Win over Moose Lake doesn't come easy

Moose Lake Area senior goalie Jo Wekseth made 50 saves, but in the end that was not enough to hold off the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjacks who came away with a 2-1 win over the Rebels in Cloquet.

Wekseth and her teammates managed to keep the game scoreless through one period despite being outshot 16-5 in the opening period.

"Moose Lake Area is a very hardworking gritty team, and that showed in the game," said CEC coach Courtney Olin. "I thought they did a great job in their defensive end taking away quality scoring opportunities, and their goalie was outstanding."

The Lumberjacks finally got on the board when Esko senior Dea DeLeon deflected a puck off a Rebel player in front of the net at 11:07 of the second period. CEC threw another 19 shots on Wekseth in the second period and held a 35-8 shot advantage through two periods, but only led 1-0 on the scoreboard.

"Our biggest focus was to create traffic in the slot and keep up the pressure," Olin said. "We just kept reminding players to control the things we can control and make the simple play."

CEC scored its second goal of the game at 13:05 of the third period on another scramble in front of Wekseth. Kiana Bender got credit for the goal and Taylor Nelson picked up the assist, while DeLeon wreaked havoc in front of the net by creating traffic in front of the Rebels goaltender.

The Rebels reacted strongly to the 2-0 deficit by scoring their lone goal of the game on a mini breakaway with 46 seconds remaining in regulation by Jamie Benzie - who beat CEC goaltender Lauren Maslowski from the middle of the ice. The Benzie goal would be all the Rebels could muster as the game ended 2-1.

"You have to give Moose Lake credit, they work very hard and did a nice job of keeping our shots to the outside," Olin said. "They have some young players playing in some big roles. It's great for the game of hockey to see a program continuing to grow and have a young roster with so much potential."

The Lumberjacks outshot the Rebels 17-7 in the final period and 52-15 for the game. Wekseth made 50 saves and Maslowski finished with 14 for CEC.

"I thought our kids played great. One of the goals was to compete hard the entire game and we did that," said MLA coach Chris Gamst. "We know we are going to get outshot in games against the top teams in Section 7, but Wekseth played similar to last season in some big games. She made a lot of saves and controlled her rebounds. She is the best goalie in northern Minnesota in my opinion."