---

Duluth Denfeld 6, CL 0

The Duluth Denfeld Hunters burst out of the gate, scoring three goals in the first period on their way to a 6-0 victory over the Wildcats Tuesday, December 5 at the DECC in Duluth.

The Hunters outshot the Wildcats 18-6 in the first period and 34-21 for the game.  The Wildcats didn’t notch their first shot on goal until nearly ten minutes into the game.

“Denfeld is a good skating team,” said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon.  “As I’ve said before, we need to take the opponent out of the equation and play the game we know how to play.  We needed to bring our top game in order to compete with them. 

“They came ready to play and we didn’t.  The score showed that, at least for the first two periods.  But we try to fix negatives and draw on positives, no matter what the situation.  The kids played hard and didn’t quit. We even outshot them in the third period.  I think that says a lot.  It’s a good sign of character.  This is one of those games you just need to live through and learn from, then move on to the next one.

SCORING SUMMARY                        

1 2 3  T

Chisago Lakes      0  0 0 0

Duluth Denfeld  3  3 0  6

First Period

DD 1 J. Johnson (unassisted) 4:01; DD 2 Hotchkin (Bushey) 11:46; DD 3 J. Johnson (Hotchkin) 12:51

Second Period

DD 4 Hotchkin (Stafne) 1:27; DD 5 J. Johnson (unassisted) (sh) 7:45; DD 6 Stafne (unassisted)

Third Period

No scoring

Saves: CL Fitzer 28, DD Kolquist 21

The Wildcats will go through one of their toughest stretches of the season before the Christmas holidays.  They were scheduled to play a section opponent, 12th-ranked Breck Tuesday, December 12 at Breck. 

The Wildcats will return home to face conference opponent Benilde-St. Margaret’s, ranked 12th in Class AA, Friday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at Chisago Lakes Arena.  Their final game before the holidays will be against conference and section opponent Totino Grace, ranked fourth in the state, at Parade Ice Garden Saturday, December 23 at 4:15 p.m. 

“These next three games will be a real test for us,” said McKinnon. “They’ll give us an opportunity to see who we are, where we need to go and how we’re going to get there.  These games will help us now and will really help us come February.  Hopefully, the wins will take care of themselves.  The key right now is to find out if we are coming together as a hockey team.”

The Wildcats will be busy over the holiday break, hosting a Christmas tournament at Chisago Lakes Arena December 27-29.  More information about the tournament will be available in next week’s Press.

---