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Chisago Lakes 5, Cambridge-Isanti 1

Although the Wildcat boys’ hockey team bombarded Cambridge-Isanti goalie Ty True with 57 shots, the game was decided in a 90 second stretch of the second period. The Wildcats scored three goals in that stretch and went on to beat the Bluejackets 5-1 on Tuesday, January 13 at Isanti Ice Arena.  Wildcat goalie Jacob Schaeppi was sharp, stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced. The Wildcats once again spread the scoring around, with five different players scoring the goals. And the game was remarkably clean for having over 80 shots, with just three penalties called all night.

Cambridge scored just 90 seconds into the game.  Austin Slettom tied it up at 9:41, assisted by Colton Horak. The Wildcats continued to deluge True, and the roof finally caved starting at 11:18 of the second period.  Nick Hansen scored, with the assists going to Nolan LeVasseur and Max Koch.  Carson Purdy put one in the back of the net at 12:40, assisted by Ashton Warnke and Quin Ryan. Just eight seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Landon Kerkow scored, with assists from Nick Hansen and Zach Carlson, and the Wildcats led 4-1.  Jacob Kletti added a goal in the third period, assisted by Ryan and Warnke, to make the final score 5-1.

Chisago Lakes 4, Monticello 4 (O.T.)

Completing a comeback from a three-goal deficit, Max Koch scored the tying goal against the Monticello Moose with 0.2 seconds left in the second period, and that proved to be the final goal of the game as the teams skated to a 4-4 overtime tie Friday, January 16 at Chisago Lakes Arena.  The Wildcats celebrated 50 years of boys’ varsity hockey at the school.  Over 80 former players and coaches showed up, swapped stories, and came down on the ice between the first and second periods for a group picture.

The Wildcats dominated play early in the first period, but the Moose drew first blood on just their second shot of the game at 6:54. 90 seconds later, Schaeppi made a nice save, and the rebound stopped about eight feet away in front of the net. The Wildcats missed a clearing attempt and a Moose player swooped in and whacked it into the net to give Monticello a 2-0 lead.  It felt like things were starting to slip away rom the Wildcats. But just over three minutes later, Dylan Cuffel skated the puck down the left half wall and zipped a pass to Nick Hansen in the lower left circle. Hansen ripped a shot inside the right post to cut the Moose lead to 2-1. Zach Carlson got the other assist on the play. With two and a half minutes to go in the period, Nicklas Nelson led a three-on-two into the Wildcat zone. Nelson passed the puck to Jack Sager on the right, and Sager fired a shot toward the inside of the left post from the top of the right circle. Somehow, the puck eluded Schaeppi, and the Moose led 3-1.

Colton Whiterabbit took a penalty for the Wildcats with 16 seconds left in the first period.  Monticello took advantage, scoring a power play goal at 1:39 of the second period to go up 4-1. Then the Wildcats began their comeback. Jacob Kletti skated across the blue line into the Moose zone, moved to his right and ripped a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that nicked the bottom of the crossbar as it went into the net to cut the Monticello lead to 4-2. Austin Slettom and Horak got the assists. Monticello took the game’s second penalty five minutes into the period.  One minute later, Koch brought the puck into the Moose zone down the right side.  Koch passed it to Whiterabbit in the high slot. Whiterabbit quickly passed it to Klett it in the middle of the left circle. And Klett ripped another writer over Monticello’s short goalie and under the crossbar to cut the Moose lead to 4-3.

It looked like the score would stay that way going into the third period, even when Monticello took a penalty with eight seconds to go in the period. But the Wildcats kept the puck in the zone after the faceoff. With time running out, Koch came out from behind the net and stuffed the puck inside the right post just as the horn ending the period went off, the game was tied at 4-4. Colton Horak and Whiterabbit got assists on the play.

 Both sides had scoring chances, but none came to fruition the rest of the period and the game headed to overtime. The Wildcats’ best chance to score came as time was running out in overtime. Horak fired a wrist shot from the middle of the right circle, but the goalie made a nice save and the game ended in a tie.

Wildcat head Coach Cory Lushanko said “We respect Coach Nelson and his staff and know that every time we play them, home or away, we are going to have to tighten things up. I thought we started the game pretty well, but they got a few odd man rushes and got some breaks on us. We were thankful that they took the alumni picture on the ice between periods. Sometimes, when you’re down on the scoreboard and not playing very well, those longer breaks can be a blessing in disguise for you. We were able to make the right adjustments to come back in the game. I thought both goalies eventually settled in and it made for a really competitive game.”

How does Lushanko feel about the team as they head toward the playoffs?  He said “I feel confident about where we’re at.  We’re a very system-heavy team, trying to make the game easy for our guys. We’ve been working toward this season since way back in June. For us being in the section final for how many years since I’ve been here, we know what it takes to get there.”

Lushanko talked about a couple of players that have stepped up for the Wildcats recently.  “We have a sophomore named Dylan Cuffel who was kind of in and out of the varsity lineup earlier in the season. We’ve had some injuries and he was able to get into the lineup before the new year. Dating back to summer, we liked his game and saw the upside potential. He has been a nice surprise for us, being able to actually contribute. And our goalie Jacob Schaeppi has been strong dating back to his youth days. We’re not really surprised by him. We knew he was going to be able to come in right away and establish himself as a solid varsity goalie.”

Hockey Hullaballoo

The 16th-ranked Wildcats (11-4-3) will play the Pine City Dragons at home tonight at 6 p.m. On Saturday, they will head to West St. Paul Arena to take on the Two Rivers Warriors at 3 p.m. And on Tuesday January 27, in what might be a preview of the section final, the Wildcats will clash with the fifth-ranked Mahtomedi Zephyrs at Chisago Lakes Arena at 7 p.m. 

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