Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

Not so long ago, the boys hockey team found itself in a three-game losing streak, with the defending state champs, Cretin-Derham Hall scheduled to make a visit on Thursday, Dec. 21. A little snow and a little holiday tournament later, Forest Lake is now at .500, looking to build on a three-game unbeaten streak and are champions of the Lake Area Holiday Hockey Tournament.

The scheduled match-up with Cretin was cancelled due to snow, which gave the Ranger players nearly two weeks to forget about the 6-1 loss at White Bear Lake, and instead, prepare for a first round contest with Two Harbors.

The tournament took place at Chisago Lakes, but the end results looked like the Rangers made the three-day event their own.

Against the Two Harbors Agates, it took all of 71 seconds for Forest Lake to show they were the dominant team -- when senior Brett McGee scored on a shorthanded goal -- and then continued to hammer that point home until the final score was 7-0.

The Rangers were not kind to Two Harbors as Forest Lake not only scored seven times, but they peppered Agates goaltender Tyler Carlson with 69 shots during the course of the evening. On the other end of the ice, sophomore goalie Paul Moberg was able to kick back on his way to making only 10 stops to earn the shutout.

Before the first period was even four minutes old, junior Jake Kogler used assists from seniors Andy Hardy and Jake LaMotte to make it 2-0.

All told, LaMotte would collect three assists; McGee would add a second goal, seniors Jeff Bohnen, Crit Fogerty and Hardy would each score, as did sophomore Kyle Young. With sophomore Matt Wethammer, Kogler and seniors Codey Carlisle and Alex Lindeberg each having assists, it seemed like every Ranger was a member of the point party.

The high scoring would continue in the semifinals when Forest Lake thumped Somerset, WI, 8-1.

Moberg would run his scoreless period total up to five before Somerset would get a shorthanded goal early in the third. By then it was already 6-0 and the Rangers would simply throw on two more goals -- one by senior Tim Rehak and one by senior James Woods, his second of the game -- to give Forest Lake another seven-goal victory.

Taking part in the scoring totals were Carlisle, Fogerty, senior Zach Knight, Kogler and Lindeberg with goals, and Carlisle, senior Nate Essen, Knight, Kogler, senior Aaron Kubes, LaMotte, McGee, Wethammer and Woods all picking up assists.

The big finale on Friday night against Cambridge-Isanti was nothing like the earlier tournament games as neither team could score. Not in the first period, not in the second, not in the third and not even in overtime. It was zeroes across the board with Moberg making 25 saves to shut down the Bluejackets, while Kevin Auth of Cambridge-Isanti had to turn away 42 shots.

It wasn't until Kogler put one in during the shootout that Forest Lake was able to celebrate, even though the game goes into the record books as a tie. Three games and 16 goals, but it was the lone score in the championship game that made the difference.

Now it's back to conference play on Thursday, Jan. 4, when the Rangers head south for a game against first-place, and No. 4 ranked, Roseville.

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