Blowing snow gave an old-time feel to a new tradition. The Baudette Bay Hockey Classic returned to the Rainy River for the second time, and, just like last year, Lake of the Woods skated away with a win. In 2007, the Bears defeated St. Paul Johnson 5-3; this year they shutout Eveleth-Gilbert, 5-0.
Much work went into getting this game on track to start. Heavy winds blanketed the ice with several inches of snow overnight, requiring a team of shovels and plows to clear the surface for play. No matter the effort, the winds continued to blow and the snow continued to swirl, slowing not just the puck, but the speed of the game as well.
Both teams started out slow, battling the elements and each other. As the first period moved on, Lake of the Woods started to take control. The Bears looked stronger on the puck, and that resulted in many more chances than Eveleth-Gilbert.
Senior Nick Baade got the Bears on the board 5-minutes into the game after Eveleth-Gilbert failed to move the puck out of their zone. Later in the period, Danny Usiski netted the first of his three goals on a shot from the slot.
A few minutes later, Usiski rifled a slap shot over the right shoulder of Golden Bears' goalie Jesse Schilling. The shot made the score 3-0, and Eveleth-Gilbert slowed even more.
Lake of the Woods, pumped from their three-goal outburst in the opening frame, came out in the second period and started to hit. Like the more skillful aspects of the contest, the hitting was a little slower, showing a little less pop.
Eveleth-Gilbert responded by hitting back, but still had trouble getting quality shots on net. "That's what they're (Lake of the Woods) doing, and it's working," said Eveleth-Gilbert head coach Todd Kreibich.
The Golden Bears started the third period on a power play, finally getting a chance to control the play. The command lasted precious few minutes, though, as Lake of the Woods regained full-strength.
Shortly thereafter, Usiski netted his third goal of the game, giving him a hat-trick that will be one to remember.
"To get three goals in a game like this, that's a big deal," said Bears head coach Keith Block.
The wind, and distance from the ice, prevented fans from showering Usiski with the usual three-goal praise, but his coach helped out. When he noticed no hats on the ice, Block threw his. The referee quickly returned the coach's lid, but the moment was secure.
When asked if he would like to make it three-in-a-row with a game next year, Block said, "It would be fun, but there is a lot of work to put this on. We'll have to see what the Wild decide to do, but I'd like to be back."
As the temperature in Baudette continued its decline, Roseau was teetering on the brink of their first loss of the season. In fact, the Rams had won their last 35 games. But with 10:39 remaining, Jason Fabian saved the streak, scoring the only goal of the game to give the Rams a 1-0 victory over Blaine.
For as much credit as Fabian deserves, the real stars of the game were Blaine’s Danny Harper and Roseau’s Mike Lee. Forty-minutes of hard-hitting, championship level hockey played out before a goal was scored.
Even when Fabian beat Harper, one could argue the goalie did all he could. A loose puck rolled in front of the goaltender, and before he could react Fabian reached and flipped the lone score past a flailing Harper.
The ice, chewed up from the first game of the Baudette Bay Hockey Classic, deteriorated throughout the contest. Blaine failed to capitalize on numerous two-on-one and breakaway opportunities. Pucks took bad bounces, players were unable to stay on their skates and shots were missed wide.
Though there were many follies, Roseau’s defense, and in particular their goaltender, made sure that crazy bounces didn’t turn into bizarre goals.
Lee made several highlight-reel saves, a few of them coming in the desperate last-minute Blaine surge.
Near the end of the game, the Rams took a penalty giving the Bengals a much needed power play. Unfortunately, Blaine was called for their own infraction moments later, negating the man-advantage.
As Harper strode off the ice, Blaine frantically fired shots at Lee, but the junior would not give. As the last few face offs were taken in Roseau’s defensive zone, Harper paced the bench area, ignoring the heat tunnel that was set up to help players deal with the increasingly frigid climate.
Roseau, whose winning streak now stands at 36, has two games remaining in the regular season. The defending champs will travel to International Falls before hosting Grand Rapids.
Blaine finishes with three road games: Champlain Park, Maple Grove and Elk River.
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