A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
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When Tony Bender took over coaching the Moose Lake Area boys hockey team this winter, he had a long list of things he wanted to accomplish. Among the top things on the list was increasing the number of athletes in the program and helping each player to learn the game. After seven games, the Rebels have responded with a 4-3 record and stronger play on the ice. The team's latest win came Monday in a 4-1 home victory over Spooner, Wisconsin. "We compete in every game, but there are times where we...
The Esko girls basketball team stormed out to a big halftime lead and never looked back as they beat next-door neighbor Carlton/Wrenshall, 59-25, on Dec. 12 in Wrenshall. "We went into the game thinking we had a chance of giving them a tough game, but they came out in a press that put us on our heels," said Carlton/Wrenshall coach Emma Grover. "My girls didn't adjust to what we were telling them to do, and it just got out of hand for us." Esko was led by Clara Swanson's 18 points and Kaitlyn...
The Barnum girls basketball team steamrolled to a huge first-half lead in a Dec. 12 matchup against Moose Lake/Willow River and ended up taking a 55-22 road win in Moose Lake. "We have some great athletes, and they really got after it in that first half," said Mariah Minkkinen, head coach of the Bombers. "Getting after it" was almost an understatement, as the Bombers sprinted ahead to a 28-4 lead by halftime. "We knew Barnum was good, but we didn't expect that," said ML/WR coach Andrew Miller. A...
After nine seasons as the head coach of the Esko football team, Scott Arntson has decided to step down and focus on family, freeing up time in what is a very busy life. "I just felt this was the right time and situation for me to step aside," Arntson said. 'I have a granddaughter and another grandchild on the way. My granddaughter lives in Duluth, and I hardly saw her during the season, and the new one will be living in Wausau, so I know if I was the head coach I wouldn't be able to spend the...
Tension and emotions ran high when the Cloquet-Esko- Carlton boys hockey team hosted East Grand Forks at Northwoods Credit Union Arena Saturday. Eventually, the No. 3 ranked Lumberjacks were able to secure a wild and thrilling 4-3 win over the No. 7 ranked Green Wave. "We got the great start we were looking for, and then we started going to the penalty box and the flow of the game changed," said CEC coach Shea Walters. CEC took a 1-0 lead just 1:40 into the game when Neil Elsmore slammed home a...
A quick start for the Esko boys basketball team was the perfect recipe for an 86-69 win over the Cloquet Lumberjacks last Friday night in Esko. "We were ready to go from the start," said Esko coach Derek Anderson. "We talk to the guys about the fact that the outside perception of our team is that we will be down this year, but our expectations are the same as they've always been, and that's to win a section championship and get to State." Esko scored quickly and often on their way to grabbing a...
With nine players contributing points, the Carlton/Wrenshall Raptors girls basketball team secured a 56-23 win over the Fond du Lac Ogichidaag last week. "This is the most amount of players we've ever had," said Raptors coach Emma Grover. "We have 33 kids out in grades 7-12 and we have 12 total on our varsity roster. For us, those are awesome numbers." Myleena Ojibway led the Raptors with 16 points and was the lone Raptor in double-digit scoring. Raina Shabaish had 11 points for FDL in the Nov....
A strong second half helped propel the Cloquet boys basketball team to a 95-88 home win over Chisago Lakes last Saturday afternoon in Cloquet. Entering the second half, the Lumberjacks and the Wildcats were tied at 51-51, but then Cloquet clamped down defensively. "At times the game was sloppy, but we did a lot of good things," Cloquet coach Steve Battaglia said of the season opener. "Despite giving up a ton of size, we out-rebounded them by a significant margin. To open the season against the...
A five-goal burst in the third period helped push the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team to an impressive 7-1 opening game win over Bloomington Jefferson at Northwoods Credit Union Arena on Saturday afternoon. "Every year we play them, they give us a good game and I thought this is one of the better teams they've had as of late," said CEC coach Shea Walters. "They came out hard in the second period, but we weathered the storm and then we really got things going in the third period." The...
Heading into Tuesday's girls basketball Battle for the Paddle, neither Cloquet nor Esko had put a mark in the win column this season. The Lumberjacks entered the game 0-2, with losses to Proctor and Hermantown, and Esko came in 0-1 with a loss to Rock Ridge. On Tuesday night the 'Jacks were able to overcome a challenging game to come away with a 71-43 victory. They also won the paddle, which goes to the victors. "We got the paddle back," said Cloquet coach Heather Young. "We will take the win,...
After more than 20 years with the Cloquet football program, head coach Jeff Ojanen has resigned. He told his team Nov. 20 about his decision. He said he wants to spend more time with his family. "It really comes down to how priorities change in your life," Ojanen said. "When I took the head coach job three years ago I thought I'd be able to handle missing some stuff for my girls, but it got harder and harder. Right now, I want to see my girls play and help them and their teammates in any way I...
Over the past few years, the Minnesota State High School League has aired public service advertisements on television and radio stations across the state asking people to "get in the game" and become officials. The reason those ads air is simple: in many sports across Minnesota, there is a vast need for more officials. The lack of football officials hit home in Carlton County this year when Esko had to move its homecoming football game time forward to 4 p.m. Oct. 4 while Barnum moved its game...
The Wilderness have had a rollercoaster ride both on and off the ice this season. Off the ice, head coach Colton St. Clair decided to step down as coach in early October and then the Wilderness hired Zach Stepan as the head coach for the team based in Cloquet. Stepan was not new to the organization, as he was already coaching the NA3HL Wilderness team based in Eveleth. “It’s been busy trying to get through the transition of new systems while not having had a full training camp for them to lea...
When Cromwell-Wright took the field on Halloween night it seemed like all odds were stacked against them. The Cardinals were facing an undefeated team, last year's state champions, and the top-ranked team in nine-player football this season. Nevis had beaten them by 40 points a little over a month before hte Section 5 title game on Halloween night in Brainerd. Add to the odds the fact that Cromwell-Wright's starting quarterback was dealing with an injury. All that, and none of it mattered as the...
When Moose Lake/Willow River and Mesabi East stepped onto the field in Esko for the Section 7AA championship game last Thursday, they had to deal with cold and wet and a field covered in snow. In the end the Rebels overcame the elements and the Giants, earning another trip to state - the 18th time in school history - by winning 24-14. The Rebels got two big runs from Levi Mikrot in the first quarter to gain the early lead. Mikrot rumbled 41 yards for the first score of the game, giving ML/WR an...
For three years in a row, the Esko volleyball team has met Rush City in the Section 7AA championship game and for three straight years the Tigers have come away with the title. The latest championship tilt came on Saturday night when the Tigers nabbed a 3-1 win in Hermantown. "Last year Rush City finished as the runner-up at the state tournament," Esko coach Pete Stasiuk said. "Our girls were excited to come out and play them." Esko started by grabbing a first set win with a strong finish,...
The Esko girls made their mark in the Minnesota State Class A Soccer Tournament this past week. After winning on penalty kicks Oct. 24 over St. Cloud Cathedral in the opening round, Esko fell to top seed Southwest Christian, 2-1, in a tense semifinal game Tuesday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The first half of play was tightly played with the Esko defensive corps doing a stellar job of not allowing one of the state's best forwards, Maya Johnson, to get free as the teams went to halftime...
After two rounds of playoffs, just two local football teams remain in the hunt for that elusive state tournament berth. Both of those teams, Moose Lake/Willow River and Cromwell-Wright, are rich in postseason success and were scheduled to play for section championships Thursday night, after the Pine Knot News went to press. The stunner in the second round was top-seeded Barnum falling, 22-14, in Section 7AA, to No. 4 Mesabi East. The Giants jumped on the Bombers in the first half and held a...
Section volleyball entered the semifinal round Wednesday night with Esko and South Ridge the only two remaining local teams in action. Section 7AA Esko was set to play Crosby-Ironton in the 7AA semifinals Wednesday night after picking up a pair of wins in the past week. On Oct. 23, No. 2 Esko opened with a 3-0 win over Pine City. "It was nice to get that first match win out of the way," said Esko coach Pete Stasiuk. "We played well, we didn't make a whole lot of errors and we generally played a...
It was déjà vu all over again for the Cloquet/Carlton girls' soccer team at the Class AA state quarterfinal Wednesday night. After winning the Section 7AA tournament last week in a shoot-out, the Lumberjacks ended up in the exact same situation against Orono in the first game of the state tournament. The game ended tied at 1 through regulation and through overtime before Orono scored four goals to the Lumberjacks' three in the shootout to win. "I thought that after we got behind early and we mad...
It’s section playoff time for local volleyball teams and things are about to get awfully interesting. What follows is a breakdown of local teams and who and when they will be playing. Look for more information on volleyball playoffs in next week’s Pine Knot News. Section 7A Four local teams will all be vying for a place in the Section 7A championship game, but all of those teams will have a tough road ahead. No. 8 seeded Fond du Lac Ojibwe gets the tough job of opening up against No. 1 see...
Playoff football began Tuesday as a number of area teams tried to punch their ticket into the second round of sections. Class AAAA Cloquet made a valiant comeback against Duluth Denfeld in Duluth, falling short 28-20 on Tuesday. Denfeld came in as the No. 3 seed with a record of 5-3, while the Lumberjacks were the No. 6 seed with a record of 2-6. The two teams met in early October with the Hunters coming away with a 16-point win. Against Denfeld, the 'Jacks had the tall task of trying to slow...
It was a battle. After a full game and two 10-minute overtimes, the Cloquet/Carlton vs. Hermantown Section 7AA championship girls' soccer game hinged on goaltending and penalty shots. Fortunately for the Lumberjacks, they have one of the best goalies in the state in Rylee Senich. Between Senich and shooters who had ice in their veins, Cloquet/Carlton pulled out a dramatic 1-1 tie and 4-2 shootout to beat the Hawks and earn a trip to State. "It was very scary going into the shootout," Senich...
In her first season as head coach of the Lumberjacks girls tennis team, Emily Hallgren coached the team to a 12-7 regular season record. Although they fell in playoffs last week, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton had a solid first season under Hallgren. "This was a very cohesive group of girls," Hallgren said. "They had a great sense of team and you don't always get that as a coach." In team play last week, the 'Jacks fell 6-1 to No. 8 seed North Branch. The only win for the No. 9 seeded 'Jacks came from...
It came down to the goalies and just which one could make the key save in a thrilling shootout Tuesday night in the Section 7A championship between Esko and Marshall. A berth in the state tournament was on the line on the Esko pitch. Esko and Marshall are two teams that look like mirror images of each other. They have speed and scoring and solid goaltending and defensive back lines. On Tuesday night the goalies and defense stood strong as a scoreless match went to 100 minutes with double...
