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Mahtomedi 3, Chisago Lakes 1

In front of a nearly packed house at Aldrich Arena, the top-seeded Wildcat boys’ hockey team took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period in the Section 4A championship game.  But the second-seeded Mahtomedi Zephyrs scored three unanswered goals – one in each period – to beat the Wildcats 3-1 and advance to this week’s state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.

Early in the first period, a Zephyr forward got around Wildcat defenseman Lucas Ide about ten feet in front of the net, but Ide reached back and knocked the puck away before the player got off a shot.  Wildcat goalie Corbin Shandley made a nice save on a point-blank shot five minutes into the first period to keep the game scoreless.  At the 9:03 mark of the period, Alex Bever skated into the Mahtomedi zone and worked his way around a defenseman.  He passed up a shot and passed the puck to Landon Kerkow in the high slot.  Kerkow skated down the slot and left the puck for Austin Slettom, who lifted it over the goalie’s shoulder and underneath the crossbar to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Late in the first period, the Wildcats had trouble getting the puck out of their zone, and Zephyr Brock Gutterman fired a shot from the lower left circle past Shandley and into the back of the net at 14:16 to tie the game at 1-1.  Just 1:39 into the second period, Zephyr Laken Decker fired a tough angle shot from the bottom edge of the right circle through Shandley’s five-hole and into the net to give Mahtomedi a 2-1 lead.  Mahtomedi took the first penalty of the game just over a minute later and killed it off, keeping the Wildcats from getting set up in the zone at all.  Shandley made a nice save on a point blank shot a couple of minutes later to keep the score at 2-1. At the 9:19 mark, a trip by Ide in the Wildcat zone led to a delayed penalty.  As play continued, Cooper Toepper also tripped a Zephyr player.  The Wildcats got control of the puck but now faced a 5-on-3 situation.  The Wildcats did an excellent job of killing it off, getting the puck out of the zone three times and not really allowing the Zephyrs any high-quality shots.  On a Wildcats power play late in the period, Shandley stopped a shorthanded breakaway attempt.  The penalty expired at 16:36.  A Zephyr player fired a pass to the player coming out of the box and he skated in alone on Shandley.   Shandley stopped that shot with a few seconds to go in the period to keep the Mahtomedi lead to one goal.

At 6:53 of the third period, Winston Wright took a shot for the Zephyrs and Shandley made what looked like a glove save.  But the puck dropped to the ice and trickled into the net to make it 3-1.  Midway through the period, a puck hit a Mahtomedi player who was coming off the ice when his replacement was already on the ice.  That is a classic case of a too many men on the ice penalty, but the referees did not call it.  They went over to the Wildcat bench to explain why they didn’t call it, and the Wildcat coaching staff appeared none too pleased with the explanation.  Later in the period, the Wildcats rushed into the Zephyr zone 2-on-2.  Slettom rifled a shot from the top of the left circle past the Mahtomedi goalie, but it banged off the crossbar and ricocheted harmlessly away.  Shandley made a save on a partial breakaway with about five minutes to go to keep the Wildcats within two.  But the Wildcats’ chances to pull off a miracle comeback took a hit when Colton Whiterabbit was called for tripping at 14:14.  The Wildcats had to spend the next two minutes killing off the penalty, and Mahtomedi was able to keep the Wildcats from getting off a shot for the last 45 seconds of the game as they won 3-1, ending the Wildcats’ season on frustrating game short of the state tournament.

How did this game differ from the game the Wildcats played against Mahtomedi earlier this season?  Wildcat head coach Cory Lushanko said “When we played Mahtomedi in the first game this season, we came out really flat and ended the first period 1-1.  As the game went on, we got stronger, got more opportunities, and capitalized and ended up winning 3-2.  When we got to the section final, we started out really well.  We’re pretty confident, we’re hard on the puck, we’re playing good defensively.  But as the game went on, I think the moment for our guys was a little bit bigger.  Ninety percent of our roster had never played in a section final before and didn’t know what to expect.  You can prepare for a section final systematically by watching film, but with the noise and the amount of people there, it’s a very intense, stressful environment for some kids.  I think the fact that the kids have been through this situation now, and the fact that we are only losing a few seniors, is going to bode well for next year.  I give every ounce of credit to Mahtomedi.  They’re a really good program and a really good team, and although they didn’t have a great record this season, we still know that when we played them in the regular season that they were going to be a tough team in the sections.”

Going into the game, what was the plan to come away with a win?  Lushanko said “We thought if we could hold them to three goals or less that we could sneak in four or five because our power play has been really good.  But our power play was flat in this game.  Out top line had a lot of zone time and had some good opportunities, so our lack of scoring wasn’t for a lack of chances.  Also, it’s one of those things where their coach has been coaching for 25 years, and this is my fifth year.  That’s not an excuse, but there are some things that he did that I wasn’t expecting.  So, I tip my cap to him.  It’s not only a learning curve for the players, it’s a learning curve for the coaching staff, as well.  Being our third section final in the last four years, I think this one stings the most because we did beat them earlier.  But we will see them again.”

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