CEC Defeats Bemidji 5-2 For Second Tournament Win

Wes Vork-NSO

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Dec 29

Wes Vork-NSO

DULUTH – Cloquet-Esko-Carlton made it 2-for-2 in the win column at the Duluth Heritage Classic Hockey Tournament on Tuesday night with a 5-2 win over Bemidji.

The Lumberjacks picked up the only goal of the first period when Tony Wilcox knocked one home from the left edge that banked of the right post. Assists on Wilcox goal went to Ryan Tollerud and Adam Hanson as CEC led it 1-0.

Bemidji countered with a goal by Rylee Curb at 8:37 of the first period, which
tied the game at 1-1.

Curb’s goal came off of
a scrum in front of the net that CEC goalie John Scheuer appeared to have covered only to see Curb poke the puck into the net.

CEC went up 2-1 just 50 seconds into the second period when Ryan Tollerud blasted a slapper from the blue line just after a power play expired with assists going to Jack McFarlane and Mark Savage. The Lumberjacks then went ahead 3-1 at the 15:19 mark of the second when McFarlane scored on the power play with assists to Tyler Tollerud and Paul Ryan.

Just 3:42 into the third period, Bemidji made things interesting when Lucas Phillips scored. The Jacks were in hang-on mode until 13:37 when McFarlane gave CEC some breathing room, scoring on a feed from Ben Michaud. McFarlane also added another goal for his second straight hat trick when he scored into the empty net, with Ryan assisting with just 56 seconds left in regulation to secure the win at 5-2.

Scheuer had another strong night in the nets as he picked up 26 saves on 28 shots, while Bemidji goalie Miah Graves had 23 saves on 28 shots.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com