Greyhounds slip past CEC in overtime

For most of last Thursday's hockey game against Duluth East, the Lumberjacks led the game 1-0. Then a late goal in regulation and another early in overtime lifted the Greyhounds to a 2-1 come-from-behind win at the Duluth Heritage Center.

The first period was tightly played, but Cloquet-Esko-Carlton finally broke through when Jon Baker picked up a loose puck and made a spin move as he directed the puck on East goalie Brody Rabold. The blast found its way into the back of the net giving the 'Jacks a 1-0 lead at the 8:03 mark of the opening stanza.

CEC, which managed only 13 shots on net for the game, still had good chances to score throughout, but they couldn't find a way to get anything else past Rabold. The 'Jacks had five chances on the power play, but went 0-for-5 with the man advantage which has become a regular theme early this season.

"The power play is no time to let up, but instead is a time to work harder," said CEC coach Shea Walters, in his first season as head coach. "We just haven't bought into that yet."

As the game wore on, East started having more quality scoring chances, but 'Jacks goalie Owen Carlson was brilliant in the nets as he acted like a steel door between the pipes.

"Owen played really well, I thought," Walters said. "He stopped a lot of Grade-A scoring chances for them."

Carlson kept the 'Jacks ahead in the game until 4:52 remained on the scoreboard - that's when Ricky Lyle scored on the power play for the Greyhounds. The goal occurred right at the beginning of the power play and was assisted by Logan Anderson and Ryder Donovan. Donovan managed to push a pass to Anderson who then found Lyle in the slot all alone for the easy lay up, tying the game at 1-1.

As time wound down in the third period, the Lumberjacks put late pressure on the East net and were rewarded when Logan Anderson took a penalty late in regulation - putting CEC on the power play with a chance to win the game with a man advantage. CEC was unable to get the puck past Rabold in regulation.

As the game entered overtime, it looked as if the 'Jacks had the upper hand with a man advantage as well as snatching back the momentum the Greyhounds had picked up with their late regulation goal. Early in overtime, the Lumberjacks stormed the East net and looked as if they would win the game, but the puck popped off to the side of the Greyhounds cage to Frederick Paine who looked up and saw Anderson streaking out of the penalty box. Paine's pass was perfect and right on the tape. Anderson did the rest by skating in all alone on Carlson before making a move to the forehand and slipping past the goalie's reach, giving East the win.

"We just got too focused on the puck when we almost scored," explained Walters of how Anderson slipped by his defense. "Coupled with taking penalties ourselves on multiple power plays and we crushed our own momentum with undisciplined penalties."

The loss drops the Lumberjack record to 1-6 on the season despite having a team that has led in six of the seven games they have played this season.

"It isn't that we are not competing," suggested Walters. "It is more a matter of making sure we don't take a second off. The teams we have played have capitalized on small mistakes that turn into big opportunities for them."

For the game, Carlson was spectacular, making 27 saves on 29 shots, while Rabold made 12 saves for East on just 13 shots by CEC.

The CEC boys varsity hockey team plays Eastview at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, Dec. 21 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet. The JV game starts at 5:30 p.m.