Prairie Centre Area drills Detroit Lakes

Action from the North Stars' season opener in Sauk Centre on Nov. 29...

With only one loss in their last seven outings, the Prairie Centre Area North Stars boys' hockey team appears to be peaking at the right time.

On Friday night at Detroit Lakes, the North Stars erupted with five goals and drilled the section rival Lakers 5-1. It's DL's seventh straight loss and avenges a 3-1 win by the Lakers on Dec. 8 earlier this season. Detroit Lakes is a former rival of Prairie Centre in Section 6A; they were moved out this year with a shift taking place in the boys' hockey sections and now reside in Section 8A. It's a much better fit, as they will compete against northwest Minnesota teams for playoffs.

The North Stars led 1-0 after one period and 3-1 after two were in the book. Read more on the big win in the Feb. 2 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald.

Prairie Centre Area takes an 11-7-1 record into Willmar tonight; the puck drops at 7 p.m. against the Cardinals (7-12 overall, 3-7 Central Lakes Conference). It's a huge match up, as the winner will likely have the upper hand over the other at Section 6A seeding time in February. The North Stars have won 11 of their last 16 hockey games.

A win over Willmar gives Prairie Centre a shot at the #5 seed in the 10-team section; a loss could push them down as low as #7. Wins in rematches with Morris/Benson Area on Feb. 9 on Wadena-Deer Creek on Feb. 10 will solidify their spot in the middle of the pack for playoffs. They are on track to break their 13-11-2 record of the 2007-08 season.

Top four seeds in Section 6A will most likely be held by Little Falls (14-6), Alexandria (10-8), Fergus Falls (9-7-1) and St. Cloud Apollo (8-10-1). A wildcard in the mix is Breckenridge/Wahpeton, who could end up anywhere from #5 to #7.

Both Mainstreeters basketball teams win tonight in conference play

The Mainstreeters boys' basketball team started out hot tonight in a home contest with neighboring rival Minnewaska Area, taking a 15-7 lead nine minutes into the ball game on a bucket from Dylan Kohorst.

In the early stages of the second half, they rained threes down on the Lakers and built a lead as big as 19 points. Final score: Sauk Centre 64, Minnewaska 39. They travel to Melrose next Tuesday to face the WCC-North leading Dutchmen.

Down at Albany, the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team picked up a little revenge on the Huskies; on Dec. 22, Albany won 72-68 in Sauk Centre. The Huskies led 16-7 early in the first half and had a two-point lead at the break. The Mainstreeters cranked up the defensive pressure in the second half and grabbed a four-point lead themselves with around 14 minutes left. Final score: Sauk Centre 55, Albany 50. They host Melrose Area (9-7) next Tuesday against a Dutchmen team that's lost two straight in the WCC-North.

West Central-North Conference girls' basketball standings as of Jan. 27:
(1) New London-Spicer ...5-1
(2) Sauk Centre ...4-2
(3) Albany ...3-3
(3) Melrose Area ...3-3
(3) Paynesville Area ...3-3
(6) Minnewaska Area ...0-6

Read more on the Streeters basketball teams in next week's Feb. 2 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald.

SC-M Fusion boys' swimming and diving cooled off by Montevideo

A five-meet winning streak for the Sauk Centre-Melrose Fusion squad came to an end last night at Montevideo in a West Central Conference dual. Final score: Montevideo 101, SC-M 85.

Co-head coach James Schreiner said after the loss, "We had a chance to win some close races and did in some spots but not in others. In a meet like this we needed all the close ones to go our way, but that didn't happen. Still, the guys swam pretty well and should be proud of their efforts."

Up next: next Tuesday the Fusion travel to Sartell-St. Stephen high school for a meet against the Sabres.

Basketball, boys' hockey teams are in action on Friday night

The Prairie Centre boys' hockey team is at Detroit Lakes; the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team is at Albany; and the Mainstreeters boys' basketball team hosts Minnewaska Area.

For the Sauk Centre girls' basketball team, they'll be looking to aveng a 72-68 loss to Albany on Dec. 22.

The boys' basketball game with Minnewaska has big conference and section implications. For pure seeding purposes, the Lakers are in the south half of Section 6AA, while the Mainstreeters are in the north half. Head-to-head meetings with overall section teams still play a factor in the playoff seeding in March.

On Saturday, the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team competes in the West Central Conference championships. It's the first time since the 1980s that there won't be separate North and South conference tournaments in the WCC. This year's WCC wrestling meet is at NL-S high school beginning at 9 a.m.

Also on Saturday, the North Stars hockey team travels to Willmar.

Below, action from Tuesday night's Albany vs. Sauk Centre game...with around 10 minutes left and the Mainstreeters holding a 16-10 lead.

Mainstreeters drop crucial game with Albany

Final score on the home court Tuesday night: Albany 66, Sauk Centre 60. The Mainstreeters boys' basketball team saw their three-game winning streak end against the Huskies in a game that was tight the whole way. Now 8-6 overall, the Mainstreeters host Minnewaska Area in another conference game Friday.

Action from the final minute of the boys' basketball game...


The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team lost two duals at Melrose last night, including one by only one point against Alexandria. The wrestling team now gears up for the West Central Conference tournament at NL-S high school. It will include all teams in the south and north halves of the WCC, a total of 12 programs.

The Prairie Centre North Stars tied their hockey game at Pequot Lakes and now stand 10-7-1 overall before heading to Detroit Lakes on Friday night.

Read more details on all the action in this week's Sauk Centre Herald.