Last Wednesday, the 6-15-1 Hopkins Royals boys hockey team traveled up to Duluth, Minn., to face the Duluth East Greyhounds and the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks.

In their first game, the Royals played the Greyhounds. The Greyhounds were the 2015 Class AA State championship runner-up and have a record of 14-8-0. They are lead by leading goal scorer Garret Worth. Worth leads the team with 16 goals.

The game against Duluth East began with a Greyhound goal halfway through the first period, putting them in front of the Royals 0-1. The score remained 0-1 until the Royals gave up another goal with eight minutes remaining in the third period. With five minutes left in regulation, the Royals gained some momentum as Alex Hoffman, junior, scored on a shot assisted by Ryan St. Clair and Carl Miller, juniors. Less than two minutes later, Riley Martin, senior, sent the game into overtime on a goal assisted by Hunter Staack, senior.

With little time remaining in overtime, Greyhounds forward Ash Altmann, senior, scored the game-winning goal to beat the Royals 3-2.

On Friday, the Royals played their second and final game of the weekend, facing the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks.

The Thunderhawks have a record of 17-6-1 and are lead by leading goal scorer Mitchell Mattson. Mattson recently committed to the University of North Dakota to play hockey.

Grand Rapids started the game off by scoring four unanswered goals in the first period. As the game progressed, the Royals tried to comeback but failed to do so as the Thunderhawks pulled away for a 3-8 win over the Royals.