Rebels boys lax ends season with championship loss to Cougars

Champlin Park boys lacrosse’s season came to an end with a loss in the Section 7 championship game on June 6 to Centennial.

Championship

As the No. 6 seed, Champlin Park’s season came to a close on June 6, traveling to No. 5 seed Centennial in a 19-9 loss in the Section 7 championship game. Centennial put together a blockbuster first half with six goals in each quarter, while Champlin Park scored six in total to trail 12-6 at halftime. Both teams slowed in scoring in the second half, but Centennial kept the higher tempo of the two to remain steady in the lead.

The Cougars and Rebels tied for third in the Northwest Suburban Conference this season with 6-2 NWSC records. Centennial’s path to the final as the fifth seed saw them beat a who’s who of the northland in Grand Rapids-Greenway and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, before knocking out first seed Andover in the semifinals.

Brayden Strausser led the team in scoring with four goals, while Jared Zabel scored one goal and made three assists. Gavin Bosch scored two goals against Centennial and made one assist, while Austin Johnson added one. Goalie Kalvin Kiffmeyer made nine saves against Centennial.

The loss means Champlin Park ended the year with a 13-4 record. The Rebels had won their last 11 games heading into the championship game.

Semifinal

Champlin Park powered their way to the section championship game with a 10-6 semifinal win over the No. 2 seed Duluth Wolfpack, a co-op between Duluth East and Duluth Denfeld, in Duluth on June 4. The Wolfpack entered the tournament as the second seed and reached the semifinals by handling No. 7 Blaine 9-6. The matchup has a history. Duluth has knocked Champlin Park out of sections in two of the last three seasons.

Delayed by a storm, the Rebels showed no signs of slowing once play began. Zabel scored a hat trick and made two assists. Strausser, Ryan Korton and Bosch scored two each, with the prior making two assists as well. Johnson added one goal to round out the scoring.

Champlin Park will graduate six seniors, including Strausser, Matthew Berge, Zachary Link, Brady Boudreau, Caryer Maifeld and Johnson.