Longtime Park boy’s hockey coach Jay Moser liked what he saw as the Wolfpack team took the ice as practice finally got under way Jan. 4. But there’s no doubt that COVID-19 has made this season more difficult than most.

“These poor guys have to have a condensed season, they only get 18 games, normally they get 25, it’s a few weeks shorter than it normally is, “said Jay Moser, now in his 14th season coaching the Wolfpack. “So, especially for the seniors, it’s tough. And then to have to deal with no locker rooms, have to wear masks, all the restrictions that are in place, I’m not going to say it ruins the fun of the game. It could be a lot worse, but you’ve got to feel for the guys a little bit.” Lack of conditioning because of a lack of ice time due to the pandemic, plus the mask wearing, means the players will start the season is less good shape than normal. Park was 9-14-2 overall on the season last winter and finished 6-11-1 and seventh In the Suburban East Conference. The Wolfpack lost 3-1 to Roseville in the first round of the Section 3AA tournament.

Top skaters and leading scorers Matthew Thompson and Carter Newpower have moved on. But last season’s second-leading scorer junior Samuel Janski returns for his senior season. Janski had 11 goals and five assists a year ago for the Wolfpack. “He played forward, and he played D,” said Moser. “He’s an elite player.”

Putting the puck in the net may be challenging for the Wolfpack, however. “We’re going to have a tough time scoring goals,” said Moser. “But defensively we’re a little stronger than we normally have been. We have some really good solid players back at D. We have a really good goal tender. What I am envisioning and hoping for is low-scoring games. If we can keep our goals against at that 3-marker or less, I think we’ll be all right.”

Senior goalie Conner Nelsen returns after having played all but 50 minutes in goal for Park last winter. “He’s a top-notch goalie. He plays well,” said Moser.

Other veterans returning include senior defenseman Jack Weidner and junior Vinnie Lucio. “We have three really solid defensemen and we’re going to rely on them heavily,” Moser said. “And we’ve got some good young guys that hopefully will step in and fill in and stabilize the back end of that defense. We have a bunch of hard-working, grinding forwards and a few guys that have some skill.”

Junior forward Brady Strand will hopefully be able to get on the ice after recovering from knee surgery. Moser is hoping to develop three strong lines this season. “There again it all depends what roles these guys are willing to play,” said the coach. “We have to adjust our style of play to people we have from a personnel standpoint. As long as we work hard, we have a lot of guys who do good things out on the ice. Scoring goals is just not one of them. Depthwise is about the same but otherwise I like our makeup.”

Moser thinks Cretin-Derham Hall, White Bear Lake, Stillwater will all field good teams in the conference this season. “But we’re always competitive, that’s the key,” Moser said. “That’s why I love this conference. It’s a great conference.”

Park will open the season on the Cottage Grove Ice Arena home ice Thursday, Jan. 14 against Stillwater.