December 20, 2007 at 8:17 a.m.

Wildcat skaters beat SFNB 3-2 before losing two to range schools

Wildcat skaters beat SFNB 3-2 before losing two to range schools
Wildcat skaters beat SFNB 3-2 before losing two to range schools

BY CHUCK FITZER

Chisago Lakes/Pine City 3,

St. Francis/North Branch 2

The Lorr sisters had a hand in each of the Wildcats' three goals in a 3-2 win over St. Francis/North Branch Tuesday, December 11 at Chisago Lakes Arena. Senior Jessica Lorr scored a go-ahead goal in the second period and sophomore Sam Lorr scored the winning goal just 44 seconds into overtime to give the Wildcats the heart-pounding victory.

After a scoreless first period, the Wildcats got on the board five minutes into the first period. Sam Lorr passed the puck to junior Krista Liebsch behind the SFNB net on a two-player cycle. Liebsch wrapped around the left side of the net and stuffed the puck past SFNB goalie Nicole Bredahl to put the Wildcats up 1-0.

SFNB tied up three minutes later on a goal by Haylea Schmid, assisted by Olivia Zebro. The Wildcats answered that goal just two minutes later. Senior Kristen Dobosenski passed the puck to eighth-grader Megan Lushanko behind the SFNB net. Lushanko whipped around the left side of the net and shot from five feet away. Bredahl made the initial stop, but Jessica Lorr slammed home the rebound to put the Wildcats up 2-1.

Schmid scored her second goal of the game for SFNB to tie the game three minutes into the third period, and the score stayed that way 'til overtime. In the first minute of overtime, sophomore Ashley Gibson picked up the puck in the Wildcat zone and chipped it ahead to junior Laura Greene. Greene banked it off the right boards ahead to a speeding Sam Lorr. Lorr carried the puck across the blue line and ripped the puck through the five-hole to give the Wildcats a thrilling 3-2 win over SFNB.

"Our first line, Krista Liebsch, Sam Lorr and Laura Greene, played a very good game," said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen. "They established a tough forecheck and SFNB had a lot of trouble getting the puck out of the zone when our first line was on the ice. Several opposing coaches have mentioned the same thing about that particular line. They're impressed with how well they forecheck and also with how well they maintain possession of the puck within the offensive zone.

"The Lorr family was certainly instrumental getting us on the scoreboard," continued Mahlen. "This was a good win. I felt that we outplayed them, so I was happy to see the overtime goal because I didn't want to let a good performance like this slip away."

SCORING SUMMARY

St. F/North Branch 0 1 1 0-2

Chisago Lakes/PC 0 2 0 1-3

1st Period

No scoring

2nd Period

CL 1 Liebsch (S. Lorr) 5:09; SF 1 Schmid (Zebro) 8:05; CL 2 J. Lorr (Lushanko, K. Dobosenski) 10:00

3rd Period

SF 2 Schmid (Herlofsky) 2:57

Overtime

CL 3 S. Lorr (Greene, A. Gibson) 0:44

Saves: CL Pitzen 19, Bredahl 26

Grand Rapids/Greenway 8, Chisago Lakes/Pine City 1

In a tight battle with sixth-ranked Grand Rapids/Greenway Lightning, a controversial "in the crease" call in the second period nullified a Wildcat tying goal. The Lightning scored two goals late in the period and four in the third as they thundered past the Wildcats 8-1 Friday, December 14 at Chisago Lakes Arena.

A videotape replay of the controversial call shows that Wildcat defenseman Ariel Novak was actually tripped into the net when a Lightning player whacked her in the shins with a stick. Under the rules, if an offensive player ends up in the crease or in the net because of contact by the other team, "in the crease" should not be called. So it appears Sam Lorr's goal should have counted and the game should have been tied 2-2.

"We thought we'd tied the game 2-2," said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen. "But the ref saw it differently than we did. It would have been a positive turning point for us to tie the game, but it didn't count and we had to move on. Unfortunately, things didn't go our way after that. You've got to give a lot of credit to Grand Rapids. There's a reason they're ranked sixth in AA. They're a very good team and things just snowballed in the third period."

The Wildcats scored their only goal on a power play in the first period. Laura Greene passed the puck to Ariel Novak at the center point. Novak ripped a slapshot and Liebsch, standing out in front of the Grand Rapids net, tipped it past the goalie to tie the game at 1-1.

SCORING SUMMARY

GR/Greenway 2 2 4-8

Chisago Lakes/PC 1 0 0-1

1st Period

GR 1 Arola (Guyer, Marina Illikainen) 0:27; CL 1 Liebsch (Novak, Greene) (pp) 7:27; GR 2 Erickson (Horgen, Clafton) (sh) 14:38

2nd Period

GR 3 Gallop (Clafton) 13:40; GR 4 Erickson (Dekich, Kohorst) 16:26

3rd Period

GR 5 Horgen (unassisted) 2:38; GR 6 Erickson (Gallop, DeGrio) 7:41; GR 7 Arola (Molly Illikainen) 10:43; GR 8 Gallop (Erickson, DeGrio) 15:00

Saves: CL Pitzen 22, Havel 8

Hibbing/Chisholm 2,

Chisago Lakes/Pine City 0

Injuries forced the Wildcats to juggle their lines and defensive pairings, and the offense really didn't seem to click as they faced the Hibbing/Chisholm Blue Jackets Saturday, December 15 at Chisago Lakes Arena. The Blue Jackets took advantage to come away with a 2-0 win.

"It certainly hurt us, not having Ariel Novak in the lineup," said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen, "but our girls responded and played very well. Hibbing only had three shots in the third period. Unfortunately, we just couldn't capitalize on our scoring opportunities. Laura Greene did a good job filling in on defense for Ariel."

SCORING SUMMARY

Hibbing 1 1 0-2

Chisago Lakes 0 0 0-0

1st Period

HI 1 Wheelecor (Fenstermacher) 7:23

2nd Period

HI 2 Fenstermacher (Toole) 2:33

3rd Period

No scoring.

Saves: CL Pitzen 13, HI Collier 20

The Wildcats entertain Cambridge-Isanti this evening (December 20) at 7 p.m. before traveling to St. Louis Park to play Benilde-St. Margaret's Saturday, December 20.


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