CL goes 2-0 in NSC

Chisago Lakes 4, St. Louis Park 0
Wildcat goaltender Bryce Thompson earned his first career shutout and four different Wildcats scored goals in the second period as the Wildcat boys hockey team beat the St. Louis Park Orioles 4-0 Tuesday, January 29 at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center.

Bradee Thompson scored just over two minutes into the second period, assisted by Jacob Breyfogle and Jacob Speight, to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. A three goal outburst in the middle of the period opened up a big lead for the Wildcats. Zachary Lambrecht scored at the 8:16 mark, assisted by Brandon Gillespie. Exactly one minute later, senior defenseman Dan Sargeant scored on the power play. Colton Reynolds and Bradee Thompson picked up assists. And Reynolds scored another power play goal at 9:50 of the period, assisted by Trevor Lushanko and Breyfogle.

Wildcat head coach Paul Gibson said "It was nice to get back on track with a win over a much improved St. Louis Park team. I think we played with a balance of poise and intensity, keeping the pressure on the opponent for a full 51 minutes. And Bryce had another nice game with his first shutout". Bryce Thompson stopped all 23 shots he faced as the Wildcats outshot the Orioles 30-23 for the game.

Chisago Lakes 3, Irondale 1
Taylor O’Connell scored the first goal of his career, assisted by Ryan Chambers, helping the Wildcats to a 3-1 win over Irondale last Friday, February 1 in front of the home crowd at Chisago Lakes Arena. Bryce Thompson excelled in the nets for the second straight game for the Wildcats, stopping 23 of the 24 shots he faced to pick up the win. The Knights scored 3:44 into the first period to take a 1-0 lead. But the Wildcats answered almost immediately.

Justin Bye scored just 11 seconds later, assisted by Jacob Breyfogle, to tie the game at 1-1. The Knights took a penalty near the end of the first period, so the Wildcats opened the second period with 1:11 left on a power play. Ben Knaak scored with nine seconds left on that power play to put the Wildcats up 2-1. Blake Lizotte picked up an assist on the play. And O’Connell scored an insurance goal just three minutes later, assisted by Ryan Chambers, to make the score 3-1. The Wildcats failed to take advantage of a 5-on-3 power play in the third period. But they also killed off two penalties later in the period, including a tripping penalty on goalie Thompson, to protect the two goal lead. It’s not very often you see a penalty called on a goalie.

Wildcat head coach Paul Gibson said "Not all wins can be pretty, and this was a prime example of an ugly win, which tends to happen when two teams that pride themselves on grinding it out are matched up. It was the best effort I've seen out of these guys all season, and that's encouraging. The highlight of the night for me was watching our checking line of Nick Bartz, Taylor O'Connor, and Ryan Chambers dominate in the offensive zone and get on the score sheet with a rebound goal from T.O."

The Wildcats (14-7-1 overall, 6-3-1 conference – 3rd place)play Spring Lake Park tonight at Fogerty Arena in Blaine at 7:30 p.m. This Saturday, February 9 they will host Robbinsdale Cooper in a matinee at Chisago Lakes Arena starting at 12:30 p.m.