Steele County Blades Drop Home Opener but Win Two Other Games

The Steele County Blades opened their home schedule with a 4-3 loss to the Dells Ducks on Saturday. The Blades beat Blaine on Friday 5-2 and the Ducks on Sunday 2-1 in overtime.

A good-sized crowd put the new blue bleachers into use Saturday for the Steele Country Blades junior hockey team's home opener. The newly installed seats replaced the original bleachers from 1972 when the Four Seasons Centre was constructed.

The Ducks rode a hat trick from Sherman Mowery to a 4-3 victory, ending the Blades' four-game winning streak. Steele County's Spencer Heitkamp (Janesville, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season to give the Blades the lead less than three minutes into the game. Mowery scored his first goal about three minutes later and added consecutive power play goals early in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Colton Sprenger (Clive, Iowa) and Soren Colstrup (Ellendale) pulled the Blades even.

The Ducks' Cory Schwarz scored late in the second period off a turnover for the 4-3 lead, which stood up through a scoreless third period. Steele County out-shot the Dells 27-24. Tim Grounds took the loss in goal after winning his first three decisions.

Steele County opened their weekend with a 5-2 win at Blaine on Friday. Five players scored as the Blades hammered the Energy with 60 shots. Nicholas Mizen stopped 23 shots for the win in goal

On Sunday, Steele County topped the Ducks 2-1 in overtime on Colstrup's second goal of the contest. Chase Lewis (Winston Salem, N.C.) assisted. The Ducks held a 32-31 edge in shots on goal. Mike Severson stopped 31 shots to get the victory.

The Blades host Blaine on Friday, October 21, at 7:30PM at Four Seasons. Youth hockey players will be admitted free if wearing their youth hockey jersey.