Silver Bay hockey teams looking strong

Talk about it

I was very impressed with two of the Mariner games I watched last week.

The boys’ hockey team’s 4-3 victory at Moose Lake showed what hard work and discipline can do along with solid goaltending. The Mariners had 11 skaters to 18 for a veteran Rebel squad and weren’t given much of a chance against the Rebels, but they stuck to the game plan and persevered. Of the 17 goals scored by the Mariners in their last two games, 12 were scored by sophomores, and sophomores or freshmen assisted on the other five. The two goaltenders are a freshman and a sophomore.

The girl’s loss to Chisago Lakes, a team favored to win Section 7A, was a heartbreaker. Both teams played well enough to win. The Bay outplayed the Wildcats in the first period but couldn’t bury the puck. The second period was even with the Wildcats scoring the only two goals. The third period was lopsided towards the Wildcats with the Mariners having the scoring edge 2-1. If both Mariner teams continue to play like this, they could end up with very successful seasons.

Nordic skiing underway

Mariner skier Katie Smedstad finished second in the first alpine meet of the season at Lutsen. Cook County/Silver Bay was second in the meet that included Duluth East, Virginia, Hermantown, and Brainerd.

Kudos, kids

Congratulations to Marina Carter, who was named to the first team of the Polar League All-Conference volleyball team.

Also, congratulations to Holden Panetti for making the 2011 Duluth News Tribune All-Area football team as running back. It was a well-deserved honor for a well-played season. What I can’t understand is how Holden didn’t even receive honorable mention to Minnesota nine-man All-State football team.

Luke Small’s eight points in the Pine City game tied a Mariner record for points scored in a game. Others to do the feat were James Cone, Deven VanHouse, Luke Taintor, and Nate Breden.

Tags: two harbors, silver bay, schools