The Prior Lake boys hockey team braved the cold to get a convincing win Jan. 22 during Hockey Day Minnesota.

The 16th annual event was held outdoors at Minnesota State University’s Blakeslee Field in Mankato. The Lakers earned a 7-1 win over East Grand Forks behind a hat trick from senior Will Schumacher.

Game-time temperatures hovered around zero, but the cold didn’t slow the Lakers who led 4-1 after two periods. Senior Alex Bump finished with a goal and four assists for Prior Lake, while senior Sam Rice had a goal and two assists.

Senior Riley Dueber and junior Joseph Rice both had a goal and an assist. Seniors Justin Kingery, Blake Dicke and Tanner Lykken each had an assist.

Senior Trevor Boschee started in goal and made 16 saves. Junior Ben Mickett also saw some time in net in the third period and had two stops.

Prior Lake followed the win over East Grand Forks with a 6-2 South Suburban Conference victory at home versus Eagan Jan. 25.

Bump dominated play with three goals and two assists, while Sam Rice had a goal and four assists and Schumacher had a goal and three assists.

Kingery also scored for the Lakers, while sophomore Will Emerson, junior Parker Boyce and Jospeh Rice all had one assist. Boschee finished with 13 saves in goal.

Prior Lake (10-8 overall, 7-4 in the SSC) needs a good finish to the regular season to get a home game in the Section 2AA playoffs.

There are no ranked teams in Section 2AA, and the tournament looks to be wide open. Eden Prairie (10-7) and Chaska (11-5) look to be in position for the top two seeds.

Chanhassen (11-4-1) and Minnetonka (8-8-1) are also in the mix with the Lakers for a home game in the quarterfinals. Holy Family (8-11), Shakopee (8-9-1) and Bloomington Jefferson (6-10) are also in the field.

Quarterfinal play starts Feb. 24. The semifinals are Feb. 26 with the title game March 2 and both of those rounds will be played at Braemar Ice Arena in Edina.

Prior Lake has lost in the section semifinals nine of the last 11 seasons and in the first round in 2019. The Lakers made the section title game in 2016, but fell 4-2 to Eden Prairie.

Through 18 games, Bump is leading the Lakers in total points with 45 (23 goals, 22 assists). Schumacher was second (13 goals, 17 assists), followed by Sam Rice (6 goals, 14 assists), Dueber (8 goals, 10 assists), senior Jackson Anderson (5 goals, 11 assists), Joseph Rice (6 goals, 7 assists), Dicke (8 goals, 4 assists), ninth-grader Levi Eiter (4 goals, 6 assists) and Kingery (4 goals, 6 assists).

Boschee has posted a 2.63 goals-against average with three shutouts and a .874 save percentage.

Schumacher and Bump have also gone over 100-career points for the Lakers. Schumacher reached that milestone in the win over Eagan, while Bump did it in Prior Lake’s 8-5 conference win versus Farmington Jan. 20.

Bump had two goals and two assists in that victory, while Schumacher had two goals and three assists. Sam Rice finished with a goal and three assists, while Dicke and Anderson each had a goal and an assist.

Joseph Rice also scored for the Lakers, while Dueber had three assists. Kingery, Lykken and junior Ben Pfannenstein each had one assist.

Boschee made 25 saves in goal.