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Providence Academy 6, Chisago Lakes 4

The Providence Academy Lions scored an empty-net goal with eight seconds remaining to seal a 6-4 win over the Wildcats in the final regular season game for both teams.  The game was played Thursday, February 15 at the Plymouth Ice Center.

Jack Bakken scored twice in the first period – at 6:55 and 9:35 – to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.  Ben Kerkow and Lucas Ide assisted on the first goal, and the second goal was unassisted.  But the Lions scored just 16 seconds after Bakken’s second goal to cut the Wildcat lead to 2-1.  Providence Academy scored the only goal of the second period to tie the score at 2-2, setting the stage for a wild ending to the game.

The Lions scored twice in the first four minutes of the third period to go up 4-2.  The score stayed that way until Ty Gajeski put one in the back of the net with exactly two minutes to go in the game, assisted by Joe Alexander and Nolan Purdy, to cut the Lion lead to 4-3.  But the Lions responded with a goal just 24 seconds later to go back up by two.  The Wildcats weren’t done yet.  Gajeski scored again with 1:05 remaining, assisted by Alexander and Griffin Perreault, to pull the Wildcats within one at 5-4.  But the Lions were able to hold them off and added the empty-netter at the end.

Section Playoff Preview

The Wildcats (11-13-1) are seeded third in the Section 4A playoffs.  They will open with a quarterfinal matchup against the sixth-seeded South St. Paul Packers (8-16-1) tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at Aldrich Arena.  

If the Wildcats beat the Packers, they will move on to the semifinals to face the winner of the matchup between the second-seeded Southwest Christian/Richfield Stars (15-10-0) and the seventh-seeded Simley Spartans (5-18-2).  The semifinal game will be played Monday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Aldrich Arena.   

For either team, getting to the section championship game next Thursday, February 29 at Aldrich Arena at 7 p.m. will likely mean facing the top-seeded and seventh-ranked Mahtomedi Zephyrs (13-11-0).  The Zephyrsdefeated the Wildcats each of the last two seasons in the section championship game – 3-1 in 2023 and 4-0 in 2022.  And the Zephyrs beat the Wildcats 6-1 earlier this season.

In order to get to the state tournament this season, the Wildcats will have to play their best hockey against one of the top teams in the state.  They will need solid goaltending and solid defense, of course.  But, also will need to rely on their top line of Jack Bakken, Max Bobrowski and Joe Alexander.

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