'Jacks take wild state ride

The thrilling ride by the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team finally came to a close Saturday in a 6-0 loss to Breck in the championship game of the Minnesota State Class A Girls Hockey Tournament. The win by the Mustangs gave the private school its third-straight Class A title.

The Lumberjacks brought plenty of thrills to the hometown fans by winning their first two games of the tournament to gain the title match.

After the 'Jacks dispatched Hutchinson 2-0 in the quarterfinals last Wednesday, they had to wait until Friday morning to play No. 2-seeded Warroad. The formidable first line of CEC featuring Dea DeLeon, Taylor Nelson and Kiana Bender did not register a point in the quarterfinal game, yet the 'Jacks still won.

"In the first game against Hutchinson, our line had a lot of chances, but we just didn't bury them," Bender said. "Our teammates provided and produced goals, so we knew we had to help out on our end and play good defense and we would win the game."

Warroad came into Friday's semi averaging six goals a game. But the Warriors had rarely faced a stifling defense like the Lumberjacks. In the end, that defense, along with timely scoring, helped propel CEC to a 5-3 victory and a place in the championship.

Oh, and that first line for CEC? They accounted for all five goals in the win.

"Prior to the Warroad game, we just told the team, stay disciplined, run our systems and give it your best shot because you will remember this for the rest of your lives," CEC head coach Courtney Olin said. "We told them we believed in them, had the confidence in them and wouldn't trade them for anyone else. They went out, worked extremely hard and executed and saw the success because of it."

CEC style

The feeling within the team was the same as the coaching staff: knowing if they played their game, they could knock off the high-

octane offense of the Warriors.

"Going into the second game we knew that we could win. They are a northern team and we knew their style of play," Nelson said. "We just kind of laid everything out there like it was our last game and we really put the puck in the net and worked hard."

Nelson got the offense jump-started at the 12:15 mark of the first period when she took a loose puck from the face off, zipped behind the net and stuffed it past Warriors goalie Kendra Nordick. Bender got an assist to give the 'Jacks a 1-0 lead.

Before the first period ended, Nelson made it 2-0 on a booming slapshot from the blue line. As Nelson skated down the right wing, she unloaded with a laser that beat Nordick high over her right shoulder and ripped into the net as the CEC crowd roared.

"It was amazing when it went in," Nelson said. "I was just trying to get the puck on net and wasn't really picking a certain spot and the puck found its way past the goalie."

CEC ended the period leading by a 2-0 margin with everything breaking the 'Jacks way.

That would change in the second period when the Warriors responded with a vengeance as both Geno Hendrickson and Sydney Phaneuf scored. Hendrickson's goal came at 6:30 and Phaneuf scored on a power play tally 59 seconds later with nearly a half a period to play. By the end of the period, things were looking bleak as the Warriors were moving their feet and the Lumberjacks looked like the gas tank had gone empty.

"There was no panic after the second period," Nelson said. "When we got into the locker room, Coach Esse put five things on a board that were the things we had to do to win. We went out and did those things and won the game."

Just 1:09 into the third period, Nelson finished off her hat trick off a feed from DeLeon, making it 3-2.

The lead was short-lived as Warroad's Hannah Corneliusen scored just eight seconds after Nelson to knot things up at 3-3.

"We just did what we've done all year and that is just get back to playing the way we know how," Bender said. "We just went back to work."

Burying it

The 'Jacks gained the lead for good on an odd goal from Bender: the senior forward rifled a shot over the head of the Warroad goalie, who had lost sight of the puck, only to have the puck ricochet back and roll down Nordick's back and into the net at the 3:12 mark on the power play. Nelson and Emmie Ellena picked up the assists.

"That goal was just sick. Being out there I've never seen anything like that," Nelson said. "It was so awesome and of all the things that happened in the state tournament, that is the one thing I am sure most of us will never forget."

As for Bender, once she saw the puck coming back off the glass she was nearly certain the puck would end up in the net.

"When I saw it coming back over the net and the goalie facing the other direction I was actually thinking it would go in," Bender said. "When it dropped behind her, I couldn't believe it!"

With Warroad pressing and in desperation mode, the Lumberjacks defense started to put a stranglehold on any scoring opportunities backed by the incredible goaltending of freshman Araya Kiminski.

At the 5:02 mark, Bender struck again - this time on a shot from the high slot by Tenley Stewart that struck Bender in the elbow as she provided a screen in front of the Warroad net.

"Kiana likes to get gritty and is so tough in front of the net," recalled Nelson. "Once we got that second goal, the team just started to have that feeling that we were going to close it out and get the win."

With the team sweeping away any rebounds, the 'Jacks left the work up to Kiminski who continually thwarted the Warriors and eventually picked up the win.

"I was very scared. My nerves off [the charts], I can't even explain it. But my team helped me through it," Kiminski said after her arrival back in Cloquet. "The whole experience was amazing, it was very overwhelming but fun and very memorable for sure."

The juggernaut

The win pushed the 'Jacks into Saturday afternoon's title game against the Breck Mustangs, who were ranked No. 1 in Class A all season long and the dfending champion the past two seasons. The Mustangs were 24-6, with all six losses against Class AA teams, and were averaging 6.2 goals a game. In the playoffs, the Mustangs outscored their five opponents 43-5. Breck also featured a line up that was loaded with six Division 1 recruits. In the end, the Mustangs prevailed 6-0.

The Lumberjacks kept things tight in the first period until the 7:24 mark when Ava Lindsay scored. Less than two minutes later, the Mustangs added a goal by Sadie Lindsay, who scored again with 40 seconds remaining, making it 3-0 after one.

The Mustangs tacked on another goal in the second period and two more in the third period to win the game going away. The Lumberjacks kept battling. For the game, Kiminski had 25 saves and senior goalie Lauren Maslowski had two saves.

"It was an honor to make it to the state tournament and I am just so proud of the entire team," Olin said. "These are memories they will have the rest of their lives and they were so gracious the entire tournament. Even when it became evident Breck was going to win on Saturday, our girls continued to give it their all, blocking shots and going 100 percent. That kind of effort and dedication is rare from a team."

Accolades

Following the game, the trophy and medal presentation took place as well as the announcement of the All-Tournament Team and the Herb Brooks Award winner. Nelson, Stewart and Kiminski were all named to the All-Tournament Team and Nelson was named the Herb Brooks Award winner.

"All three all-tournament team players selected are just great kids on and off the ice. I thought they all had great tournaments," Olin said. "I am so happy for Taylor that she received the Herb Brooks award. She, without a question, was so deserving. She always deflects any credit she gets to her teammates and is the ultimate team player. When she tallied her 200th point this season and we gave her the team puck, she didn't even know how many points she had this season. Very few elite athletes don't know those statistics and I think that is just one example of team-first mentality. Taylor is a remarkable athlete on the ice, but even better person off the ice. We will greatly miss her next season."

In a meet and greet Sunday evening at Northwoods Credit Union Arena, Nelson summed up the amazing season.

"This was such an incredible season for all of us. None of us could have done what we did without the accomplishments of all the rest of the girls on the team," said the senior from Carlton. "I know I will never forget this and to end my high school career with all my friends at my side and all of us getting the chance to do what we did at the state tournament was amazing. I love these girls."