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Chisago Lakes 6, Princeton 0

The Wildcats exploded for five goals in the third period – including three in a row by Jacob Kletti – to shut out the Princeton Tigers 6-0 Thursday, November 20 at Princeton First Bank & Trust Ice Arena.  The Wildcats dominated from start to finish, outshooting the Tigers 45-16 for the game.  Sophomore goalie Jacob Schaeppi, making his first career start, stopped all 16 shots he faced to pick up the shutout.  Kletti scored the game’s first four goals and added an assist, while Max Koch had a goal and assisted on three of Kletti’s goals.

Despite controlling the entire game, the Wildcats only led 1-0 going into the third period, and the Tigers threatened to tie it up with a couple of odd man rushes.  But the Wildcats shut down those opportunities.  “Everyone was gripping their sticks a little tight in the first period and we calmed down as the game progressed and that started to open things up.  I had a lot of confidence in my group, even though the scoreboard didn’t indicate it at that point in the game.  We were playing hockey the right way, playing well without the puck, supporting the puck, being physical, and being overall hard to play against.  I knew at some point it was going to turn in our favor.”

After a scoreless first period, Kletti got the Wildcats on the scoreboard three minutes into the second period, with assists going to Austin Slettom and Colton Whiterabbit.  The Wildcats scoring binge started at 10:51 of the third period, when Kletti scored again, assisted by Koch and Whiterabbit.  Almost exactly three minutes later, Kletti put his third goal in a row into the back of the net, assisted by Slettom and Koch.  And it only took 18 seconds for Kletti to notch his fourth goal of the game, assisted by Colton Horak and Koch.  Lushanko said “When Jacob gets his feet moving and is going forward and making one or two moves toward the net, I think he is one of the harder kids to play against in Class A hockey in the State of Minnesota in terms of his size, skating ability and shooting ability.”

Landon Kerkow scored just 36 seconds later, at 14:12, assisted by Nick Hansen and Quin Ryan.  Lushanko said “On Landon’s goal, the guys were working hard down low, protecting the puck, finding soft spots for shooting or passing options.  That was good overall team goal.  A few guys touched the puck and Landon put it away.”  And Koch added the game’s final goal with two minutes remaining, with assists going to Kletti and Jack Carlson.

Lushanko talked about his sophomore goalie.  He said “We feel very confident in Jacob.  He’s a goalie that we’ve had our eye on for quite some time.  He had a very good youth hockey career.  He’s added height, wight and athletic ability.  In this game, he stopped those odd man rushes and kept us stable back there.”

Hockey Hullaballoo

The Wildcats (1-0) will head across the border on Friday to take on the Hudson Raiders at 6 p.m. at Hudson Sports and Civic Center.  On Saturday, the Wildcats will play their first home game of the season, welcoming the Orono Spartans to town for a 6 p.m. start.  And on Tuesday, December 2, they will host the Cambridge-Isanti Bluesjackets at Chisago Lakes Arena, with the game getting underway at 5:30 p.m.

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