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Chisago Lakes 2, Monticello 2 (O.T.)
The Wildcats opened their season on Tuesday, December 6  at Chisago Lakes Arena, facing last year’s state tourney entrant from Section 5A, the Monticello Moose.  In what turned out to be a clean game – just four penalties were called – the teams skated to a 2-2 tie.  The Moose outshot the Wildcats 37-35 for the game, and Wildcat goalie Jack Hanson stopped 35 of the 37 shots he faced.

Neither team scored until the game was more than half over.  Nik Jinks scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 11:50 of the second period to put the Wildcats up 1-0.  Monticello scored a power play goal with about 90 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 1-1.  The Moose took the lead on a goal midway through the third period.  Jack Bakken tied it up at 11:05 of the period, assisted by Andrew Swanson and Ben Kerkow.  The Wildcats outshot Monticello 5-1 in overtime but couldn’t get one past Moose goalie Owen Soderholm.

Little Falls 6, Chisago Lakes 3
Never let it be said that Wildcat head coach Cory Lushanko put together an easy schedule for his team.  After playing a 2022 state tournament team in the opener, the Wildcats headed to Exchange Arena in Little Falls to take on the eighth-ranked Little Falls Flyers just two days later.  The Wildcats and the Flyers were tied 2-2 after the first period, but the Flyers scored four of the last five goals in the game to beat the Wildcats 6-3.  The game was played at Exchange Arena in Little Falls on Thursday, December 8.

Jack Bakken put away an unassisted goal just 1:38 into the first period to give the Wildcats the early lead.  Before the period was half over, Little Falls scored twice to go up 2-1.  Bakken scored his second goal of the period at 13:34, assisted by Nik Jinks, to tie the game at 2-2.  The Flyers broke the game open with three straight goals in a ten-minute span from late in the second period to midway through the third period to take a 5-2 lead.  Austin Slettom scored for the Wildcats to cut the lead to 5-3 at 9:27 of the third period, with assists going to Andrew Swanson and Tim Madden.  But the Flyers got that one back less than two minutes later and held off the Wildcats the rest of the way.  Little Falls outshot the Wildcats 36-30 for the game.

Hockey Hullaballoo
The Wildcats will head to Princeton this evening to take on the Tigers at Princeton First Bank & Trust Arena at 7 p.m.  On Monday, December 19 they will play the Osseo Orioles at Dick Vraa Arena in Osseo at 5:30 p.m.  They will return home the next night to face the Roseville Raiders at 6 p.m. at Chisago Lakes Arena.

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