BOYS HOCKEY: Loaded with seniors, Dragons aim for big season

“I can’t say enough things about that senior class last year,” Berggren said. “My opinion is that our locker room, just the chemistry that we had in that locker room, was phenomenal. And I always point to the seniors for that.”

He will point to a new, larger group of seniors for that chemistry and leadership this season, in which the Dragons will compete in a new section and face new challenges.

The senior class this year numbers 13, and while they’re different than last year’s class, Berggren believes they have the potential to have the same success.

“I think it’s early to see how that locker room chemistry all works out,” Berggren said after LDC dropped its opening game of the season 6-4 to Southwest Christian/Richfield Dec. 4. “But this group that we have, 13 seniors, which is incredible, these guys are a tight group.

“They’ve played a ton of hockey through the years. And they’ve obviously enjoyed it, and they enjoy each other’s company or else you wouldn’t have that many stick with it,” he added.

Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato finished last season with a 10-9-2 record and advanced to the state tournament for the fifth time. The trip didn’t last long, as the Dragons lost 8-1 to East Grand Forks in the quarterfinals, but Berggren, who was coaching in his first state tournament, called it an “awesome” experience that he hoped would establish higher goals for the program.

That quest starts this season. And though there are many pieces to replace — including two of the top three scorers (Logan Benson and Mason Schroeder) and the No. 1 goalie (Darby Halonen) — Berggren knows he has a pretty solid foundation upon which to continue to build.

Top returnees in terms of scoring are Jack Hillmann, a senior forward, who was the team’s second-leading scorer in tallying eight goals and 11 assists last season. Senior defenseman Gavin Hanson was fourth on the team in scoring with six goals and 10 assists, while senior forward Ryan Schutz was fifth with six goals and nine assists.

And while many want to know who will be on the top line, Berggren doesn’t position the discussion that way.

“I talked to the boys about first line, second line, third line, fourth line,” he said. “I don’t really consider any line to be No. 1 (or) 2. We’re always trying to match up lines versus the other team’s lines and give us an advantage. So some nights you might be more of a checking line, more of a defensive line, that we’re trying to match you up against a No. 1 line, so you might be the (No.) 1 line. And the next night, we might need a scoring line to move up.”

Among those who Berggren says he will “lean heavy on” due to their experience from a season ago are senior forwards Zach Zwilling, Keyton Johnson and Winky Estrada, along with senior defensemen Grant Grochow, Gavyn Lund, Grant Hataaja and Gavin Hanson.

But, Berggren added, others seniors will play important roles on the team, despite not seeing much ice time last season, including forwards Wyatt Larson and Trenton Evjen.

“They maybe didn’t play as much last year, but they look really good,” Berggren said. “You can tell they’re fighting for a spot, and they know, they’re willing to do anything they can to get playing time, which is awesome.

“Trenton Evjen, he’s just an outstanding locker room guy,” Berggren added. “He knows his role on the team and he accepts it, and he busts his rear end in practice every day and is just an awesome kid for our team.”

One of the biggest question marks entering the season would seem to be in goal, with the loss of Halonen, a four-year starter, who played in 92 games and posted a 3.12 goals against average for his career.

Yet, Berggren feels the Dragons are well-positioned there, as well, because he has another Halonen — Darby’s younger brother Travis — to slot into the lineup.

“Travis was around our team last year. He played JV and practiced varsity, and he played at the state tournament,” Berggren said. “He’s played goalie for years, and he’ll be a great fit for us back there. He’s got just the perfect personality for it.”

With a roster stacked with players from a state tournament-qualifying team, Berggren said he and the coaching staff want to push the envelope a little in terms of expectations and playing style this season. That will include a more aggressive playing style, looking to open up the offense somewhat when the opportunity presents itself.

“”We are trying to play a little bit more up temp this season, a little bit more offensive-minded,” he said. “Sometimes we refer to it as more of a run-and-gun, you know, we want to be always moving, scoring. That’s what we’re hoping for.

“Again, it’s early, we know there’s going to be some growing pains with it,” he added. “But it’s not every year where you get such a heavy group of returning players, so we’re trying to take advantage of that and not just play the basic and traditional style, but try to add in a few more things.”

That will be important as the Dragons move to Section 2A this season, where they’ll likely face a more challenging path to the state tournament than they did in Section 3A. They’ll face teams like Delano/Rockford, Orono and Breck. Delano/Rockford won the Section 2A championship last season by beating Breck, then ranked fifth in the state, in the tournament.

A few new opponents were added to the schedule this season in an effort to prepare the Dragons for the more grueling postseason.

“We knew that in order to compete in that section, we need to play high-level teams right from the start,” Berggren said. “What we’re really looking to do is get to that consistent play where we’re at a high level day in and day out. So when we do get to late February and we’re playing that section tournament, we’re used to it, we’ve played these top teams.”