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Blake 5, Chisago Lakes 2

The Wildcats scored two goals early in the first period, but the Blake Bears came back to score five straight goals to give the Wildcats a 5-2 defeat in the season opener Friday, November 24. The game opened the Bob Nelson Classic Tournament, played at Blake’s arena in Hopkins.

Blake took two penalties in quick succession in the first period to give the Wildcats a five-on-three advantage. The Wildcats capitalized immediately after the second penalty winning the face-off and getting the puck to Jake Parenteau at the right point. Parenteau walked into the top of the right circle and ripped a shot into the upper right corner of the net to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead just 2:27 into the game.

The Wildcats got a shorthanded goal four minutes later. DJ Haus won a face-off in the Bear zone and slid the puck to Bob LeVasseur in the slot. LeVasseur snapped off a quick shot, beating the Bear goalie to the right for a 2-0 Wildcat lead.

With less than four minutes left in the period, the Bears came back with two goals just 16 seconds apart to tie the game at 2-2. The Bear defense really went to work after that, holding the Wildcats to just 10 shots on goal over the last two periods.

The Bears added two goals in the second period, including one on a power play. An empty-netter with a minute left in the game made the final score Blake 5, Chisago Lakes 2. The Bears outshot the Wildcats 36-17 for the game.

“I was quite pleased with our effort for the first game,” said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon. “The kids really stepped up, worked hard and left it all on the ice. And we played with more discipline in our opener than we did the past two years.

“I knew Jake Parenteau was going to be an impact player for us this year,” continued McKinnon, “but he really stood out during this game. I thought he was the best player on the ice for both teams. And he’s a coachable player. He’s not afraid to identify his weaknesses and work on them. I look forward to big things from him as the season progresses. Cale Arhart did a nice job for us coming in on defense late in the first period. He’s a sophomore who will certainly contribute this season and in the future.”

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 T

Chisago Lakes 2 0 0 2

Blake 2 2 1 5

First Period

CL 1 Parenteau (Angrimson, Aaron Slagle) (pp) 2:27; CL 2 LeVasseur (Haus) (sh) 7:04; BL 1 Birkholz (Steinhauser) 13:32; BL 2 Graiziger (Olson, Seivold) 13:48

Second Period

BL 3 Steinhauser (unassisted) (pp) 4:23; BL 4 Boyd (Hughes, Brunette) 9:10

Third Period

BL 5 Birkholz (unassisted) (empty net) 16:07

Saves: CL Fitzer 31, BL Anson 17

Delano 4, CL 3 (OT)

Delano scored a controversial shorthanded goal 1:21 into overtime to beat the Wildcats 4-3 in the third place game at the Bob Nelson Classic Tournament Saturday, November 25.

Just before a Tiger penalty expired early in overtime, a Delano forward blocked a Wildcat shot attempt from the point, picked up the puck and streaked down the ice. Luke Angrimson, manning the point on the power play, caught the player from behind just a few feet from the net. Both players crashed to the ice, sliding toward the net. Wildcat goalie Tom Fitzer looked to be in position to cover the puck as it slid toward the net. But according to Fitzer, Wildcat coaches and players and even several Blake parents standing near that end of the ice, the Delano player grabbed the puck with his right hand, and threw it into the net.

The nearest referee called it a goal. Fitzer got up and immediately went to the referee and told him about the hand goal, and several other Wildcats joined in on the discussion. The referees huddled to discuss the play for several minutes, but concluded that none of them had seen the puck thrown into the net, so they could not disallow the goal, sending the Wildcats to defeat.

Jake Parenteau opened the scoring in the first period. Jeremiah Bergren pulled the puck back to Parenteau at the right point. Parenteau fired a rocket over the goalie’s left shoulder to put the Wildcats up 1-0 at the 5:50 mark of the first period.

The Tigers tied it up on a power play just over two minutes into the second period. But the Wildcats retook the lead three minutes later. Luke Angrimson’s thundering check at center ice sent the Tiger player sprawling and knocked the puck loose. Parenteau picked up the puck and passed it to Aaron Slagle. Slagle raced into the zone down the left side. Nearing the net, he slid the puck across to a streaking Angrimson at the right side of the crease, and Angrimson one-timed the puck into the net to put the Wildcats up 2-1.

The Tigers scored on a five-on-three power play later in the period to knot the score at 2-2 going into the third period.

The Wildcats went back ahead with a power play goal two minutes into the third period. Jon Lien passed the puck to Ross Jones in the left corner. Bob LeVasseur raced in from the left point, and Jones hit him in just a few feet from the net. LeVasseur smacked it past the Tiger goalie to put the Wildcats up 3-2. But the Tigers tied the score just over a minute later, and the teams kept each other off the board for the rest of the third period.

The Tigers then scored that controversial overtime goal to make the final score Delano 4, Chisago Lakes 3.

“The videotape clearly shows the player grabbing the puck and throwing it into the net,” said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon. “But this is a teachable moment for us as coaches. Even though we lost, we lost with integrity. I’d never want our kids to win a game that way. This was a good life lesson. We’ll see how the players respond at practice. I expect them to have a good attitude and a good work ethic on Monday.

“Ross Jones made an unbelievable pass on LeVasseur’s goal,” continued McKinnon. “Bob struggled to score goals last year but contributed in so many other ways. What I liked about both of Bob’s goals this weekend was that he made aggressive decisions that paid off for him. I think he’s a more confident player who’s going to play a big role for us this year.

“Luke Angrimson made some big hits for us. In addition to his hit that led to a goal in the second period, he had another hit that set up a nice shot attempt in the first period and a hit in the third period that the other player is probably still feeling. And Luke did all of this with sore ribs.

“We’ve been talking about playing together as a team and making sacrifices for each other. And Luke’s effort is a good example of that kind of teamwork – playing for each other,” the coach added.

SCORING SUMMARY

1 2 3 OT T

Delano 0 2 1 1 4

Chisago Lakes 1 1 1 0 3

First Period

CL 1 Parenteau (J. Bergren) 5:50

Second Period

DE 1 Herkenoff (McElroy, Sandberg) (pp) 2:39; CL 2 Angrimson (Aaron Slagle, Parenteau) 5:39; DE 2 Herkenoff (McElroy) (pp) 14:45

Third Period

CL 3 LeVasseur (Jones, Lien) (pp) 2:06; DE 3 Plzak (Berent) 3:04

Overtime

McElroy (unassisted) (sh) 1:21

Saves: CL Fitzer 29, DE Wright 24

The Wildcats play their first home game tonight, Thursday, November 30 against Como Park at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will be a little shorthanded up front. Senior forwards Scott Liebsch and Zach Cunningham are recovering from injuries, but may return by tonight’s game, and senior forward Aaron Slagle will not be available tonight. Hopefully, all will be play in Tuesday’s 6 p.m. game against Duluth Denfeld at the DECC in Duluth.

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