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Katie Sorenson's goal with 3:41 remaining in the game lifted the sixth-ranked Chisago Lakes Wildcats U12B Girls team over Centennial Red 2-1 Sunday, March 4 at the Minnesota Hockey Regional Finals in West Saint Paul.

With the victory, the girls advanced to the U12B State Tournament this weekend in Cloquet. The girls became the first Chisago Lakes youth hockey team ever to advance to a state tournament. About an hour later, the B1 Bantam boys team became the second Chisago Lakes team to ever qualify for a state tournament.

The Wildcats open the state tournament Friday, March 16, at 6 p.m. against Willmar.

Allison Bergstrom scored for the Wildcats to make it 1-0 after one period. Centennial tied it in the second period. Sorenson's winning goal came as she skated hard around a defender, cut in front of the Centennial goalie and stuffed the puck in the net. "That goal shows how strong Katie has become as a skater, using crossovers to gain an edge on her opponent," commented assistant coach Jodi Budde.

Centennial intensified its attack in the game's closing minutes, trying to take advantage of a late power play, but the Wildcats withstood the attack. In the final face-off in the Wildcat zone with 0.9 seconds left, the puck was pushed harmlessly to the side. The girls piled on top of goalie Amanda Budde to celebrate.

"I hope these girls realize how lucky they are to get to appear in a state tournament. They are one of the top eight teams in the state of Minnesota. They should be proud of that accomplishment," said Wildcat head coach Bill Emeott. "They will represent the Chisago Lakes Association well."

Regional in West St. Paul

Friday afternoon, March 2, Laura Burch scored the Wildcats' only goal as the Wildcats lost their opening round robin game of the regional tournament 2-1 to Winona on a late goal. "The girls were a little sluggish against Winona, and that nearly cost us the trip to state," Emeott commented.

The Wildcats rebounded to spank Dodge County 6-1 that evening. Six Wildcats (Sorenson, Mary Burch, Miranda Beimert, Anna Peterson, Claire Bakken and Allison Ives) scored goals against Dodge County. Five Wildcats also chipped in with assists - Maddie Howard, Delaney Doriott, Ives, Miranda Krumm and Beimert.

Bergstrom scored the lone goal of the game as the Wildcats beat the fifth-ranked Mahtomedi Zephyrs 1-0 Saturday afternoon. "All year long Ali has been getting the big goal or assist for us," said Emeott. Goalie Amanda Budde tallied her tenth shutout of the season in the win.

As the Wildcats trailed late in the loss to Winona, they pulled Budde for an extra attacker. With just moments remaining in the game, Winona got the puck and fired a long shot that looked like a sure empty-net goal. Bergstrom skated hard after the puck, dove to the ice, stretched out her stick and knocked the puck aside just before it slid into the empty Chisago net.

At the time it seemed like just an impressive individual effort on the part of Bergstrom. But, the Wildcats, Mahtomedi and Winona ended up with identical 2-1 records in the round robin portion of the tournament. Bergstrom's play helped the Wildcats win the tiebreaker with Winona to advance to the championship game on Sunday afternoon against Centennial, even though Winona defeated Chisago in their round robin game.

The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 17-1-2 record, good enough for first place in the American Division of District 10. They also finished third in a December tournament in Cloquet, finished second in the Richfield Tournament, losing in the championship game to an all-star team from Fargo. They won the Orono Tournament in late January with an impressive shellacking of Bloomington Jefferson, 6-1. The Wildcats finished second in the District 10 tournament Sunday, February 25 after a 3-2 loss to Princeton in the championship game.

Emeott has been most impressed with his team's defensive performance this season. "At the beginning of the year," he said, "we asked Miranda Beimert, Mary Burch, Delaney Doriott, and Miranda Krumm to play defense, some for the first time in their careers. They were mainly our most experienced skaters, and we asked them to sacrifice their scoring for the sake of the team. It has really paid off.

"We also have seen a great improvement in goaltending from Amanda Budde. The forwards have really been asked to do some things differently this year as well. We have worked hard with them to improve their skating skills. They now are seeing that hard work pays off for them. Leah Freundschuh, one of our most improved players, played with a big heart and a great attitude all year. And, even though Hannah Emeott came into the year with very little hockey experience, she provided valuable play as our flyer, filling in on shifts when we needed her to."

To see the entire tournament bracket in a .pdf file, go to www.minnesotahockey.org, click on Tournaments, then scroll down and click on Girls 12 & Under B in the State Tournaments section.

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