High School Ice Hockey: Vikings Open Season with Win over Highland Monday, October 11, 2004 By Mike Costantino SJSports Staff Writer Just because the NHL has decided not to start their season on time, or even have a season at all doesn't mean there isn't any ice hockey to watch. Sure there's the AHL but we're talking the SJHSIHL. Dan Drazen scored twice and Ryan Doner stopped 27 shots as the Eastern Vikings shut out Highland 5-0 in the season opener for both teams. Having lost the nucleus from their past two championship teams, the Vikings find themselves in unfamiliar territory, no longer the odds on favorites to win the title. Highland has struggled over the last few years, but received a strong performance in goal from Albert Michalski, who faced 47 shots, but received little support from his offense. Chris Lieg, Rory Levenson and Pat Kittredge added the other goals for the Vikings. Notes: A notable change from last season, the league has eliminated the 2 Tier systems, and now each team will play each other 1 time. This could lead to many lopsided games and not many entertaining games. Wouldn’t you rather see Eastern play Cherokee two or three times and Clearview play Washington Township more than once? Instead you will get games that won’t be as competitive. Photos by Art Redd