Currie records hat trick in Wadena-Deer Creek victory

Unlike most hockey players, Brandon Currie didn't start at an early age.

The Wadena-Deer Creek junior tried basketball and wrestling before settling on a stick and a puck in sixth grade.

"I've always kind of liked the sport," said Currie. "My friends were all in hockey so I thought I would give it a try."

Currie has done more than try. He has succeeded. The left wing for the Wolverines' boys' hockey team (4-3 Mid-State Conference, 10-6 overall) recorded a hat trick in an 8-1 victory over Morris-Benson Jan. 14.

Currie scored the opening goal and added two more in the second period.

"His scoring is real important in particular because that's what we've struggled with," said W-DC coach Scott Wood. "We're a very good defensive team, but we've struggled to score some goals.

"We are fairly young with five seniors and a few sophomores but we have 15 juniors. That's the biggest reason why we've struggled at times so when he does score that helps."

Currie added an assist in a 4-3 loss to Detroit Lakes Jan. 23. He leads the team with 28 points and 17 goals. The junior plays on the power play and not only can score but plays quality defense for the Wolverines.

"He knows to stay at home and keep from getting scored on," said Wood. "He works hard and backchecks real hard and because of that he doesn't get scored on a lot. He's fairly physical and that helps."

Speed is Currie's biggest asset. Wood said the left wing "can fly."

"My speed helps a lot," said Currie. "My speed gets me where I want to go and it helps me out a lot."

This is Currie's second varsity season. The 6-foot, 170-pound player believes he's playing better than last year.

"I hope we're going to state this year," Currie said. "I work well with my team. We have a lot of athletic juniors in our class so it's pretty competitive in our grade. Plus, the seniors are pretty good so we have to step up to catch them too."

Currie also plays more than one sport and doesn't play hockey all year. He also plays football and baseball and even soccer in the summer.

"I love to play every sport," Currie said. "Even though we're a small school we have a lot of sports. We seem to be doing pretty well in every one of them too."

Other notable performances:

Basketball -- Tyler Scull, Crosby-Ironton, finished with 45 points in two games.

Tony Zontelli, C-I, had 47 points in two games.

Aaron Kelly, Staples-Motley, scored 23 points vs. Pine River-Backus.

Roman Haberkorn, Aitkin, had 55 points in two games.

Nick Doll, S-M, scored 25 points vs. Wadena.

Ben Stoll, Pillager, scored 26 points vs. Sebeka.

Luke Schramm, Pequot Lakes, scored 22 points vs. C-I.

Nate Meyer, Pierz, scored 26 points vs. Maple Lake.

Hockey -- Todd Szymanski, Pequot Lakes, had a hat trick vs. Chisholm-Cook.

Wrestling -- Tony Andres, Pierz, recorded two pins and two decisions.

Nathan Janson, Pierz, had five pins and a major decision.

Adam Gosiak, Little Falls, won the 160-pound title at Bemidji.

Beau Pilgrim, S-M, was 4-0 at the S-M tournament.

Shane Walton, Brady Switajewski and Phil Shequen, PL/PR-B, were 4-0 at the S-M tournament.