St. Michael-Albertville shut out Cloquet-Esko-Carlton in a regular-season game one week ago, and the Lumberjacks had plenty of time to reflect on the defeat during the 140-mile trip back home.

Cloquet-Esko-Carlton returned to St. Michael-Albertville for postseason game on Tuesday, and the Lumberjacks entered this matchup with a new mindset.

“Obviously the loss got us motivated to come down here and play,” Cloquet-Esko-Carlton junior forward Koby Bender said.

Did it ever. 

Playing with a new attitude, the fifth-seeded Lumberjacks lit up the scoreboard and cut down the fourth-seeded Knights 9-4 in a Class 2A, Section 7 quarterfinal game Tuesday night at the St. Michael-Albertville Ice Arena.

“We played really well right from the drop of the puck,” Cloquet-Esko-Carlton coach David Esse said. “It was just a different game. We played more relaxed and more focused at the same time.”

With a majority of their nonconference games in the metro area, the Lumberjacks (12-11-3) often find themselves packed into a coach bus for the two-hour trip south.

Teams unaccustomed to longer journeys can experience a lag from traveling and start a period slow. That wasn’t the case for Cloquet-Esko-Carlton as the team was energized from start.

“We travel all the time, so there’s no excuses to be unprepared,” Esse said.

The Lumberjacks were prepared as Bender scored a power-play goal 36 seconds into the game and setting a trend that Cloquet-Esko-Carlton followed all night: Crash the net and scrap for rebounds.

“We haven’t gotten a lot of goals lately,” Esse said. “But we knew it’s just a matter of time - when you keep working hard - that the hockey gods will shine on you and you’ll have some puck luck.” 

Any good fortune bestowed on the Lumberjacks by the hockey gods was enhanced by St. Michael-Albertville’s lack of disciplined play.

The Knights (21-5-0) racked up 31 penalty minutes, giving Cloquet-Esko-Carlton a large timeshare in the offensive zone. The Lumberjacks took advantage, scoring six goals on nine power play goals to finish with a 67 percent success rate.

“We work on (the power play) everyday in practice, and through the second half of the year, it’s been working really good,” Bender said.

Bender was working well against St. Michael-Albertville in the third period, where he scored two goals just 32 second apart to record the a hat trick.

Bender’s first came just over 5 minutes into the period as he picked defender’s pocket and sent a wrist shot over the leg pad of Knights goalie Kyle Hayden. His second was a power-play goal scored off the faceoff at extended the Lumberjacks’ lead to 8-3 with nearly 11 minutes remaining in the game.

It’s safe to say that the ride home was much different for Cloquet-Esko-Carlton after this trip to St. Michael-Albertville, and the Lumberjacks have a shorter commute for their next game, a matchup with top-seeded Elk River in the section semifinals at Amsoil Arena in Duluth on Saturday, Feb. 21.


Trevor Zins opens the scoring for St. Michael-Albertville with a power-play goal early in the first period of the Knights' 9-4 loss to the Lumberjacks. Photo by Kelly McGinley

First Report

Junior forward Koby Bender scored three goals as fifth-seeded Cloquet-Esko-Carlton defeated fourth-seeded St. Michael-Albertville 9-4 in a Class 2A, Section 7 quarterfinal game Tuesday night at St. Michael-Albertville Ice Arena.

Junior forward Cole Litsey and senior forward Kyle Klatt finished with two goals apiece for the Lumberjacks (12-11-3), who avenged a 3-0 loss to the Knights in St. Michael-Albertville on Feb. 10.

The Knights found themselves shorthanded just 12 seconds into the game and Bender took advantage, pulling a loose puck in the slot to his backhand and hammering it home to give Cloquet-Esko-Carlton a 1-0 lead and set the tone early for the Lumberjacks’ special teams, which finished the game with six power-play goals.

St. Michael-Albertville junior forward Tucker Bjorlin scored early in the second period to trim Cloquet-Esko-Carlton’s lead to 3-1.

However, penalties plagued the Knights through the second half of the period, and the Lumberjacks capitalized as they extended their lead to 6-2 on power-play goals from senior defenseman Dalton Johnson, Litsey and Klatt, who found a rebound trickling out of a scrum in front of the net and sent a shot top right past sophomore goaltender Kyle Hayden. 

St. Michael-Albertville struck early in the third period as senior forward Cody Reckard won the offensive draw and lifted a backhand shot top shelf to close to within 6-3. The Knights couldn’t cut further into the lead before Bender scored two goals 32 seconds apart to distance the Lumberjacks.

Klatt added another goal late in the game, faking on his forehand and lifting the puck into the net. 

Cloquet-Esko-Carlton sophomore goalie Eric Newman recorded 18 saves, while Hayden made 28 for St. Michael-Albertville (21-5-0).

The Lumberjacks face top-seeded Elk River in the section semifinals at Amsoil Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21.

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