Local teams dive into holiday tournaments

With schools in Minnesota closed for the holiday break, most athletic teams in the state and in the area will be busy focusing on winter holiday tournaments or select games over the break.

Not every coach chooses to compete over break.

"We used to play in a tournament over the [holidays] but we decided not to and let the kids get a break, focus on getting healthy and get set for the second half of the season," said Moose Lake-Willow River boys basketball head coach Wes Cummings.

However, if you are looking to watch some high school sporting events, here are the highlights of what's happening in the area involving local teams.

Basketball

Weather permitting, the annual Wood City Classic Basketball tournament will be held at the Cloquet Middle School. The tournament was supposed to kick off Thursday, Dec. 27 with both Cloquet boys and girls teams competing. On Thursday the Cloquet boys team were scheduled to play Cromwell-Wright as this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press. On Friday, Dec. 28, the Lumberjacks are set to meet up with state-ranked Pine City starting at 6:15 p.m.

"We are fortunate to host our own tournament," said Steve Battaglia, head coach of the Cloquet Lumberjacks boys basketball team. "The kids can sleep in their own beds and no traveling is a big plus."

The girls portion of the Wood City Classic scheduled the Lumberjacks against Minneapolis Edison Thursday. They take on St. Croix Prep at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28. As part of the annual tournament, youth basketball players will receive their participation medals during the tournament.

The Esko boys and girls basketball teams will be home over the holidays as they both host tournaments in the annual Esko Coaches Classic. The girls tournament was scheduled to begin Thursday, Dec. 27 and features eight teams including Barnum, Cherry, Hermantown, Eveleth-Gilbert, Mesabi East, Northwoods and St. Anthony Village.

The boys tourney will have four teams and begins Friday. Besides Esko, the boys field features Cannon Falls, Hinckley-Finlayson and Duluth Marshall.

The Barnum boys basketball team is not involved in any holiday action, but the Bombers will host Virginia at home Friday night, Dec. 28.

Both the Carlton and Wrenshall boys basketball teams will be in action at the Chisholm tournament. Depending on wins and losses, the two teams could potentially meet for the second time this season. The Bulldogs won the first meeting back on Dec. 7 with a two-point 52-50 win.

Like the boys, both girls teams from Carlton and Wrenshall are playing the Ely Holiday Basketball Tournament, with action set to begin Thursday, Dec. 27.

The Cromwell-Wright girls basketball team will be playing in one of the top girls' tournaments this year in Mountain Iron, as the Ranger Holiday Tournament will feature three state-ranked teams. Mountain Iron-Buhl is ranked second in the state, the Cardinals are ranked sixth, and Pine River-Backus is currently ranked No. 10. Bigfork will be the fourth girls team in that tourney.

The Moose Lake-Willow River girls basketball team will be playing in the Eden Valley Holiday Showcase along with Mayer Lutheran, Osakis, and Eden Valley-Watkins.

Hockey

The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team will be busy during the break as well, as they are playing in the annual Tradition at the Park holiday tournament Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Dec. 27-29, in St. Louis Park. The 'Jacks faced Minnetonka Thursday afternoon, while on Friday they will square off with Elk River-Zimmerman. They will close the tournament with Maple Grove on Saturday, Dec. 29.

The CEC girls hockey team will take a break over the holidays this season; the girls last played last Thursday against Eveleth-Gilbert and racked up a 8-2 victory for the Lumberjacks. The girls will get to enjoy their break until Jan. 2 when they are in action at home against the Duluth Northern Stars.

The Rebels boys hockey team will be in Silver Bay as part of an eight-team tournament, and the MLA girls hockey team will be in Blaine at the Schwan's Sup Cup hockey Tournament, playing in the Bronze Division. The Rebels opened Wednesday versus East Ridge. St. Francis, North Branch, Minneapolis, International Falls, Irondale, and Red Wing are the other teams involved in the tournament.