A matchup of two of the most prominent upstarts of the 2024-25 Northland prep boys hockey season ended up surprisingly one-sided on Tuesday night, Jan. 21, as Caz Carlson scored twice in Rock Ridge’s 5-1 drubbing of Cloquet-Esko-Carlton at Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia.
The Wolverines were actually down on the shot count entering the third period but they largely had the win in hand at that point. Carlson opened the scoring with 3:44 left in the first period, while Levi Flatley, Grady Dimberio and Carlson again scored in the second, largely putting it out of reach.
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Ethan Jacobson tacked on one more for Rock Ridge in the third period before Neil Elsmore got CEC on the board with 4:25 to play.
Wyatt Jonassen’s shutout was spoiled, but the Wolverines goalie still had a solid night with 22 saves.
Jamis Halverson made nine saves on 13 shots over the first two periods for CEC, while Jacob Iallonardo made 14 saves in the third.
In the Let’s Play Hockey rankings released earlier on Tuesday, Rock Ridge (16-3-1) comes in at No. 16 in Class AA, while CEC (14-4) remained No. 2 in Class A. The Lumberjacks have dropped three of their last four, though Tuesday’s was their first defeat that wasn’t decided in overtime or the last minute of regulation.
Hibbing/Chisholm 8, International Falls 0
Tate Swanson and Kelin Elsner had two-goal games for the Bluejackets as they rolled to a shutout victory in International Falls.
Cole Swanson kicked in a goal and two assists for Hibbing/Chisholm, now 12-7-1 and ranked No. 5 in Class A going into their Saturday morning game against Eden Prairie at Hockey Day Minnesota in Shakopee.
Gavin Lamphere made 12 saves for the winners.
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Greenway 7, Lake of the Woods 0
Brayden Nielsen scored late in each of the first two periods as the Raiders cruised to a road win, scoring five times in the second period.
Grady Gibeau made 17 saves for the shutout for Greenway (6-8-1).
GIRLS HOCKEY
Rock Ridge 6, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 3
The Wolverines scored four unanswered goals over the last two periods to pull away for a win on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena.
Natalie Bergman and Ayla Troutwine scored in the second period as Rock Ridge overcame a 3-2 deficit after one period, then Mayme Scott and Troutwine added to the lead in the third period.
Gabby Hutar had a goal and two assists in the game for the Wolverines (8-10-3), who got 25 saves from goaltender Nola Kwiatkowski.
Brayley Merrier had a goal and assist for CEC (5-16-1). Izzy Strang made 29 saves.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Esko 74, Superior 72
Esko prevailed in a tightly fought home win against Superior on Tuesday night and still had time to mark a personal milestone.
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Esko senior Sam Haugen had 18 points on the night and crossed the 1,000-point threshold for his career.
It was close throughout, with Esko outscoring the Spartans by one point in each half to get to 9-4 on the season.
Jackson Peterson led Esko with 19 points, while Braxdyn Male scored 14.
Superior falls to 7-8 overall despite a huge game from Calvin Anderson, who himself is approaching 1,000 after his 31-point total put him at a career mark of 966. Drew Eisel had an 18-point game for the Spartans.
Cloquet 82, Proctor 53
The Lumberjacks bounced back forcefully from a surprising loss at Superior on Friday by putting away the Rails in Proctor on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Jack Battaglia scored 36 points for Cloquet (12-3), and knocked down three of his team's 12 3-pointers, while senior Grant Biebl connected five times from long range for his 15 points.
Proctor (8-8) got 20 points from Dallas Loftis and 13 from Tyler Berglund.
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Greenway 79, Mountain Iron-Buhl 70
Gage Olson had a night to remember for Greenway as the Raiders went into MI-B’s home gym and took a win off the Rangers on Tuesday night.
Olson scored 35 points and knocked down four of his team’s eight 3-pointers.
The Raiders, now 6-7 on the year, got off to a hot start, leading 53-38 at halftime, and had enough cushion to achieve their first three-game win streak of the season and hand MI-B only its third loss in 15 games.
TJ Duchamp drilled seven treys and scored 31 points for MI-B (12-3), while Micaden Clines and Chris King scored 18 and 12 points, respectively.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Chisholm 89, Cook County 24
The Bluestreaks controlled this one from the opening tip, getting five players into double figures scoring.
Avaya Dobis-Fontaine had 19 points for Chisholm (14-2), which scored 64 points in the first half.
This story was edited at 3:25 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22 to correct Calvin Anderson's career point total to 966. It was originally posted at 10:43 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21. The News Tribune regrets the error.
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