It wasn't the prettiest win of the season, but the result was the same for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team as they reeled off their 11th win of the season by defeating Brainerd 3-2 at home on Tuesday night.
The game was scoreless through the first period, but the Jacks carried much of the offensive play against the pesky Warriors. Finally at 1:42 of the second period junior defenseman David Brown picked off a pass and beat goaltender Landon Snider for a 1-0 CEC lead.
"Brown was very good tonight for us," said CEC coach Dave Esse. "I thought it was definitely Brown's best game of the season."
Esse also felt the Jacks were a bit rusty after having some time off for the holidays and that rust was evident through the first until Brown's early second-period goal gave them a lift. At 5:11 of the second Brown swiped another puck and this time drove to the net, getting a shot on Snider with the rebound popping over to Zach Dunaisky who drove in the rebound, giving CEC a 2-0 lead.
At 8:40 CEC's Tyler Johnson took an elbowing penalty and at 9:12 Riley Roe went off for tripping, giving the Warriors a two-man advantage. Brainerd finally scored on the power play at 10:09 when Jack Freeman fired a low shot past CEC goalie Reid Ellingson, making it 2-1.
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However, with just .7 seconds remaining in the period, Sever Lundquist kept a puck in along the left boards, dipped around a defender and found Roe with a pass and in return Roe fed Ryan Defoe on the back side of the net, giving the Jacks a 3-1 lead.
The Warriors pulled to within a goal at the 1:07 mark of the third, but Ellingson and his teams defense kept the puck out of the net the rest of the game.
"They are a well-coached team," explained Esse of the Warriors. "They work hard and they played with a lot of passion, intensity and they played with a lot of energy."
Despite the passionate play of Brainerd the Jacks still had enough in the tank to pull through with another key sectional win against a very good opponent.
CEC outshot the Warriors 40-26 as they continued their undefeated season at 11-0.
Pine Journal sports reporter Kerry Rodd can be contacted at: kdrodd@aol.com .
