Fourth-year La Crescent coach Eriah Hayes, second from left, has the Lancers on pace to break the program's single-season win record. Photo courtesy of Deb Schams
Nathan Boone, youngest son of legendary pioneer and frontiersman Daniel Boone, was one of the early surveyors of the the deep southeast corner of Minnesota — the breathtakingly scenic area where the Mississippi River knifes through the state’s Bluff Country.
Boone wasn’t known to be a hockey player. He did his exploring in the La Crescent area in the early 1800s, 177 or so years before the local high school hockey team played its first season.
No, in an area known more for its gourmet apple varieties than its storied hockey tradition (this isn’t Warroad or Roseau, folks), Eriah Hayes serves as a more modern-day trailblazer. La Crescent-born-and-raised Hayes reached the NHL as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State and played parts of two seasons with the San Jose Sharks.
Hayes left an indelible mark on the Lancers’ program by scoring 240 points, including 134 goals, during his four-year career. And now he’s making even more of a day-to-day impact as La Crescent-Hokah’s head coach. In his fourth season, Hayes has guided the Lancers to a 15-4-0 record, on pace to match or surpass the program’s high-water mark of 19 victories in 2014-15.
Headlining the team is junior Wyatt Farrell, a fourth-year varsity superstar cut out of the same mold as Hayes in terms of work ethic and competitiveness.
“They are both no-nonsense, hard workers when they’re on the ice,” said J.P. Piche, who coached the Lancers when Hayes was a freshman and still helps out with the program.
The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Farrell, who was a team captain as a freshman, has 133 goals in 85 career games. He needs two more goals to break Hayes’ career mark for the program.
"I haven't met a kid who works harder," Hayes said. "His knack for scoring, you can't teach it. And he's added a bit of nastiness to his game this season."
Piche said Farrell's will to win impacts the entire program.
“He’s made guys on his team better, and that’s what Eriah did as well,” Piche said. “And that’s the mark of a special player.”
Lake Conference rivals No. 1-2A Minnetonka (17-2-0), on an eight-game win streak, and No. 7-2A Wayzata (13-4-2), winless in its last four, meet on Thursday in Plymouth. … No. 3-2A Edina (13-4-1) travels to Maplewood on Friday for a meeting with No. 18-2A Hill-Murray (10-8-1) in the first of their back-to-back games (the teams meet again Saturday in Edina) in what has become an annual home-and-home series for two of the state’s most storied programs. … Suburban East Conference supremacy is up for grabs on Saturday as No. 11-2A White Bear Lake (14-4-0) hosts No. 10-2A Cretin-Derham Hall (14-6-1) in a matchup of conference leaders. … No. 8-1A Delano (11-8-0) hosts No. 17-1A Minneapolis (11-6-2) on Saturday in a rematch of last season’s Section 2A title game won 3-1 by Minneapolis.
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