Lumberjacks knocked out of playoffs

The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team came out buzzing against Duluth East in the first period Saturday afternoon in the Section 7AA boys hockey semifinal game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. Unfortunately, the 'Jacks were not rewarded for a quick start. As play moved forward, a very physical Greyhounds team was able to connect for a goal at the end of the first period and then pulled away to a 5-2 victory and a spot in the championship game on Thursday against Andover.

"In hockey there is that golden rule of (not giving) up a goal in the first minute or the last minute of a period," CEC head coach Shea Walters said. "It swayed the momentum in their favor immensely."

The East goal came with just 18 seconds remaining in the first period when Ricky Lyle picked up a loose puck near CEC goalie Owen Carlson. Lyle punched the puck between Carlson's blocker and the pipe.

The Greyhounds picked up the pace in the second and built a 2-0 lead when Jon Jones scored at 5:52. It looked like the Lumberjacks were in major trouble, but then Jon Baker cut the lead in half with a goal less than a minute later - with assists to Aaron Moore and Mason Langenbrunner - and it looked like the game was about to take an interesting turn.

"We were ready to start the game and we were prepared and ready to go," Walters said. "We just needed a puck to go in to lift us up and help us settle in. But you still need to persevere and keep working and shooting."

Just moments after Baker scored, the Greyhounds took a penalty - giving the 'Jacks a great opportunity to even the score.

Instead, East popped in back-to-back shorthanded goals that sent CEC reeling and put them in a 4-1 deficit in a hurry. The first East shorthanded goal was scored by Lyle at the 7:32 mark and then Ryder Donovan added insult to injury at 8:09 in the same man-short situation.

"Our powerplay was an issue for us all year," Walters said. "The East D man had rung the puck along the wall. It was a routine play for our D Man to pinch down on the puck. It may have bounced a little, but our D Man fell and lost his stick giving them a 2 on 1 with speed. Like good teams do, they capitalized on the play. Then they scored again shortly thereafter. After giving up two in a row on your own power play ... it is just a back breaker and hard to overcome."

Following the two shorthanded goals, the Lumberjacks appeared stunned and were never able to get back into the game. The Greyhounds added another goal in the third period when E.J. Hietala shot into an empty net, pushing East's lead to 5-1. CEC added a goal with just six seconds remaining by Landon Langenbrunner, assisted by Andy Acers, but the game was over by then.

"Once they got the lead they packed it in and blocked everything," Walters said. "They kept us to the perimeter and played extremely physical."

The Lumberjacks wrapped up the season with a 14-12-1 record after opening the season 0-5 and eventually 1-6.

"It was a good season where we overcame a lot of adversity. We grew as a team and stuck together and matured as young men," Walters said this week. "These seniors have bright futures as well as our juniors and sophomores. Coming back from a 1-6 record to become a better team and teammates says a lot about the character of these kids."

The Lumberjacks will graduate nine seniors and will return six juniors and five sophomores off this season's roster.