, the Bulldogs were undefeated and delivered the Vikings their only two losses.

The Vikes started off hot when JM Hellman scored the first goal of the game late in the first period during a power play. The second period remained scoreless due to good goalkeeping on both ends of the ice.

The third period was exciting until the very end. With just over three minutes remaining, forward Lucas Karron scored a beautiful wrist shot off assists from Alexander Gandolfo and Andy Dexter to give the Vikes the 2-0 lead. However, just as it seemed like the Bulldogs were done fighting, they came back swinging. With only 59 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs managed to slip the puck by goalie Matt Bruns to cut the Vikes’ lead to 2-1. With only five seconds left, the Bulldogs got the puck in front of the goal, where Bruns was late getting up from the previous save. Luckily, the Bulldogs player whiffed the puck, allowing the Vikes to seal the win.

Karron was proud of the team but notes that their schedule is only getting harder.

“Churchill was ranked number one and we took them down. That’s a huge win for the team because everybody wanted it, and we got it,” he said. “The next couple weeks are big, and states won’t get any easier. But obviously this is where we want to be.”

The win allows the Vikes to advance to the state championship.