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Chisago Lakes 9

Minnehaha Acad. 2

The Chisago Lakes Wildcats broke open a tight game with the Minnehaha Academy Redhawks midway through the second period and won going away by the final score of 9-2 last Tuesday at home.

The game was scoreless until the 10:07 mark of the first period. Scott Liebsch and Bob LeVasseur worked the puck ahead to Lance Baumgard. Baumgard skated to the bottom of the left circle and fired a quick shot, catching the goalie out of position to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Minnehaha Academy tied it up less than a minute later. But the Wildcats answered with just over two minutes left in the period. LeVasseur picked up a loose puck at center ice and skated alone into the zone. He shot high from the bottom of the right circle. The goalie was well-positioned to stop it, but the puck snuck into a gap between his left arm and chest protector to give the Wildcats a one-goal lead.

The Redhawks scored what proved to be their last goal of the game on a power play 2:44 into the second period. But the Wildcats went ahead with a power play goal of their own a couple of minutes later. Jake Miles passed the puck to Josh Angrimson in the left corner. Angrimson fired a pass through the crease to his brother Luke. The puck was about two feet off the ice, but Luke got the shaft of his stick in front of it and deflected the puck at a 90 degree angle into the net. Angrimson’s amazing goal put the Wildcats up 3-2, and they never looked back.

A shorthanded goal by Baumgard and a power play goal by LeVasseur put the Wildcats up 5-2 at the end of two periods. The onslaught continued in the third. Liebsch scored just over a minute into the third period. Josh Angrimson added two unassisted shorthanded goals just seven seconds apart and Miles rounded out the scoring with just a minute left in the game.

Head coach Corey McKinnon was obviously pleased with his team’s play.

“Going back to the third period of the Fridley game, we’ve played four good periods straight,” said McKinnon. “We’re starting to realize we can’t just turn it on and off. We had a good week of practice doing team building and conditioning, and it paid off tonight.”

It was a balanced attack for the Wildcats. Both Josh Angrimson and LeVasseur finished the game with two goals and two assists while Baumgard scored two goals and one assist. The win evened the ‘Cats record at 3-3 overall.

“The players are really starting to feed off each other. There’s a lot of energy on the bench,” remarked McKinnon. “The kids are upset when we’re scored on and excited when we score. And Tommy [Fitzer, the Wildcat goalie] played well and he was excited after the game. The line of Scott Liebsch, Bob LeVasseur and Lance Baumgard really clicked. Jake and Josh did an excellent job on the penalty kill, as evidenced by our three shorthanded goals. Tonight was a night we won by using pressure and domination. The coaches really felt like the players are beginning to understand our system and how to execute it.”

Chisago Lakes 9

Minnehaha Academy 2

1 2 3 F

Minnehaha Academy 1 1 -- 2

Chisago Lakes 2 3 4 9

Scoring:

First Period-

1) CL- Baumgard (LeVasseur, Liebsch) 10:07; 2) MA-Laulainen (Nicholson) 10:53; 3) CL- LeVasseur (unassisted) 13:53.

Second Period-

4) MA- Nicholson (Madryga, Stoffels) (pp) 2:44; 5) CL- L. Angrimson (J. Angrimson, Miles) (pp) 5:00; 6) CL- Baumgard (unassisted) (sh) 9:33; 7) CL- LeVasseur (Baumgard, Liebsch) (pp) 12:01.

Third Period-

8) CL- Liebsch (LeVasseur) 1:23; 9) CL- J. Angrimson (unassisted) (sh) 13:17; 10) CL- J. Angrimson (unassisted) (sh) 13:24; 11) CL- Miles (J. Angrimson) 16:00.

Saves-

Fitzer 29

Chisago Lakes 8

Rogers 2

Led by Josh Angrimson’s pure hat trick and Zach Stimson’s three assists, the Wildcats followed up their triumph over Minnehaha Academy with another impressive victory, this time beating the Rogers Royals last Saturday.

The game was close for one period, but the Wildcats scored four goals in the second to blow it wide open.

The Wildcats and Royals traded power play goals in the first period. The Wildcats struck first, as Josh Angrimson passed the puck to Jake Miles from the left boards. Miles skated through to the middle of the slot and fired it past the goalie to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. The Royals tied it up 10 minutes later on a rebound to make the score 1-1 at the end of one.

The Wildcats came out strong at the beginning of the second period. From deep in the Royal zone, Bob LeVasseur sent the puck to C.J. Hoffman at the right point. Hoffman ripped a slapshot. Scott Liebsch tipped it from 15 feet out and the puck snuck just inside the right post at the 33-second mark to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Just over two minutes later, the Wildcats took advantage of another power play. Zach Stimson passed the puck from his own zone ahead to Josh Angrimson at the blue line. Josh and his brother Luke raced into the zone two-on-one. A patient Josh Angrimson waited for the goalie to commit, then slid the puck across to Luke, who one-timed it into the net from just outside the crease.

The Royals’ second goal came on a five-on-three power play. The Wildcats added two more before the end of the second period, including an unassisted goal by Liebsch and a power-play goal by Josh Angrimson, with assists to Stimson and Miles.

Josh Angrimson scored his second goal with another assist from Zach Stimson and completed his hat trick on a perfectly timed play. Angrimson, serving two minutes for roughing, burst out of the box when his penalty was over and raced toward the Royal zone. LeVasseur picked up the puck at his own blue line and hit a wide-open Angrimson in stride at the Royal blue line. Angrimson raced in alone on the goalie and scored to make the score 7-2. Jimmy Bergren rounded out the scoring with three minutes left in the game, scoring on a rebound with assists to Jimmy Lorr and Jeremy Patterson.

“We’re winning properly,” commented McKinnon after the game. “We work on things in practice and it carries over into the games. Also, we’re fortunate to have three lines that contribute each game – most small schools are lucky to have one or two lines that are effective.”

Once again, the ‘Cats balance stood out. In addition to the usual suspects, Liebsch finished with two goals, and defensemen Zach Stimson skated away with three assists. From top to bottom, the system seems to be working.

“It’s nice to see different guys contribute at different times. Today, Zach Stimson stepped up with three assists and played his usual solid game on defense,” remarked McKinnon. “In fact, the entire defensive effort was very good. We made things a lot easier on our goalie by not giving up a lot of shots from the slot. As long as we play our game night in and night out and put forth an honest effort, that’s all we ask of the kids. And it’s good to be playing well going into our conference schedule.” Now 5-3 on the season, the Wildcats conference schedule gets underway this week with Big Lake and St. Michael-Albertville. Chisago then closes out the week with state-ranked Hermantown at home on Saturday.

Chisago Lakes 8

Rogers 2

1 2 3 F

Rogers 1 1 -- 2

Chisago Lakes 1 4 3 8

Scoring:

First Period-

1) CL- Miles (J. Angrimson) (pp) 4:32; 2) R- Hennes (Stevens) (pp) 14:36.

Second Period-

3) CL- Liebsch (Hoffman, LeVasseur) 0:33; 4) CL- L. Angrimson (J. Angrimson, Stimson) (pp) 2:40; 5) R- Reemts (Orrock) (pp) 7:05; 6) CL- Liebsch (unassisted) 11:04; 7) CL- J. Angrimson (Stimson, Miles) (pp) 15:14.

Third Period-

8) CL- J. Angrimson (Stimson) 4:43; 9) CL- J. Angrimson (LeVasseur) 10:08; 10) CL- J. Bergren (Lorr, Patterson) 14:13.

Saves-

Fitzer 23

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