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| Lightning to Open Season Thursday at HomeThe Northern Lakes Lightning varsity hockey team opens the 2009-10 season at home on Thursday, December 3 against Detroit Lakes High School at Breezy Point Arena. Faceoff is at 7:30 pm. Returning forwards include six of the top twelve scorers in 2008- 09, led by Cody Chambers (11 goals, 25 assists) and Sam Johnson (22 goals, 11 assists). The Lightning lost a veteran defensive corps and starting goaltender to graduation so the focus for coach Shawn Chambers will be the on the job training for a young group of defenders. Starting senior goaltender Tyler Carraway saw spot duty last year behind Trey Flesch. On Saturday, Dec. 5 the Lightning host the North Metro Stars at 4:00 pm then Tuesday will go to Walker to face the Wolves (2-17). The majority of home games will be played at Breezy Point Arena with three to be played at Hallet Center in Crosby: December 17 vs. Moose Lake Area; Dec. 22 against Silver Bay/Cook County; and Jan. 14 against Duluth Central. All games at Hallet begin at 7:00 pm. The annual holiday tournament will be Dec. 28-30 and include games against Bagley/Fosston, Morris Benson Area, and Red Lake Falls. Northern Lakes Lightning Head coach: Shawn Chambers entering his third year; Assistant coaches Joe Bergquist and Tony Fulton. Mid-State Conference, Section 6A. 2008-09 record: 18-5-3 How last season ended: a 3-0 loss to St. Cloud tech in the 8AA playoffs. Returning players: seniors Cody Chambers, Sam Johnson, Colin Burke, Chris Smieja, Denver Monn, Kyler DeCent; juniors Jake Box, Blake Demars, Alec Fitch, Tyler Heinlen, and Tyler Carraway. Newcomers: senior Jordan Severance, John Houck, Joe Herda, Joey Bergquist, Conner Chambers. Coach Chambers’ season outlook: With a lot of returning forwards, we should be able to score some goals. We graduated five senior defensemen and a starting goaltender, so we’ll need to work on the defensive part of the game. Sartell and Alexandria should be the strongest - with us dropping down from 8AA to 6A this year hopefully we’ll be more competitive. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northland Press | P.O. Box 145 | Outing, MN 56662 | (218) 692-5842 Email: news@northlandpress.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
