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CL 8, St. Louis Park 6

Wildcat Morgan Baumgard and St. Louis Park’s Carly Kuhbander each had four goals and an assist as the Wildcats and Orioles played a wild one Tuesday, November 28 at Chisago Lakes Arena. After three straight third period goals, the Wildcats came away with an 8-6 victory.

The Orioles got on the board just 26 seconds into the game, but the Wildcats came back with goals by Ashley Elumba and Baumgard to take a 2-1 lead after one period.

The teams each scored three goals in the second period. Baumgard scored a shorthanded goal just 11 seconds into the period. After an Oriole power play goal, Baumgard scored her third goal of the game. The Orioles then scored two more goals to tie, including a power play goal. But the Wildcats took the lead on Krista Liebsch’s goal at 12:30 of the second period.

Early in the third period, the Orioles tied it up on a shorthanded goal. But the Wildcats put the game away with three unanswered goals in the next five minutes. Baumgard and each of the Lorr sisters, Jessica and Sam, scored for the ‘Cats . The Orioles added a final tally with eight minutes left in the game, but the Wildcats held them off, making the final score Chisago Lakes 8, St. Louis Park 6. In addition to Baumgard’s scoring outburst, Sauter and Liebsch had a goal and two assists each for the Wildcats.

“Baumgard had a big game, to say the least,” said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen. “She’s doing a great job of putting the puck in the net. The line of Baumgard, Sauter and Liebsch is working together well. They had a combined 11 points for the game. And, even though we gave up a lot of goals in this one, we felt that we were in control and we eventually put them away with a three goal barrage in the third period.”

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 T

St. Louis Park 1 3 2 6

Chisago Lakes /Pine City 2 3 3 8

First Period

SL 1 Kuhbander (Veightol, Sackrison) 0:26; CL 1 Elumba (Miles, Olson) 11:38; CL 2 Baumgard (Liebsch, Sauter) (pp) 15:45

Second Period

CL 3 Baumgard (unassisted) (sh) 0:11; SL 2 Kuhbander (unassisted) (pp) 1:44; CL 4 Baumgard (Novak) 6:02; SL 3 Kuhbander (unassisted) (pp) 8:57; SL 4 Enns (Kuhbander) 9:04; CL 5 Liebsch (Baumgard, Sauter) 12:30

Third Period

SL 5 Sackrison (Karl) (sh) 3:25; CL 6 Baumgard (Sauter, Liebsch) (pp) 3:54; CL 7 S. Lorr (Olson) 5:34; CL 8 J. Lorr (Boynton) 8:01 (pp); SL 6 Kuhbander (Martinson, Duffy) 9:00

Saves: CL Pitzen 23, SL Evers 28

Benilde-St.Margaret’s 4, CL 1

The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead early in the second period against the tenth-ranked Red Knights. However, BSM came back with four goals in the second to beat the Wildcats 4-1 at Benilde Thursday, November 30.

At the 3:25 mark of the second period, Megan Lushanko centered a pass from behind the net. The puck hit off Krista Liebsch’s stick and Lynn Lecy put it in from point blank range for the lead. But the CL lead didn’t last long, as the Knights scored two goals within the next minute to take the lead for good.

Benilde had another two goal outburst late in the period, again putting two in the net in a span of less than one minute to build a 4-1 lead. The Knights shut the Wildcats down in the third period, allowing the Wildcats just four shots on goal. The final score stayed Benilde-St. Margaret’s 4, Chisago lakes 1.

“They’re obviously a very good team,” said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen, speaking about the Knights. “They have a lot of depth, including three solid lines. We battled hard all three periods. I was happy that our girls weren’t intimidated by them. If your team gives you that kind of effort every night, there’s not much more you can ask for as a coach. And Erica Pitzen, our goalie, had a nice night and helped to keep us in the game.”

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 T

Chisago Lakes /Pine City 0 1 0 1

Benilde-St. Margaret’s

0 4 0 4

First Period

No scoring

Second Period

CL 1 Lecy (Lushanko, K. Dobosenski) (pp) 3:31; BS 1 Bacon (Trunzo) 3:53; BS 2 Berg (Duffy) 4:23; BS 3 Reilly (Duffy) (pp) 11:18; Press (Duffy, Trunzo) 12:10

Third Period

No scoring

Saves: CL Pitzen 33, BS Wagel 13

CL 3, Spring Lake Park 2

The Wildcats played their most exciting game of the year, handing the previously undefeated Spring Lake Park Panthers their first loss of the season. CL won 3-2 at Fogerty Arena Saturday, September 2.

The two teams tested each other as a fast first period featured few shots, few whistles, no goals and no penalties.

The Wildcats got on the board just 1:11 into the second period. Abby Olson passed the puck behind the Panther net to Sam Lorr. Lorr came around the net and shot the puck quickly into the short side between the goalie’s leg and the post to put the Wildcats up 1-0. The Panthers tied it up on a power play goal at the 5:41 mark.

The Wildcats got the lead back at 8:33. Rhiannon Sauter had an effective forecheck in the Panther zone, stole the puck and passed it to Baumgard in the slot. Baumgard fired the puck past the Panther goalie to give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead after two periods.

The Wildcats scored an insurance goal on a power play halfway through the third period. A Wildcat player, working down low, passed the puck to Laura Greene at the left point. Greene’s wrist shot found its way through traffic and into the back of the net to put the Wildcats up by two. The Panthers scored 90 seconds later to pull within one, but it’s all they could muster as the Wildcats held them off for a 3-2 win.

Overall, our goalie, Erica Pitzen, and defense played very well,” said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen. “We denied them a lot of quality opportunities, limiting them to shots from the edges. And the few times they did get some close-in shots, Erica made some nice saves.”

“This was the best all-around game we’ve played so far this season,” continued Mahlen. “We did a good job forechecking, backchecking and passing. It was our most complete team effort, and it was reflected in the result – a 3-2 victory over a team that was undefeated coming into the game.”

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 T

Chisago Lakes /Pine City

0 1 0 1

Spring Lake Park 0 4 0 4

First Period

No scoring

Second Period

CL 1 S. Lorr (Olson) 1:11; SL 1 Hamer (S. Nelson) 5:41; CL 2 Baumgard (Sauter) 8:33

Third Period

CL 3 Greene (unassisted) (pp) 7:05; SL 2 C. Nelson (A. Humphrey) 8:33

Saves: CL Pitzen 22, SL Hamann 22

The Wildcats were scheduled to play Irondale Tuesday, December 5 at Chisago Lakes Arena. They’ll play Totino-Grace at the Parade Ice Garden Saturday, December 9 at 11:30 a.m. And they’ll be back at home to take on rival St. Francis/North Branch Tuesday, December 12 at 7 p.m.

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