Cloquet-Esko-Carlton ran away with its last three games against Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl while outscoring the Blue Devils 19-5 in the process. This year’s meeting could prove to be a closer matchup with each northern power climbing up its respective class ranking.
Virginia/Mountain-Iron Buhl, ranked No. 11 in Class 1A, has won six straight since an 8-2 loss to No. 4-1A Greenway on Nov. 30. The Blue Devils trailed by a goal entering the third period but gave up five goals — three shorthanded — in the final period.
Jake Seitz (10-16-26) is the state's leading playmaker with 16 assists on the season. He's served as a catalyst to Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl's (7-1, 2-1) winning streak, tallying four or more points in four games during his team's six-game run. He has the Blue Devils power play humming at 39 percent with a team-best seven assists on the man advantage.
The No. 14-2A Lumberjacks proved they can skate with the best of Class 1A by surviving overtime to tie longtime rival No. 2-2A Duluth East, 6-6 last Thursday. Landon Langenbrunner (9-7-16) tallied two goals and two assists in the tie.
Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl has committed more than twice as many penalty minutes as Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (4-3-1, 1-0-0). The Blue Devils, scoring 41 percent of their goals on the power play, may have to force the Lumberjacks out of their comfort zone to create man-advantage opportunities.