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
CEC goalie Owen Carlson (30) fights off a shot while Jon Baker (8) and Andy Acers (2) look on.
Landon Langenbrunner (15) with Aaron Moore (14) scores his first of two goals in the win against Eagan Saturday. Cloquet won 5-3.
ST. PAUL-The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team picked up its first win of the season Saturday night as the Lumberjacks defeated the Eagan Wildcats 5-3. CEC was playing its second weekend doubleheader in the Twin Cities this season and was searching for the first win after a 4-3 loss Friday to Bloomington Jefferson at the Bloomington Ice Garden.
Landon Langenbrunner scored twice and added an assist in the two-goal victory Saturday. The Lumberjacks - who have one of the toughest schedules in the state this season - had dropped their first five contests, four of those losses coming to state-ranked teams.
Jake Huhta and Langenbrunner both tallied goals in the first period Saturday night as the Lumberjacks took a 2-0 lead after one period of play. Both goals scored were even-strength goals despite having two power-play opportunities in the first period.
Eagan came out strong in the second period as the Wildcats scored three goals in the first six-and-a-half minutes of the period. With CEC now trailing 3-2, Langenbrunner set up Jon Baker, who scored the tying goal at 8:14 of the second period. The 'Jacks had another power play chance at the end of the second period but again came up short with the one-man advantage.
With the teams tied at 3-3 going into the third period, it was Gavin Rasmussen who broke the tie just under three minutes into the period as he scored his third goal of the season. Brock House and Christian Galatz assisted on the Rasmussen goal.
Both teams battled up and down the ice the rest of the period until Eagan was forced to pull netminder Derek Manzella for the extra attacker, and the Lumberjacks capitalized when Kade Bender set up Langenbrunner for his second goal of the game and he hit the empty net at the 15:36 mark of the third period, ensuring the win for CEC.
Owen Carlson stopped 25 of the 28 shots he faced on the night for his first win of the season. The Lumberjacks faced their fifth-ranked opponent of the early part of the season when they took on Duluth East Thursday night as this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press.
