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A hot goalie, a chatty referee and a good first line helped the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets shut out the Wildcats 3-0 before a large, raucous crowd at Chisago Lakes Arena Friday, February 2.

The Wildcats couldn't beat Bluejacket goalie Kevin Auth during the Holiday Tournament at the end of December, either. The Bluejackets won that game 5-0. Auth stopped all 23 shots he faced in Friday's game for his second straight shutout over the Wildcats.

The Bluejackets got a little bit of help from the referees in this one. It wasn't bad calls that did the Wildcats in - it was just one referee who liked to talk. At least five times during the game, this referee felt the need to explain his calls to the screaming Cambridge coaches.

These delays took anywhere from 30 seconds to one that lasted three minutes. And, after explaining things to the Cambridge coaches, the ref in question had to skate over to the Wildcat bench to let Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon know what was going on.

These long delays allowed the Bluejackets, less deep and less well-conditioned than the Wildcats, to keep their first line on the ice for more minutes. And it paid off as the first line combined for two of the three Bluejacket goals.

The vocal Cambridge fans equaled the intensity of the large Wildcat crowd, gave the arena a playoff-like atmosphere. The crowd cheered, booed and chanted throughout the game, but never got out of hand. Both sides expressed their displeasure at the referee-induced delays.

The Wildcats came out strong and dominated the first period, getting three times as many shots as the Bluejackets, but were not able to get on the scoreboard.

The conferences with the referee started late in the first period and continued throughout the second. There was no flow or rhythm to the second period. The Bluejackets scored their first goal on a power play at the 4:05 mark to make it 1-0 after two periods. Then their first line went to work, scoring just 45 seconds into the third period, adding an insurance goal with 90 seconds left to seal the 3-0 victory.

"The game itself was a good game," said Wildcat head coach McKinnon. "Cambridge is a physical, disciplined team. We had them on the ropes in the first period, but they weathered the storm. Their goaltending is their strength, and they've got a couple of guys who can put the puck in the net.

"After the first period, the flow of the game didn't work in our favor. My hat is off to the Cambridge coaches, who were able to cause the delays that benefited their team. After the game, I asked the referee to just ignore both coaches' questions in the future and let us play hockey," McKinnon commented.

"Every game at this time of the season helps us to prepare for the section tournament," continued McKinnon. "It comes back to all the stuff we talked about at the beginning of the season. We're playing our toughest schedule ever, and it will only make us stronger. We need to continue to stay the course and see the big picture - playing tough games against tough teams will benefit us in the playoffs."

SCORING SUMMARY

Cambridge-Isanti 0 1 2-3

Chisago Lakes 0 0 0-0

First period

No scoring

Second Period

CI 1 Lundgvist (Orttel) (pp) 4:05

Third Period

CI 2 Chumley (Sanz) 0:45; CI 3 Chumley (Sanz) 15:33

Saves: CL Fitzer 26, Auth 22

The third place Wildcats (11-9 overall, 8-3 conference) were scheduled to host second place conference rival Totino-Grace Tuesday, February 6. They'll play another conference game at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine tonight, Thursday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. against Irondale. The Wildcats will host highly-ranked Rochester Lourdes Tuesday, February 13 at Chisago Lakes Arena.

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