Bantam Hockey
The North Shore Bantams took first place at the Silver Bay Rocky Taconite Tournament held January 9–11. The weekend brought in new opponents from Walker, Becker/Big Lake, Owatonna, Moorhead, and Kenora, Ontario as the Storm closed out their tournament season.
Coach Kody Costley said, “The team really wanted to win their last tournament of the year. Each player gave it their all every shift during each game that they played. They played very well, and it ended up being a great weekend of hockey for the team.”
The North Shore Storm opened the Silver Bay Rocky Taconite Tournament with an 8-0 win over the Kenora Thistles on January 9. They followed with a 4-2 victory against the Walker Wolves and later defeated Becker/Big Lake 6-2 that same day.
The championship game against Moorhead was played on January 11, and the Storm secured the tournament title with a 5-3 win.
Tournament Stats:
Assists: Barron Hoff led with 9. Nico Tersteeg had 6. Breckon Hoff finished with 5, Grady Hoff 4, Gordon Goutermont 3, Brayden Cates 2, and William Pearson, Maxim Haugen, and Wyatt Metzger each added 1.
Goals: Breckon Hoff and Nico Tersteeg each scored 6 over the 4 games. Barron Hoff added 4, Wyatt Metzger 2, and Max Klemmer, Gavin VanHouse, Bayden Cates, Gordon Goutermont, and Grady Hoff each scored 1.
Goaltending: Liam Christiansen finished the tournament as the topranked goalie with a 0.940 save percentage. He faced 117 shots and allowed just 7 goals.
Girls Varsity Hockey
The North Shore Storm took on Rock Ridge at the Iron Trail Motors Event Center and earned a 5-4 win despite a rough first period. Rock Ridge scored twice before junior Berkley Hoff capitalized on a power play to get the Storm on the board, with assists from Hayden Bright and Raegen Hogenson. Rock Ridge added another power play goal before the period ended 3-1.
Hoff scored again in the second with help from Lola Lundgren, but Rock Ridge answered a few minutes later. Hoff completed her hat trick early in the third, assisted by Stella LaPointe and Bright. Midway through the period, Natalie Walker tied the game on an even-strength goal, with Bright and LaPointe assisting.
At 16:09, Hoff scored her fourth of the night on an unassisted play to secure the win. Emmy Bentler faced 31 shots, while the Storm put 35 on the Rock Ridge goalie.
On January 16, the Storm traveled to Anderson Ice Arena to face a strong Breck team holding a 17- 1-1 record. North Shore was shut out 6-0. The following day at Doug Woog Arena, the Storm fell 2-1 to South St. Paul. Hoff scored in the second period with Lundgren assisting. South St. Paul faced only 10 shots, while Bentler stopped 29 of the 31 she saw.
With only a few games left in the regular season, the Storm enjoyed a stretch of home ice. They hosted Hibbing/Chisholm and Rock Ridge this week at Sonju Arena and will play Cloquet/Esko/Carlton at Rukavina Arena on January 27.
Boys Varsity Hockey
The Storm pushed Ely into overtime on the Timberwolves’ home ice on January 15. The game stayed scoreless until late in the second period when Joshua Maxwell scored on an unassisted power play.
Ely scored twice in the third before Anders Hastings tied the game before the 13-minute mark, assisted by Elliot Aronson. Ely scored just over five minutes into sudden-death overtime.
North Shore hosted Moose Lake at Rukavina Arena on January 19, then traveled to International Falls for a game on January 22. They continue on the road with a matchup against Lake of the Woods at Baudette Arena on January 23.
Girls Varsity Basketball
The Mariners hosted McGregor on January 13 and came away with a 52-37 win at William Kelley High School. They traveled to South Ridge on January 15 where the Panthers flipped the script and earned a 54-35 victory.
Silver Bay played an away game at North Woods on January 19 and returned home to face Ely on January 23.
The Agates faced Moose Lake/Willow River on January 15 and dropped a close one 52-50. They went on the road to Floodwood on January 19 and then played another away game against Carlton/Wrenshall on January 22.
Boys Varsity Basketball
The Agates traveled to Proctor on January 13 and fell 81-58 to the Rails. They then hosted Moose Lake/Willow River and took an 87- 62 loss.
“Things didn’t go as planned tonight in front of a huge, boisterous crowd,” posted Head Coach Bill Anderson. “JV was the bright spot (beside all those cheer campers) as they still remain unbeaten. Varsity, however, dug a hole against a hot shooting Rebel team and although they fought hard, they took it to us pretty good. It seemed whenever we’d start to make a push, they’d hit 2 or 3 in a row to shut the door.”
Two Harbors hosted Stella Maris Academy on January 19 and will get another shot at Proctor on January 23.
The Vikings continued their strong stretch after a January 2 loss to Two Harbors. They beat McGregor and then topped South Ridge 70-65 on January 13. Cook County added a 67-34 win over Floodwood on January 16.
International Falls visited on January 17 and the Vikings earned a 65-48 victory. Cook County then traveled for games at Mesabi East on January 19 and Chisholm on January 20.
If you are catching this on January 23 head to the gym! The Vikings host Stella Maris Academy. Varsity tips at 7:15.
Don’t let great games go unseen. Fans, family, coaches, kids, and everyone who lives for North Shore sports can send scores, stats, and photos to sarahwritesnsj@yahoo.com and help fuel next week’s North Shore Sports Shorts.
