There was a notion going around that people were buying into early this season, that the Detroit Lakes boys' hockey team's ability to score took a tremendous hit after 2010 state scoring leader Tanner Lane decided to join the Fargo Force for his senior year of eligibility.
But not everyone was sold -- namely, the Laker players and coaches -- and ultimately, they were really the only ones who mattered.
Not only that, but they were right.
The Lakers were able to fill the sizable void Lane left after his departure, in the form of 135 goals during their 16-10-1 campaign.
"We knew as a team, we'd have to pick up the slack with Tanner leaving," said DL head coach Chris Denardo.
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"The guys, as a whole, really picked it up and they showed their improvement under me over the last three years."
The Lakers' depth on their front three lines developed and keyed their scoring attack, but it was the first line of seniors Nate Baker, Andy Schupp and junior Alex Mason which paced DL's frenzied offensive push.
Baker and Mason were each named All-State Honorable Mentioned at season's end. Baker had accumulated 46 goals and 30 assists, while Mason had 18 goals and a team-high 41 assists.
"That first line clicked well," Denardo said. "They played more aggressive."
Baker and Mason complimented each other well on the ice, as the former possessed the flashy and quick skating skills, while the latter provided the physicality to keep defensive players in check.
"Those two were polar opposites in playing style, and they worked perfectly together," Denardo said. "Andy Schupp also handled every situation well."
Schupp finished with 17 goals and 29 assists.
The second and third lines also provided valuable points, as foreign exchange student Frantisek Jung mustered up 12 goals and 16 assists, while a host of other Lakers scored over the double-digit mark.
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The Lakers also saw point production from their defense, with junior Ethan Brekke putting up 31 points on nine goals and 22 assists, as DL's fourth-leading scorer.
Senior Alex Deconcini had 21 points with four goals and 17 assists.
"Ethan and Alex were two-year starters and that really showed," the DL coach said.
"Ethan was the offensive-minded defenseman, while Alex was our physical one."
Senior Zach Saunders and junior Derick Brehm also provided solid depth on the defensive side of the ice, with good plus-minus ratios when on the ice.
DL went with a two-man rotation at goalie in seniors Blake Murphy and Michael Brunner.
Murphy played a bit more consistently towards the end of the season, while Brunner had a hot start. Murphy finished with a 90.8 save percentage, while Brunner had 84.7.
"Mike had a fantastic start to the season and it just so happened that Blake was playing a little better towards the end," Denardo said. "But they really helped each other out by pushing each other, it made them better goalies."
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The Lakers put good bookends to the season, with a 6-1-0 start and a 7-1-1 ending, which ended with a Mid-State Conference championship.
"I also thought we had just as good a chance to win our section as anyone," Denardo said. "We played the good teams well and had plenty of guys step up for a good season."
Next year, the Lakers will play in Section 8-1A, as they were moved back there after four years in Section 6-1A.
The challenge of facing the Warroads, Thief River Falls and East Grand Forks of the world will be an accepted one by the Lakers.
"If you can make it out of that section, you deserve being in state and should be pretty tough," Denardo said. "I wish they would stop flip-flopping us from one section to the other, but we'll take on that challenge. It will be interesting and fun seeing that kind of competition."
Laker final stats
The 2010-11 Detroit Lakes boys' hockey stats -- Record: 16-10-1.
Scoring (goals-assists-points) -- Nate Baker 46-30-76; Alex Mason 18-41-59; Andy Schupp 17-29-46; Ethan Brekke 9-22-31; Frantisek Jung 12-16-28; Alex Deconcini 4-17-21; Ryan Berg 7-5-12; Austin Rusness 5-6-11; Kirby Inderrieden 4-6-10; Ryan Lindquist 5-5-10; Derick Brehm 3-5-8; Kyle Hermann 3-5-8; Cody Olsen 0-3-3; Nick LeTourneau 0-2-2; Zach Saunders 0-2-2; Taylor Magnuson 1-1-2; Isaac Fondrick 0-1-1; Austin Starkey 0-1-1; Connor Collins 1-0-1.
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Goalie stats (GA-AVG-Svs-Sht-%) -- Michael Brunner 42-4.2-232-274-84.7; Blake Murphy 44-2.7-434-478-90.8; Brett Nephew 7-7.0-20-27-74.1.
