CEC Boys Drop Season Opener

Chris Shevich-NSO

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Nov 28

Kerry Rodd-NSO

The the first period of the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey loss to Virginia-MIB on Saturday night resembled more a basketball game than one of hockey. The officials blew more whistles and more players made trips to the penalty box than in the last foul-filled minutes in hoops. Once the game settled down, the Blue Devils were able to outscore the Jacks 3-0 and take a hard-fought road win from CEC.

The Lumberjacks were unable to find a way to beat Blue Devils goalie Casey Myhre, who had a strong game and finished with 39 saves while shutting out CEC. Meanwhile, Jacks goalie Boyd Smith was equally strong for most of the game in making 29 saves on 32 shots. Smith allowed a single tally in the first period and two more in the final period.

The only goal of the first period was scored by Travis Eddy with an assist going to Jordan Krebsbach after a shot by Krebsbach on Smith. Smith was unable to control the rebound and Eddy hammered the puck home for the first Virgina-MIB goal of the season. After the sloppy first period, the game’s intensity went to warp speed in the second as both teams played physical and the pace improved.
However, neither team could beat the goalie of the opposition and the score remained 1-0 for the Blue Devils.

Smith slammed the door for most of the third period, but with 7:05 remaining in the game it was Troy Nichols scoring on a rebound off the shot from Eddy making it 2-0. The Blue Devils picked up an insurance goal from Trey Carlson with just 1:23 remaining in regulation, ending the Jacks hopes for a comeback.

The win drops the Jacks to 0-1 on the season.

Kerry Rodd can be reached at kerry@northlandsportsonline.com