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Cambridge-Isanti 4, Chisago Lakes 1

The Wildcat boys' hockey team ran into a hot goalie during the final game of the Lakes Area Holiday Tournament. The Cambridge-Isanti goalie stopped 38 of 39 Wildcat shots as the Bluejackets avenged an earlier loss, beating the Wildcats 4-1 last Tuesday, December 30 at Chisago Lakes Arena.

The Wildcats trailed 4-0 going into the third period. Andrew Habel scored the Wildcats only goal on a power play midway through the period to break the shutout. Tommy Johnson and Cory Lushanko were credited with assists on the play.

"That's high school hockey," said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon. "We outshot them 39-31 and lost 4-1. We threw bombs at them in the third period, but their goalie played well. We didn't change our tone throughout whole tournament. We left it all on the ice. It takes a lot of work to get 39 shots. Our guys were working hard, cycling, jumping on rebounds and forechecking. And our power play has been starting to deliver in last five or six games. Earlier in the season, our players were getting frustrated by not getting scoring chances on the power play. Now, the sign of a maturing power play is that they're creating chances, especially our main power play unit. They're learning that executing the more simple plays well will make them more successful."

Chisago Lakes 6, Robbinsdale Cooper 0

Sophomore Cory Lushanko scored his third hat trick of the season and sophomore goalie Ben Bratrud notched his first career shutout as the Wildcats crushed Robbinsdale Cooper 6-0 last Saturday, January 3 at Chisago Lakes Arena.

Lushanko scored the first three goals of the game, tallying one goal in each of the game's three periods. His scored his first goal on a rebound on a power play four minutes into the first period, with assists going to sophomores Brett Lizotte and Andrew Habel. His second goal came on a power play four minutes into the second period. Senior Cale Arhart threaded a pass from the far side to the near right. Lushanko caught the pass on his backhand, surrounded the puck and snapped a forehand shot into the left side of the net.

The Wildcats poured it on in the third period. Lushanko completed his hat trick just a minute into the period, assisted by Habel and fellow sophomore Riley Doriott. Just two minutes later, Habel scored what Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon described as a "real aggressive goal. Andrew has nice hands. He pulled the puck from his backhand to his forehand in front of the net and put it away." Habel's line mates Lushanko and Doriott assisted on the play.

Senior Eric Sargeant scored his first career goal midway through the third period. He pulled the puck out from behind the Cooper net, moved around a defenseman and backhanded it past the goalie. Doriott later rounded out the Wildcat scoring for the day. Lushanko came into the Cooper zone at full speed down the right side. He slowed along the board and left a drop pass for Habel. Habel made a nice move, and then dished the puck to Doriott. Doriott put it away to make the final score 6-0 in favor of the Wildcats.

For Lushanko, it has been feast or famine in the goal-scoring department so far this winter. He has ten goals in ten games, with nine of those goals coming on three hat tricks.

Bratrud stopped all 29 shots he faced to earn the shutout. McKinnon said "its rally nice to see Benny get his first shutout under his belt. And it was good to see Eric Sargeant rewarded for all his hard work."

McKinnon also praised one of his seniors, Sam Howard. "We moved Sam back to defense when we were shorthanded back there over the holiday break. He's got good hands, doesn't panic with the puck, senses the game well and makes good decisions. He does a lot of things that don't show up on the scoresheet. He's a strong leader who helps to create a good atmosphere for players and coaches to work in every day. He's a positive asset to our hockey team."

McKinnon analyzed his team's performance against the Hawks. He said, "We spent the first two periods creating chances. But we needed to find ways to beat the goaltender. We can't just leave those goals on the doorstep. One thing we stressed in that game was to make sure we had numbers coming back. We wanted to make sure they weren't going to score any goals by setting up plays in our end, and we accomplished that goal."

The Wildcats were scheduled to travel to Polar Arena to take on North St. Paul this past Tuesday, January 6. The Wildcats return home tonight to take on St. Francis at Chisago Lakes Arena at 7 p.m. They'll play a matinee against powerhouse Totino Grace this Saturday, January 10 at 3:30 p.m. at Parade Ice Garden in Minneapolis. The Wildcats return home next Tuesday, January 13 to play Meadow Creek Christian at 7 p.m.

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