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Chisago Lakes 7, Northern Edge 2

Senior Jack Bakken and junior Max Bobrowski both scored hat tricks as the Wildcats dulled the Northern Edge 7-2 at East Bethel Arena last Tuesday, January 30.  Bakken also had three assists for an incredible six-point game.  The Wildcats bombarded Edge goalie Wyatt Johnson with 55 shots.  Wildcat goalie Corbin Shandley stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced in the win.

Landon Kerkow got the Wildcats on the board just over two minutes into the game, assisted by Lucas Ide and Quinlyn Ryan.  The Wildcats took advantage of Edge penalty troubles a few minutes later.  Bakken scored a five-on-three power play goal, assisted by Ben Kerkow and Joe Alexander.  Bobrowski followed with a power play goal of his own not too long after that, with the assists going to Ben Kerkow and Bakken, to put the Wildcats up 3-0.

Bobrowski scored the only two goals of the second period.  His first goal came at 1:21, assisted by Bakken.  And at 5:12, just after an Edge penalty had expired, Bobrowski completed his pure hat trick – three straight goals – with assists going to Bakken and  Max Koch.  The Wildcats led 5-0 after two periods.  Ryan Troxell scored 47 seconds into the third period for the Edge, assisted by Lavonte Fisher, to cut the Wildcats lead to 5-1.  Justin Christensen scored for the Edge three minutes later to make the score 5-2.  Gavin Gutierrez and Matthew Wolters got the assists.  But the Edge refused to stay out of the penalty box, costing them any thoughts of making a game out of this one.  Bakken scored a power play goal at 5:49, assisted by Koch and Corbin Shandley.  After the Edge took another penalty almost right away, Bakken scored another power play goal to complete his hat trick and make it 7-2.  Alexander and Koch got the assists.  It was the third assist of the game for playmaker Koch.

Chisago Lakes 6, Princeton 4

Jack Bakken notched his second hat trick in a row, and Max Koch got three assists for the second straight game, leading the Wildcats to a 6-4 win over the Princeton Tigers Thursday, February 1 at Chisago Lakes Arena.

The Wildcats scored three times in the first period:  Dustin Palewicz, assisted by Quinlyn Ryan; Max Bobrowski, on the power play, assisted by Koch and Bakken; and Bakken, assisted by Joe Alexander and Koch.  The Wildcats led 3-1 after the first period.  The Wildcats scored two more times in the second period to stretch their lead to 5-1.  Alexander’s goal was set up by Griffin Perreault and Palewicz.  And Ben Kerkow assisted on Bakken’s goal.  And the Wildcats ended up needing those goals, as the Tigers scored three times in the third period to make it a close game.  But Bakken completed his hat trick with a power play goal in the third, assisted by Kerkow and Koch, and the Wildcats prevailed 6-4.

Two Rivers 4, Chisago Lakes 2

The Wildcats and the Two Rivers Warriors had a tight battle at West St. Paul Arena on Saturday, February 3, and the game wasn’t decided until an empty net goal with 58 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a two-goal lead in their 4-2 win over the Wildcats.  The Wildcats outshot the Warriors 34-31 for the game, and Wildcats goalie Brett Hanson stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the loss.

Two Rivers scored the only goal of the first period to go up 1-0.  The Wildcats scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead.  Max Bobrowski scored at 12:18, assisted by Jack Bakken and Max Koch.  77 seconds later, Bakken scored a shorthanded goal, assisted by Bobrowski, to put the Wildcats up 2-1.  But the Warriors scored twice midway through the third period, including a power play goal, to take a 3-2 lead.  The Wildcats put the pressure on, pulling Hanson late, but the Warriors ended the drama with the empty-netter.

Hockey Hullaballoo

The Wildcats (10-12-1) have just two games left in the regular season.  Tonight, they will travel to the Parade Ice Garden in Minneapolis to take on the Minneapolis Novas at 7 p.m.  And next Thursday, February 15 they will finish out the regular season against the Providence Academy Lions at 7 p.m. at the Plymouth Ice Center.

The Northern Edge (2-18-1) lost their two other games last week: they were shut out 10-0 by the Monticello Moose and lost 11-1 to the Breck Mustangs.  The Edge have three games left in the regular season.  They will play the Becker/Big Lake Eagles tonight at Princeton First Bank & Trust Ice Arena at 7:15 p.m.  On Saturday, they will head north to the Eveleth Hippodrome for a 3 p.m. matinee against the Rock Ridge Wolverines.  And they will play their final game of the regular season at home on Monday, February 12 against the Pine City Dragons at East Bethel Arena at 7 p.m.

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