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CL 9, Spring Lake Park 2

Junior Nick Bratrud scored his first varsity hat trick as the Wildcats pounded the Spring Lake Park Panthers 9-2 Tuesday, January 16 at Fogerty Arena in Blaine.

Senior Scott Liebsch started the scoring for the Wildcats just 20 seconds into the first period. Liebsch also scored his second goal with seven minutes left in the period. The Panthers closed to within one with a shorthanded goal three minutes later. But, the Wildcats scored four straight goals in the second period - two by Bratrud, one by Ross Jones and one by Andy Slagle -to put the game out of reach.

Slagle fired toward the right corner from the high slot on a power play. The goalie made the save, tipping the puck behind and to the right of the net. Slagle, following his shot, picked up the puck and tried to center it. The puck hit the back of the goalie's leg and went into the net to put the Wildcats up 6-2. The Panthers scored a few minutes later, and Aaron Slagle added a goal with 28 seconds left in the period.

Bratrud completed the hat trick just three minutes into the third period. Senior Zach Cunningham scored his first varsity goal with just over three minutes left in the game, taking advantage of a misplay by the Panther goalie, to make the final score Chisago Lakes 9, Spring Lake Park 2.

Junior goalie Pat Fisher saw his first varsity action this season as he played most of the third period, allowing no goals on five shots.

"We played with good spirit from the start in this one," said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon. "One of our issues has been giving up an early goal, and the players made a statement in this one by scoring just 20 seconds into the game. Everyone played well in this one. Nick Bratrud was flying and making good plays in addition to his hat trick. And Pat Fisher took advantage of his opportunity to play, making some nice saves in the third period. We did the things in this game that we want to be doing the rest of the season and in the playoffs."

SCORING SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 2 5 2-9

Spring Lake Park 1 1 0-2

First Period

CL 1 Liebsch (LeVasseur) 0:20; CL 2 Liebsch (Andy Slagle, Aaron Slagle) (pp) 9:50; SL 1 J. Bevers (A. Bevers) (sh) 12:46

Second Period

CL 3 Bratrud (T. Bergren) 2:14; CL 4 Jones (J. Bergren) 3:54; CL 5 Bratrud (Haus) 5:25; CL 6 Aaron Slagle (unassisted) (pp) 7:55; SL 2 Schrupp (Bulger, A. Bevers) 13:56; CL 7 Aaron Slagle (LeVasseur) 16:32

Third Period

CL 8 Bratrud (Andy Slagle, Patterson) 2:51; CL 9 Cunningham (unassisted) 13:44

Saves: CL Fitzer 10, Fisher 5; SL Nelson 22

Chisago Lakes 10, St. Francis 1

There wasn't much fight left in the St. Francis Fighting Saints after the Wildcats scored early and often to beat them 10-1 at Chisago Lakes Arena Friday, January 19.

Leading 3-0 going into the second period, the Wildcats crushed any hopes the Fighting Saints had when senior Luke Angrimson, assisted by senior Ross Jones, scored just 18 seconds into the period to put the Wildcats up 4-0.

The Wildcats line of seniors Scott Liebsch, Bob LeVasseur and Aaron Slagle had 13 points on the evening, tallying four goals and nine assists. Other multiple scorers for the Wildcats include Angrimson with two goals, junior Tony Skoog with a goal and an assist and senior defensemen Jake Parenteau and Terry Bergren with two assists each. In the third period, sophomore defenseman Cale Arhart scored his first varsity goal. Senior goalie Tom Fitzer stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced.

"What gave me encouragement," said coach Corey McKinnon, "was that our six goals in the second period were the result of different kinds of plays - traffic, forechecking and cycling. This sets us up well come February. Our scoring was pretty well spread out in this one - eight different players scored goals for us tonight. And our line of Scott, Bob and Aaron really clicked with four goals and nine assists among them."

SCORING SUMMARY

St. Francis 0 0 1- 1

Chisago Lakes 3 6 1-10

First Period

CL 1 Liebsch (Parenteau, Aaron Slagle) 5:08; CL 2 Liebsch (LeVasseur, Aaron Slagle) 8:04; CL 3 LeVasseur (Aaron Slagle, Liebsch) 12:1

Second Period

CL 4 Angrimson (Jones) 0:18; CL 5 Andy Slagle (Liebsch, T. Bergren) 2:10; CL 6 LeVasseur (Aaron Slagle, T. Bergren) (pp) 4:37; CL 7 Aaron Slagle (Liebsch, LeVasseur) 4:46; CL 8 Skoog (unassisted) 10:12; CL 9 Angrimson (Parenteau) 13:16

Third Period

CL 10 Arhart (unassisted) 3:44; SF 1 Stimart (Richner) 9:00

Saves: CL Fitzer 21, SF A. Benik 29

Rogers 2, Chisago Lakes 0

The Rogers Royals scored two goals in the second period, and the referees ignored an apparent Wildcat goal with ninety seconds left in the game, helping to snuff out a late rally by the Wildcats as they fell 2-0 to the Royals at Elk River Arena Saturday, January 20.

The Wildcat shot by Bob LeVasseur at the 15:30 appeared to go under the crossbar, hit the top of the net and pop back out. Wildcat players started to celebrate, but play continued and the Wildcats scrambled to get back into the play. Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon, normally a very quiet presence on the bench, had a heated discussion with the referees for a minute or so, but to no avail. Rogers held off the Wildcats for the final minute, making the final score Rogers 2, Chisago Lakes 0.

Senior goalie Tom Fitzer stopped 34 of 36 shots in the loss, including several nice glove saves to help keep the Wildcats in the game.

A videotape replay showed that the puck did go into the net. The referees were out of position and unable to see the goal. "You don't see something like that too often," said McKinnon. "This was a situation similar to the end of the Delano game. Did the refs lose the game for us? No, but they didn't allow us to have a chance to tie it up late."

McKinnon continued: "Overall, out guys looked tired, playing their third game in four days. They fought fatigue, but they didn't fight each other. And we had a little bad luck with some bouncing pucks on the bad ice."

"There's one guy I haven't talked about enough," said McKinnon, "that does a fine job on and off the ice, and that's our senior captain Terry Bergren. The things Terry does don't always show up in the statistics. He plays physical, smart hockey and does a great job on the power play and the penalty kill. He always works hard, setting a good example for his teammates. He cares about what's good for the team, what makes us have the best chance to win the game."

SCORING SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 0 0 0-0

Rogers 0 2 0-2

First Period

No scoring.

Second Period

RO 1 Hennes (Provo) 13:38; RO 2 Vasseur (Carlson, Scattarelli)

Third Period

No scoring

Saves: CL Fitzer 34, RO Kupka 13

The Wildcats (9-8 overall, 4-2 conference) play conference opponent Robbinsdale Cooper tonight, Thursday, January 25, at New Hope Ice Arena at 7 p.m. They return home to face North Branch this Saturday, January 27 at 11:30 a.m. at Chisago Lakes Arena.

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