Hockey Notebook: High school hockey final kicks off

The city high school hockey championship kicked off on Monday night at the Essar Centre as the St. Mary’s Knights and Korah Colts opened the best-of-five city final.

St. Mary’s opened the series with a narrow 1-0 victory over the Colts to take a 1-0 series lead at the Essar Centre.

Korah goaltender Zack Quesnele held the Knights at bay through two periods despite St. Mary’s holding an edge on the shot clock. The busy night included stops on a Mitch Robinson breakaway and Jaron Rowe chance alone in the slot, both in the second period.

Quesnele couldn’t keep the Knights at bay all night through as Jason Uhl converted a rebound after Quenelse made an initial stop on Erik Paradis 5:28 into the third period to give St. Mary’s the win.

The series resumes on Tuesday with a 3:30 p.m. start at the McMeeken for game two. Game three is set for Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. at the John Rhodes Community Centre. If needed, game four is Friday night at 7:30 p.m. while game five is Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. Both game four and game five are at the John Rhodes as well.

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LAKERS SWEEP CHARGERS

The Lake State Lakers hockey team returned home with a sweep of the Alabama Huntsville Chargers over the weekend in Western Collegiate Hockey Association action.

Friday night saw Stephen Perfetto scored the winner in a 2-1 Lakers victory. Perfetto scored at 15:52 of the third period ti give the Lakers the win, Colin Campbell also scored for the Lakers while goaltender Kevin Kapalka stopped 22 shots in his first start since injuring his groin on Jan. 10 against Bemidji State.

Brandon Carlson had the lone goal for Alabama Huntsville in Friday’s loss. Goaltender Matt Larose stopped 42 shots.

On Saturday, the Lakers capped off the weekend sweep with a 3-2 win. Dan Radke’s goal at 10:39 of the third period was the winner while Perfetto and Ian Miller also scored in the win. Kapalka stopped 18 shots.

Jeff Vanderlugt and Matt Salhany scored for Alabama Huntsville in Saturday’s loss. Goaltender Carmine Guerriero stopped 36 shots for the Chargers.

With the two wins, the Lakers moved into a tie for fifth in the WCHA standings with a 12-12-0 record. With 24 points, the Lakers are in a three-way tie for fifth with Alaska Fairbanks and Bowling Green. The three teams are two points behind Alaska Anchorage and four points behind third-place Michigan Tech.

The Lakers are back in action on Friday night when they host Minnesota State in the first of a two-game weekend series. Minnesota State enters the weekend with a 17-7-0 record and are four points behind Ferris State for first in the conference.

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EAGLES LOSE TO JETS

In their lone game of the weekend, the North American Hockey League’s Soo Eagles dropped a 4-3 decision to the Janesville Jets at Pullar Stadium in the Michigan Sault.

Kyle Patava had a pair of goals for the Jets, including the game-winner with the Jets shorthanded early in the third period. Robin Hoglund, a former Eagle, also had a pair of goals for the Jets in the win while also setting up a goal. Both of Hoglund’s goals came on the power play. Jets goaltender Brock Kautz stopped 34 shots in the win.

Bruno Birzitis and Sandis Zolmanis had a goal and an assist each for the Eagles in the loss. Trevor Boyd also scored while Derek Lodermeier set up a pair of goals for the Eagles.

The Eagles are back in action on Feb. 28 at home when they host Port Huron in the first of a two-game series.