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Forest Lake 8, Chisago Lakes 5

Chisago Lakes Arena featured fireworks on New Year’s Eve, well before midnight, as the Wildcat boys’ hockey team tangled with  local rivals, the Forest Lake Rangers.  Five times, one of the teams scored to take a one-goal lead, and all five times the other team scored to tie the game.  But early in the third period, the Rangers scored to take another one-goal lead and the Wildcats did not respond.  

The Rangers added two more goals late in the period and came away with an 8-5 win over the Wildcats.  The Wildcats outshot the Rangers 36-31 for the game.

The offensive star for Forest Lake was eighth grader Maverick McKinnon, who is the son of former CL hockey head coach Corey McKinnon. The elder McKinnon is currently Forest Lake’s Community Education Director.

Alex Bever got the Wildcats on the scoreboard just 40 seconds into the game, assisted by Max Bobrowski and Colton Whiterabbit.   McKinnon, who ended up with a hat trick for the Rangers, scored to tie it up at 7:34.  But Wildcat Nick Hansen answered just 34 seconds later to put the Wildcats back up by one.  Quin Ryan and Ashton Warnke got the assists.  Blake Jacobson scored for the Rangers about four minutes later to tie the game 2-2, and it stayed that way through the rest of the period.

McKinnon netted his second goal of the game at 2:40 of the second period to give the Rangers their first lead at 3-2.  Bobrowski put one in the back of the net five minutes later, assisted by Bever and Jacob Kletti, to tie the score at 3-3.  The teams combined for a three-goal flurry late in the period.  Landen Roberts scored on the power play for the Rangers at 13:01 to put Forest Lake up 4-3.  Just under two minutes later, Landen Kerkow put in a power play goal of his own, assisted by Whiterabbit and Kletti, to tie it at 4-4.  Ryan Siedow scored with just under a minute to go in the period to give the Rangers a 5-4 lead going into the second intermission.

The Wildcats tied the game for the fifth time on Austin Slettom’s goal at 2:10 of the third period, with assists going to Landon Kerkow and Lucas Ide.  The Rangers took a 6-5 lead three minutes later on a goal by Dylan Reuter.  This time, the Wildcats were unable to respond.  Mckinnon scored to complete his hat trick with just under two minutes remaining for the first two-goal lead of the game and a bit of breathing room over the Wildcats.  Cole Rivard scored an empty-netter at 15:59 to make the final score 8-5.

Not surprisingly for a rivalry game, things got a little intense on the ice.  The teams received offsetting roughing minors midway through the second period.  A Ranger player got a roughing minor later in the period.  The third period was clean until Rivard got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the celebration of his empty-net goal with a minute to go in the game.  And the teams were assessed coincidental cross-checking minors with 15 seconds to go in the game, with the Wildcats getting an extra 10-minute misconduct penalty on the play.

Chisago Lakes 5, Dodge County 1

Goalie Corbin Shandley stop 21 of the 22 shots he faced, and the Wildcats scored four straight goals in the last two periods of the game to give the Wildcats a 5-1 win over the Dodge County Wildcats last Friday, January 3 at Dodge County Ice Arena.  Chisago Lakes dominated the game from start to finish, outshooting Dodge County 40-22.

Lucas Ide opened the scoring at 4:13 of the first period, assisted by Copper Toepper and Jacob Kletti.  Dodge County tied it 1-1 at the nine-minute mark of the first period.  Alex Bever scored an unassisted goal midway through the second period to give Chisago Lakes a lead they would never relinquish.  Three minutes later, Nick Hansen tallied his third goal of the season to make it 3-1, with assists going to Colton Whiterabbit and Quin Ryan.  

Kletti scored a power play goal midway through the third period to make it 4-1, assisted by Ben Kerkow and Bobrowski.  And Ashton Warnke put away the game’s final goal with four minutes to go in the game to make the final score 5-1.  Ryan and Hansen assisted on the final goal.

Hockey Hullaballoo

The Wildcats (6-4-1) will head to the Princeton First Bank & Trust Arena this afternoon (Thursday) for a 5:30 p.m. catfight with the  Tigers.  The Wildcats will return to home ice,  Saturday, for a 2 p.m. matinee against the St. Paul Highland Park Riveters.  And on Tuesday, January 14, the Wildcats have a 7 p.m. tilt at Isanti Ice Arena, taking on the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets.

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