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Totino Grace 3, Chisago Lakes 1

The Wildcat boys’ hockey team has never beaten the Totino Grace Eagles in roughly two dozen meetings over the years.  The teams clashed regularly when both were members of the North Suburban conference years ago and played a lot of close games.  On Tuesday, December 30 the Wildcats put up a valiant effort against the Eagles at Brooklyn Park Community Center but fell 3-1.

With the Wildcats trailing 1-0, Quin Ryan scored at 10:08 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1, assisted by Ashton Warnke and Cooper Toepper. The Eagles went up 2-1 at 11:28 of the second period.  Just over a minute later, Noah Osland – who grew up in the Chisago Lakes hockey program and who still lives in the area – scored to give Totino Grace some insurance.  The Eagles held off the Wildcats the rest of the way and came away with a 3-1 win.  The Eagles outshot the Wildcats 35-24 for the game.

Northern Lakes 6, Chisago Lakes 5

The Wildcats led 5-3 late in the game against the Northern Lakes Lightning, but the Lightning scored three goals in the final five minutes to beat the Wildcats 6-5 on Friday, January 2 at Chisago Lakes Arena.  The Wildcats outshot Northern Lakes 25-15 for the game.  Colton Whiterabbit and Jacob Kletti had three assists each in the loss.

Austin Slettom scored a shorthanded goal at 9:33 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1, with the assists going to Whiterabbit and Max Koch.  The Lightning scored twice early in the second period to take a 3-1 lead.  But Slettom scored his second goal of the game at 12:41, assisted by Kletti and Colton Horak, to cut the Northern Lakes lead to 3-2.  And Carson Purdy scored with just 21 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 3-3.  Koch and Whiterabbit assisted on Purdy’s goal.  Colton Horak scored twice in the third period, around the nine-minute mark and the eleven-minute mark, to give the Wildcats 5-3 lead.  Kletti assisted on both goals, with Nolan LeVasseur getting the second assist on the first one and Whiterabbit assisting on the second one.  Northern Lakes scored just ninety seconds after Horak’s second goal to cut the Wildcat lead to 5-4.  And they scored again to tie the game just 21 seconds later.  They completed the comeback with a goal at 14:09 to go up 6-5 and held off the Wildcats down the stretch to claim the victory.

Chisago Lakes 5, Pine City 0

Five different Wildcats scored goals as the Wildcats snuffed out the Pine City Dragons 5-0 on Monday, January 5 at Pine City Arena.  The Wildcats outshot the Dragons 35-19 for the game, and Wildcat goalie Jacob Schaeppi stopped everything he saw to earn his fourth shutout of the season.

Landon Kerkow got the Wildcats on the board midway through the first period for a 1-0 lead, with the assists going to Zach Carlson and Cooper Toepper.  Jacob Kletti put one in the back of the net a minute into the second period, assisted by the two Coltons – Whiterabbit and Horak.  Quin Ryan scored at 5:53 to make it 3-0.  Carson Purdy and Ashton Warnke got the assists on Purdy’s goal.  Whiterabbit scored just over a minute later, assisted by Warnke and Purdy, to make it 4-0.  Horak added a goal in the third period, assisted by Kletti and Austin Slettom, to make the final score 5-0.

Hockey Hullaballoo

The 15th ranked Wildcats (7-4-2) will host the Princeton Tigers tonight at 6 p.m. at Chisago Lakes Arena.  The Wildcats crushed the Tigers 6-0 in the season opener.  

On Saturday, the Wildcats will head to Highland Ice Arena to take on the St. Paul Highland Park/Central Scots at 7 p.m.  And on Tuesday, January 13 the Wildcats will play the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets at Isanti Ice Arena at 7 p.m.  The Wildcats will look to avenge a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Bluejackets earlier this season.

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