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Mounds View/Irondale 5, Chisago Lakes 3

A hat trick from Mia Simones led the Mounds View/Irondale Mustangs, ranked 17th in Class AA, to a 5-3 win over the Wildcat girls’ hockey team, ranked 11th in Class A, on Tuesday, November 25 at Chisago Lakes Arena.  It was just the second loss of the season for the Wildcats (6-2-0).

Simones scored the only two goals of the first period to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.  Zoe Neurer got the Wildcats on the board with a goal at 3:23 of the second period, assisted by Aven Lyckholm.  Lyckholm scored the tying goal five minutes later, with the assists going to Lexi Smothers and Neurer.  Simones completed her hat trick with 90 seconds to go in the period, giving Mounds View a 3-2 lead going into the third.  The third period got chippy, with one player from each team sent off for roughing less than a minute into the period.  The Mustangs gave themselves some breathing room with a goal from Sarah Johnson midway through the period.  Johnson scored again at the 14:53 mark to stretch the Mustang lead to 5-2.  Allie Smothers responded just 11 seconds later, assisted by Lexi Smothers and Aven Lyckholm.  But it was too little, too late for the Wildcats. 

The chippiness continued as two Wildcats were sent to the box for roughing in the last 30 seconds of the game.  The Mustangs outshot the Wildcats 35-22 for the game.

Chisago Lakes 11, Hudson 4

Brynn Secor and Audrina Kelley had five points apiece and three Wildcats scored two goals each as the Wildcats crushed the Hudson Raiders 11-4 on Saturday, November 29 at the Hudson Sports and Civic Center. After the Raiders took a 2-0 lead midway through the first period, the Wildcats responded with seven straight goals in a stretch of five minutes and led 7-3 after the first period.  They scored three more in the second and added a goal during running time in the third period.

Secor had two goals and three assists, and playmaker Kelley had a goal and four assists.  Naomi Eaton scored twice and added an assist for three points, and Lyckholm also had two goals.  Players with one goal each were Lexi Smothers, Allie Smothers, Josie Hansen, and Zoe Neurer.  It was the first career goal for Hansen, a sophomore.  Evalynn Partridge has an assist for her first career point.  Others notching one assist each were Lexi Smothers, Allie Smothers, Grace Schulte, Gwyn Jacobson, and Neurer.

The Wildcats backup goalies saw action for the first time this season.  Senior starter Ava Aarnio played the first period, eighth grader Julia Wakefield guarded the net in the second period, and seventh grader Kendall Wakefield took the third period.  The Wakefields are not related.  The Wildcats outshot the Raiders 43-22 for the game.

Hockey Hullaballoo

Lexi Smothers is tied for tenth in the state with nine assists.

The Wildcats begin a four-game stretch of home games this week.  They face a Mississippi 8 Conference foe, the Princeton/Big Lake/Becker Tigers, at 6 p.m. tonight. On Saturday, they will welcome Section 4A foe, the Blake Bears - ranked fourth in the state in Class A - to Lindstrom for a 3:40 p.m. matinee.  It will be the Wildcats’ toughest test so far this season.  And Tuesday, December 9, they will clash with the Moose Lake Rebels at 4:30 p.m.

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