The Minneapolis Novas boys hockey team opened their season with a 6-2 win over Le Sueur-Henderson/St. Peter Bulldogs. 

Novas Coach Shawn Reid said the team played energetically throughout the game, sticking with the element of speed that they'd emphasized in practice. 

In the first period, a face-off led to a Bulldogs score with seven seconds left, which put the Novas down 1-0 heading into the locker room. 

"Nobody hung their heads, Reid said. "We controlled play in the first period, they remembered that and built on it."

It turned into what Reid described as a Nova "onslaught." The Novas took almost twice many shots on the goal as the Bulldogs.

Minneapolis scored two goals in the second period to take the lead, followed by four goals in the final period. Minneapolis Junior Rolf Bergford made two goals, while the others were distributed between Brandon Arms, Benny Bissonette, Henry Christman and Billy Makholm. Senior Ty Erickson earned three assists. 

Both the teams were penalized eight times, although the Bulldogs took advantage of 5-3 powerplays to score both their goals. Minneapolis goalie TJ Mosley earned a .920 save percentage. 

Reid said the team, which was consolidated from Minneapolis East and Minneapolis West teams last year, was coming together without any difficulty. The Novas are made up of players from South High School, Southwest High School and Washburn High School. 

"We had storming from all four of our lines," Reid said. "Five different players scored our goals; It was really a very strong team effort."