For the Vikings’ hockey team, a team hovering around .500, playing a strong Old Rochester team would be a challenge.

“This is team that beat us by ten goals both times we played them last year,” coach Brian Erikson said.

The challenge was clear as the Bulldogs scored twice in the span of 30 seconds. The Vikings quickly overcame the deficit with goals by Josh Wood and Sean Fagan.

However, tough penalties against the Vikings led to a 5-on-3 advantage for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity, scoring with nine seconds left in the half.

“I had to leave them out there for the 5-on-3 because I need my best players out there. It just sucks the energy out them,” Erikson said.

The Vikings were unable to recover, losing, 6-2.

“It was a tough one. That’s the best team we’ve played,” coach Bryan Erikson said. “We had to execute flawlessly to have a chance, and have a perfect plan. We just didn’t execute that well.”

Erikson said his team played well. Yet, his team was at a disadvantage by not having the same amount of depth.

“They rolled three or four lines, and it was just constant speed and quickness,” said Erikson. “We can’t match that, so we had to get lucky.”

He attributed much of the Bulldogs success not only to their depth, but also their speed.

“There’s only so many kids I can play that can handle that speed – our top line and couple of other kids,” Erikson said.

“It was one of those games where we needed the breaks to go our way, and they went their way,” Erikson added.