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Chisago Lakes 7, Robbinsdale Cooper 2

Cory Lushanko had four goals, including two power play goals, to lead the Wildcat boys' hockey team to a 7-2 win over Robbinsdale Cooper Tuesday, January 11 at Chisago Lakes Arena. "Most or all of Corey's goals in this one were similar," said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon. "He sped up the ice with the puck, blew around the defensemen, made a nice move to get in front of the net, put a move on the goalie and put the puck away. The Corey of old would have taken the puck around behind the net and tried to make a play from there. We have worked with him to get to the front of the net, and he did the rest tonight. He had been in a bit of a scorer's slump, but has been putting in a lot of extra practice time to work though it and it looks like it has paid off."

Andrew Habel led off the Wildcat scoring binge with a nice hard slapshot through the five hole just 45 seconds into the first period. Matt Stamos and Dan Sargeant picked up assists on the play. McKinnon said "In addition to his assists, we are going to be relying on Andrew to put more pucks in the net. When he shoots the puck, good things happen."

With just over a minute to go in the period, Brett Lizotte got a breakaway and scored on a nifty backhand. Thirty seconds later, Lushanko notched his first goal of the game, assisted by Ory Burggraff and Kyle Hagglund. The Wildcats led 3-0 after one. The Wildcats and Hawks scored two goals apiece in the second period. Lushanko scored a power play goal early in the period, assisted by Habel and Hagglund. Late in the period, Lushanko completed his hat trick, with assists going to Bradee Thompson and Burggraff on the play.

Stamos picked up his first goal of the season with just under five minutes left in the third period, assisted by Hagglund and Burggraff. "Matt had had a lot of scoring opportunities this season," said McKinnon, "and finally put one away. He had to get the barrel of monkeys off his back." Lushanko scored the game's final goal with two minutes left in the period, assisted by Burggraff and Lizotte, to make the final score 7-2 in favor of the Wildcats.

The Wildcats outshot the Hawks 39-32 for the game. Wildcat goalie Ben Bratrud stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced.

"We are off to a good start this season," said McKinnon, "as our 11-2 record shows. We are pleased but not satisfied. We want to continue to improve coming down the stretch as we get ready for the postseason."

Chisago Lakes 6, St. Francis 3

The Wildcats trailed 3-1 midway through the second period against St. Francis last Thursday, January 13. But the Wildcats scored five unanswered goals, including four in the third period, to beat the Fighting Saints 6-3. The game was played at East Bethel Arena. "We were a little off for the first two periods," said Wildcat head coach Corey McKinnon. "We were flat and a lot of little things were not going right.

Kyle Hagglund scored a power play goal in the first period. His backhand shot hit goalie and went into the net. The usual suspects, Andrew Habel and Cory Lushanko, picked up assists on the play, and the teams were tied 1-1 after the one. The fighting Saints scored two goals just over a minute apart midway through the second period to take a 3-1 lead. McKinnon said "After that third goal, we told the kids they were not shooting the puck enough. They were getting too fancy with it." The coaches no more than made their speech and it looked like the players took it to heart. Just 30 seconds later, Hagglund fired a snapshot from the right point. Matt Stamos not only screened the goalie, but he tipped the puck into the net to pick up his second goal in two games to cut the Fighting Saint lead to 3-2. Habel also picked up an assist on the play.

Habel's wraparound goal five minutes into the third period tied it at 3-3. At the 7:37 mark, the Wildcats won a faceoff in the Fighting Saints' zone. The puck came back to Lawrence Zaun and he flung the puck at the net and it went in for the first goal of his varsity career. More importantly, it gave the Wildcats a 4-3 lead.

The Wildcats got an insurance goal with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Hagglund rushed the puck up the ice and left a drop pass for Bradee Thompson. Thompson snapped the puck on net. Hagglund went to the front of the net, found the rebound, turned around and whipped it into the net. Burggraff was also awarded an assist on the play. Burggraff's empty-netter with 1:36 to go in the game, assisted by Lushanko, was the icing on the cake in yet another Wildcat victory.

Wildcat goalkeeper Ben Bratrud had a lot to do with the Wildcat win. Shots were virtually even for the game, with the Wildcats having a 37-36 edge. But the Fighting Saints outshot the Wildcats 17-11 in the first period. Bratrud stopped 16 of those 17 shots, and the only goal he allowed was a second or third rebound from a scrum out in front of the net. "Benny played a real solid game," said McKinnon. "Two of the three goals he allowed were on second or third rebounds, and he made a couple of game-changing saves for us, as well. I am real happy with his play."

McKinnon talked a little bit about one of the team's unsung heroes. He said "I'm really pleased with the play of Lawrence Zaun. He works hard on his game, pays the gaps well and gives us a physical presence on the ice. In the last four games, he's played his best hockey of the season."

The Wildcats have two home games upcoming. Fist, they will take on conference rival St. Louis Park this Saturday at 2 p.m. Next Tuesday, January 25 they will host St. Paul Academy at 7 p.m.

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