---

With a spectacular regular season under their belts, the Chisago Lakes U12B girls' hockey team headed into the District 10 Tournament the third week in February. In the first game, the Wildcats came on strong with a decisive victory over St. Francis (8-0).

The next two games had similar results. They beat Coon Rapids (8-1) and Anoka (4-0). In the championship game, Chisago Lakes met Sauk Rapids for the third time this season and, like the other two, the Wildcats came out on top with a (5-3) victory, capturing the league and tournament championships.

Next up for CL U12 was the regional tournament in Le Sueur, Minnesota, February 29-March 2. Seeded #1 from district 10, the Wildcats beat their first opponent, New Ulm from District 4, 7-0. In the second game, they beat Farmington from District 8 (5-1).

District 10 rival Centennial Red was the Wildcats' third opponent. During the regular season the two teams tied. But, this time, Chisago Lakes was victorious (5-1).

On Sunday, a fourth victory would send the Wildcats to the state tournament, but they would have to beat the #2 seed from District 10 Sauk Rapids for a fourth time.

This game proved to be the most challenging. Sauk Rapids was ahead (2-0) at the end of the first period and it looked pretty bleak for Chisago Lakes.

With a spirit-lifting goal by Hannah Emeott in the second period, the Wildcats began to rally, but couldn't get their second goal, before Sauk Rapids scored its third. Chisago Lakes never gave up and answered with goals by Kelsey Sorensen and Laura Burch. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 3-3.

With less than two minutes left in overtime, Allison Borgstrom scored the winning goal for the Wildcats. They beat Sauk Rapids for the fourth time and earned a trip to the U12 state tournament.

Chisago Lakes U12B will meet a team from Duluth in the first game of the state tournament Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at the Richfield Ice Arena.

Good Luck Wildcat Girls!

---