The Eagan Boys’ Hockey season came to an early close on Thursday with a disappointing 4-1 loss against Eastview in the Section quarterfinals.

“It was a tough loss,” senior Steven Hasslinger said of the result. “We played them twice earlier in the season and they beat us pretty good both times. This game was definitely closer, and we played with them the first two periods, but it just wasn’t enough.”

The defeat was especially hard for the veterans on the team who remember taking home the third place title from the state tournament last year. “It was a little sad in the locker room with all of the seniors because that was our last time playing [together],” Hasslinger said of his teammates’ emotions after Thursday’s game. “We’ve been playing with the same kids for, like, 15 years.”

All told, the Wildcats finished with 7 wins, 18 losses, and 1 tie. According to Hasslinger, Eagan’s fundamental weakness this year was that the team struggled to put the puck in the net. Still, he felt satisfied with the season overall. “I’d say that we did better than we were expected to do, considering how many seniors we had on the team last year that left. So with such a young team and not-so-high expectations that other people had for us, I think we rose above it,” he remarked.

With the help of hard work and team chemistry, Eagan fought through the ups and downs and went into Sections ranked sixth. This gave the boys a bye in the first round, but ultimately hurt them by pitting them against third ranked Eastview, who has a reputation for ending Eagan’s hopes for the post-season.

In the 2012-2013 season, for instance, Eagan also fell to the Lightning 4-1 during the section championship game, barely missing out on the opportunity to compete at the State tournament. Regardless, one can only hope that the team will be able to bounce from this disappointing loss come next season.