Emily Erickson left little doubt as to who the best player on the ice was Thursday when Grand Rapids-Greenway defeated Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 5-1 in girls hockey at the Cloquet Area Recreation Center. Erickson scored four goals and was a constant thorn in the Lady Jacks' side in a game that saw the Lightning outshoot CEC 22-16.
"We have a great rivalry with them and they were very ready for us," explained CEC coach Dick Bartholdi. "We couldn't do much of anything and that is a great credit to them. It's like I told the girls, if you can't sustain your forecheck and the puck is in your zone a lot of bad things will happen, and they did."
Both teams had chances early in the first period, but it wasn't until a nifty goal by Danielle Beck at 12:29 of the first period that either team would score. Beck's goal was assisted by Whitney Anderson and Sadie Lundquist as the Jacks grabbed the lead at 1-0.
Barely two minutes later Erickson scored started her scoring surge with a goal at 14:40 on assists by Maggie Rothstein and Marina Guyer to make it 1-1 after one period.
The tell-tale period of the game was the second when the Lightning exploded for three goals to go ahead 4-1. Erickson scored at 8:34, 11:09 and 14:25 to complete a stretch of four straight goals for the swift-skating center.
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However, the tale wasn't so much about the scoring ability of Erickson as much as it was about the ability of the Lightning to jump on most of the loose pucks as they appeared a much hungrier team than did the Jacks.
"Emily (Erickson) was great and even though we are very aware of her, she turned it up and played great," said Bartholdi. "When she wants to turn it on she is the best in the state. There may be others faster than her, but she is just a great scorer and her ability to score is unsurpassed."
Dayna Gallop finished off the scoring for Grand Rapids-Greenway at 14:25 of the third with the assist going to Kayla Clafton.
The loss marks the fourth in five games for Cloquet, which plays one of the toughest schedules in the state. In the five-game stretch the Jacks have faced four teams ranked in the top 10, so it has been a rough road for the team. However, the latest loss is perhaps the most difficult to swallow since the Lightning play in the same section as CEC and they will be one of the teams the Jacks will need to get by in order to play in another state tournament.
"Hopefully this will sharpen our focus," stated Bartholdi. "With a little luck we hope we will be able to play them again in the playoffs."
Jessica Havel made 15 saves on just 16 CEC shots while Paige Thunder finished with 17 saves for the Jacks.
Pine Journal sports reporter Kerry Rodd can be contacted at: kdrodd@aol.com .
