Cloquet Bantam AA came to the cities for third time this season, once early in the year, a second time for the Edina Invitational and this weekend to take on Sibley, Centennial and Blaine to tune their team up for a run through the North Regional in Roseau and to state in back in their backyard in Duluth.

In their first game, they took on #7 ranked Sibley at the West St. Paul Arena. The game got started quickly with both teams having chances. Cade Huntley got Sibley on the board knocking in a rebound off of a Jack Kubes shot to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead after one period.

Early in the second period, after Cloquet took a penalty, Sibley looked to extend their lead. What happened in the next one minute and 27 seconds is something that may never happen again. Cloquet would score three shorthanded goals in the same power play. Kade Bender got the first one as he slipped past the Sibley defense and beat Robbie Wolfe to tie the game at 1. Thirty seconds later, first year Gavin Rasmussen got loose and scored his first of two short handed goals in the same shift lifting the Lumberjacks to a 3-1 lead after. Asked after the game, if he had ever had two shorthanders in one shift, Rasmussen proudly exclaimed, "oh yeah, in Squirts and PeeWees...but never in Bantams."

In Football, that would be like having a punt blocked for a touchdown on three straight possessions or in baseball giving up three Grand Slams in an inning. One is hard to overcome, two is a death blow...but three is once in a blue moon material. 

The two teams would trade goals in the third...Payton Matsui, back from injury got one for the Warriors (a welcome sight for all hockey fans). 

After the game...the Sibley Hockey Association raised two banners from their state tournament success last year. Players from both their PeeWee AA (third) and Bantam B (Consolation Champs) reunited for the banner raising and a picture.

Tommy Shandorff lead #3 Rosemount to a 5-1 win over Moorhead in their first of three games on a swing through the Twin Cities. The Irish got the first period's only goal when Broten Sabo finished off a 2-0 breakaway beating Will Kunka with a bankhander. Caden Triggs would get a pretty tip in to go for the Spuds on the Power Play and the game was tied. But before you could blink, the Irish got the lead and never looked back. Shandorff scored all three of his goals from the slot with an impressive shot that seems to get faster every day.

Moorhead came to Minneapolis to play #3 Rosemount, #2 Edina and #1 Minneapolis this weekend. On Saturday they fell to Edina 1-0. On Sunday, they will take on #1 Minneapolis, who beat Cloquet Saturday 3-2. 

If there were scouting reports on 10A hockey, a scout would have only a three word report on Andover. Stop. Sara. Kaiser. Taking nothing away from the other skaters on the Huskies, she is just a remarkable skater and has proven ability to score in bunches. In a game YHH covered in December, Kaiser had a Hatty against District 10 rival Blaine. On Saturday, she had another Hatty, plus two more for good measure...netting five goals against the number one ranked Eastview Lightning. Kaiser made no mistake about who was going to win. Early in the first, she got loose and scored on a breakaway, just getting the puck past the Eastview Goalie for a 1-0 lead. On her next shift she scored again, this time top shelf and the Huskies were on their way. 

Later in the second Kaiser would get the Hatty, this time on a pretty low wrist shot. The Lightning would battle all game long. Their star player is Avery Chesek, Chesek couldn't find the scoresheet Saturday, but she will definitely find the scouting report for Eastview someday. The very athletic Chesek, moves well with the puck and is a great two way player.

Andover would get three more in the third, one by Maddie Kaiser (no relation to Sara). This Kaiser is also a player to reckon with on the ice. A fierce puck rushing defenseman, Kaiser seems to play the game at a completely different level than her competition.The two teams face off again today..stay tuned to YHH for more on that matchup.