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Chisago Lakes 3

Wright County 1

When it comes to conference, the Chisago Lakes girls hockey team has no room for error, absolutely none. One game behind Centennial in the North Suburban with four games left, in order to keep their championship hopes alive, it was win or bust, nothing else would do.

Making the mountain even tougher to climb was the fact that last Tuesday’s opponent, Wright County, had never been swept by the Wildcats. After defeating County 2-1 in December, another Chisago win would give them the sweep.

Instead of overwhelming the ‘Cats, all of the energy, all of the emotion actually helped as Chisago exploded onto the ice, playing one of their best first periods of the season. The Wildcats were so dominant that they outshot Wright County 18-2, skating into the second with a 1-0 lead after Ariel Novak’s unassisted goal.

“The girls did jump out big,” smiled Al Magnuson, Chisago Lakes girls hockey head coach. “It’s that home ice factor, I can’t really explain it. Wright County has always hung with us, we’ve always had problems with them in the past. The girls knew what to expect going in and they were up to the challenge.”

The Wildcats peppered Wright County with nine more shots in the second, increasing their lead to 2-0 after Rhiannon Sauter lit the lamp less than four minutes into the period. On the other side of the ice, despite seeing only seven shots through the first two periods, Wildcat goalie Jackie Weiden preserved the shutout.

“They only had seven shots through the first two periods and 14 in the game, but they had some good shots,” mentioned Magnuson. “Jackie played well in the net, making some big saves for us.”

Weiden and the rest of the Wildcats would eventually be rewarded with a win. Leading 2-0 in the third, Anne Fredrickson extended the Chisago lead to 3-0 before Wright County added a late goal. It wasn’t nearly enough as the ‘Cats skated away with a 3-1 win, giving them the season sweep over Wright County and keeping them in the hunt for the conference crown, still one game behind Centennial.

“We discuss the conference standings with the girls,” said Magnuson. “We tell them that if they want to be co-champions, they can’t lose another game. The way it looks, Centennial sure won’t lose before we play them, so we have to keep the pressure on.”

Chisago Lakes 3

Wright County 1

1 2 3 F

Wright County -- -- 1 1

Chisago Lakes 1 1 1 3

Scoring:

First Period-

1) CL- Novak (unassisted) 10:45.

Second Period-

2) CL- Sauter (Olson) 13:15.

Third Period-

3) CL- Fredrickson (L. Medellin) (pp) 6:09; 4) WC- #7 (#13, #24) 3:02.

Saves-

Weiden- 13

Chisago Lakes 6

St. Francis/NB 0

At first glance, beating St. Francis/North Branch might be a sure thing, but these days, it’s not, just ask Wright County and Totino-Grace. The Saints, historically considered the door mat of the conference, have been surprising teams left and right this season. Their latest victim was Totino-Grace who fell to St. Francis/North Branch 4-3 earlier this season, the same Totino team who just beat Chisago. In other words, it wasn’t a gimme last Friday when the two teams met.

“We made sure we didn’t take them lightly,” commented Magnuson. “They (St. Francis/NB) have been stepping up lately. Before, everyone always treated them as a cake-walk game, but that’s not the case anymore.”

The Saints are wishing the ‘Cats would’ve taken it easy on them, instead, Chisago Lakes played their “A” game, finishing off St. Francis/NB 6-0.

The Wildcats “new” third line led the way. Put together before the game, the combination of Rhiannon Sauter, Abby Olson, and Chantel Duffney combined to score three goals. Duffney struck twice in the game, including late in the first period, giving Chisago a 1-0 lead after one.

Sauter notched her goal less than two minutes into the second, extending the Wildcat lead to 2-0 before Duffney picked up her second and senior Kelly Magnuson scored her first, jumping Chisago in front 4-0 through two periods of play. In the third, Lexy Parenteau and Lexi Medellin closed out the scoring, both lighting the lamp for the first time in the game, completing a 6-0 Wildcat win. The ‘Cats finished the game with 34 shots on goal while holding the Saints to just five.

“We’ve been preaching to girls that they have to play better on away ice and they did that,” remarked Magnuson. “They were flying both ways. The girls were cheering on one another, it was really fun to watch.”

The fact that it was a win was the fun part for Chisago, who improved their conference record to 12-2, one game off the pace set by Centennial at 13-1. Two conference games remain for both teams, including a head to head match-up on Saturday for the conference title. Talk about going down to the wire.

Chisago Lakes 6

St. Francis/NB 0

1 2 3 F

Chisago Lakes 1 3 2 6

St. Francis/NB -- -- -- 0

Scoring:

First Period-

1) CL- Duffney (unassisted) 12:45.

Second Period-

2) CL- Sauter (unassisted) 1:59; 3) CL- Magnuson (L. Medellin, Baumgard) 9:21; 4) CL- Duffney (Grossmann) 14:07.

Third Period-

5) CL- Parenteau (unassisted) 6:30; 6) CL- L. Medellin (Baumgard, Grossmann) 10:37.

Saves-

Weiden- 5

Note:

The CL Blueline club is having a dance on February 28. Proceeds will benefit boys and girls hockey programs. For more information, contact Shelly Parenteau at 257-9615.

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