Duluth knocks out CEC in 7AA girls hockey playoffs

• Callie Halverson

CEC junior Callie Halverson (20) stretches for the puck to beat out Ashley Hansen (17) of the Duluth Northern Stars, while CEC freshman Emily Gustafson (right) is tied up by Claudia Gagnon in front of Duluth goalie Paige Turner in Thursday’s opening round of the Section 7AA playoffs at the Cloquet Area Recreation Center. The 2-1 loss for CEC marked the end of the season for the Lumberjacks. Jamie Lund/Pine Journal

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Rachel Halligan scored the winning goal midway through the second period and Paige Turner made it stand with 30 saves as Duluth edged defending champion Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 2-1 in a Section 7AA high school girls hockey quarterfinal last Thursday night at Cloquet Area Recreation Center.

The fifth-seeded Northern Stars (12-12-2), which lost and tied the fourth-seeded Lumberjacks (12-9-5) during the regular season, lost to No. 1 seed Elk River-Zimmerman in a semifinal at 3 p.m. Saturday.

CEC seniors Nicole Lund and Sarah Gustafson were both semifinalists for the Let’s Play Hockey magazine senior goaltender of the year award. Neither advanced to the final list of five finalists. Former CEC standout Johanna Ellison won the award in 2005.

Check back for a full recap of the girls’ season in next week’s Pine Journal.

Tags: sports, hockey, cec, cloquet