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Chisago Lakes/Pine City 3,

Eveleth/Gilbert 2

In the season opener against the Eveleth-Gilbert Golden Bears, Ariel Novak's breakaway goal at the beginning of the third period broke a 2-2 tie. The Wildcat defense did the rest, as the Wildcats came away with a 3-2 win in a game played at Eveleth Tuesday, November 13.

Shannon Segarra scored the Wildcats' first goal of the season at the 11:16 mark of the third period on a rebound from Ashley Elumba's shot. The shot put the Wildcats up 1-0. Kristen Dobosenski was also credited with an assist on the play.

Just two minutes into the second period, Segarra scored on a power play by knocking in a rebound of Ariel Novak's. Segurra's goal put the Wildcats up 2-0. But, the Golden Bears scored two power play goals of their own in the second period, including one with less than a minute remaining, to tie the score at 2-2 going into the third period.

Novak provided heroics on a power play just over a minute into the third period. She picked up the puck in the Wildcat zone, rushed it up ice, put a nice move on the goalie and put it in the back of the net to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.

The Wildcats made the lead stand up for the next 16 minutes to claim the victory. The Wildcats outshot the Golden Bears 36-18 for the game.

"We outplayed them," said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen. "But their goalie played a very good game, so the score was closer than the play indicated. And Shannon Segarra showed some of the aggressiveness we're looking for in all of our players. She crashed the net for rebounds. She wanted to put the puck in the net and took advantage of the opportunities presented to her."

SCORING SUMMARY

Chisago Lakes 1 1 1-3

Eveleth 0 2 0-2

First Period

CL 1 Segarra 1 (Elumba 1, K. Dobosenski 1) 11:26

Second Period

CL 2 Segarra 2 (Novak 1) (pp) 2:08; EV 1 Christi (Erchul, Argobast) (pp) 5:51; EV 2 Argobast (Moe, Seppi) (pp) 16:15

Third Period

CL 3 Novak1 (unassisted) (pp) 1:15

Saves: CL Pitzen 16, EV Moberg 33

Forest Lake 4,

Chisago Lakes/Pine City 1

Trailing 3-1 after two periods, the Wildcats played a great third period against Forest Lake. But, they couldn't put anything in the net, and the Rangers added an empty-net goal at the end to make the final score Forest Lake 4, Chisago Lakes 1. The game was played Thursday, November 15 at Chisago Lakes.

Ranger defender Audrey Hanmer opened the scoring at the 9:34 mark of the first period. And, with just over two minutes left in the period, she scored a shorthanded goal to put the Rangers up 2-0. With just 24 seconds remaining, Laura Greene scored from a scramble outside the Ranger net to pull the Wildcats within one. Krista Liebsch earned an assist on the play, and the Wildcats seemed to have momentum on their side going into the second period.

But the Wildcats came out flat in the second period and struggled to find a rhythm. The puck was in the Wildcat end for a good portion of the period, but they somehow managed to hold the Rangers to just one goal, and trailed 3-1 after two.

A completely different Wildcat team burst out of the locker room for the third period. Ariel Novak had a breakaway in the first minute, but the Ranger goalie made a great save to preserve the two-goal lead. A Wildcat player was tripped on a short breakaway midway through the period. The Wildcats got several good scoring chances on the ensuing power play, but couldn't convert.

Throughout the period, the Wildcats passed well, did a good job clearing the zone and put the pressure on the Ranger defense. But, the Rangers held firm and scored an empty-net goal with 48 seconds remaining to make the final score Forest Lake 4, Chisago Lakes 1.

"The shots were even for the game," said Wildcat head coach Jason Mahlen, "but we fell apart a little in the second period. We had a hard time sustaining puck control and had no consistency with our play. I don't think the way we played in that period indicates how we'll play for the rest of the season.

"Despite the final score, Erica Pitzen had a good game for us in the nets. All three Forest Lake goals, before the empty-netter, came on high-quality shots. As the season progresses, we need to develop that ability to capitalize on our scoring opportunities."

SCORING SUMMARY

Forest Lake 2 1 1-4

Chisago Lakes 1 0 0-1

First Period

FL 1 Hanmer (Williams) 9:34; FL 2 Hanmer (unassisted) (sh) 14:40; CL 1 Greene 1 (Liebsch 1) 16:36

Second Period

FL 3 Shelafoe (Blum) 5:11

Third Period

FL 4 Williams (unassisted) (empty net) 16:12

Saves: CL Pitzen 20, FL Fredrick 23

The Wildcats had just one game during Thanksgiving week. They were scheduled to head to Cloquet to take on the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjacks Tuesday, November 20.

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