The Forest Lake boys hockey team dropped a matchup 4-2 to one of its Suburban East Conference rivals in Stillwater on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Rangers senior Gunnar Bright scored to open up the second period, and senior Caden Speidel knocked in the final goal for Forest Lake in the home loss.
That weekend, on Saturday, Feb. 10, the Rangers bounced back with a 5-1 road win against the Mounds View Mustangs. Forest Lake put on an offensive show, scoring three goals in the final period of play. Goals were scored by junior Cole Rivard in the first period, while junior Mason Johnsen recorded his second goal of the season in the second period. Bright added another goal before right-handed sophomore Nate Peterson and junior lefty Blake Jacobson knocked in the final pair of Rangers goals in the win.
The team sits at a 9-13 record, winning four of its last five games. Forest Lake saw action with the Coon Rapids Cardinals on Tuesday, Feb. 13, in a contest that was not yet completed by press time.
Girls hockey
The Forest Lake girls hockey team saw its season end in the Class 2A Section 7 quarterfinal matchup with the Anoka Tornadoes on Thursday, Feb. 8, in a 2-1 final score. Both teams went 0-4 in the power play aspect in what was a tight contest through the final horn. Anoka scored the first goal of the night just 47 seconds into the game; senior star Sami Pool got her Rangers back into the game roughly six minutes later to knot it up at 1-1.
After a scoreless second period, Anoka would score the game-winning goal midway through the final period to ultimately advance to the next round of the Section 7 tournament.
Sophomore goalie Taylor Thompson finishes the season with an outstanding mark, totaling over 1,000 career saves with two years remaining in her high school career. Forest Lake finished off its exciting season with an overall record of 11-14-1.
Gymnastics
The Forest Lake gymnastics team took part in a dual invitational meet vs. the Roseville Raiders on Friday, Feb. 2. The Rangers came out on top with the 143-125 win as its SEC opponent struggled to maintain consistency throughout the night. On the vault as a team, Forest Lake scored a 36.9, before capturing team scores of 34.5 and 35.7 on the bars and beam respectively. The floor score brought in a 36.3, outscoring Roseville by an average of 4 points in each team category.
The next week on Wednesday, Feb. 7, the Rangers were victorious once again as they defeated the Mounds View Mustangs at home. In vault, the team scored a 36.3, while securing scores of 32.17 on bars and 34.2 on the beam. A team floor score of 36.35 rounded out the team’s overall score to 139 – ahead of the Mustangs’ 126. The Forest Lake junior varsity team also won its JV Conference meet on Friday, Feb. 9, as the young squad came in first place of nine teams at the invite.
The varsity girls now prepare for the Section 7AA tournament on Friday, Feb. 16.
Girls basketball
The Forest Lake girls basketball team picked up a win following its two-game losing streak by a final score of 61-46 over Anoka on Monday, Feb. 5. In the win, senior guard Cassidy Pitzl led both teams in scoring with 19 points, while sophomore guard Hailey Dereu added 16 points to the mix. Kendal Damon, another sophomore, tallied 10 points on the night.
The Rangers would hit the road on Friday, Feb. 9, in a close 57-50 win over the Woodbury Royals. Pitzl once again led both teams in scoring with 20 points, with senior Liv Fearing scoring 11 points. A 1-1 record on the week sends the girls to a 12-10 record as the squad aimed for another win over Mounds View on Tuesday, Feb. 13, in a contest that was not completed by press time.
Wrestling
The Forest Lake girls wrestling team participated in the individual Section 7 tournament held at Bemidji High School on Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Feb. 10, and saw a pair of state-worthy performances. In the 106-pound class, Annica Blasko claimed third place. Anna Ruka came in fifth place in the 118, while Breana Steven took eighth overall in the 124. Jamie Peterson recorded a fifth-place finish in the 130 division, before Jayden Stans finished sixth in the 142.
Bella Carlson wound up in second in the 148 and Nas’Jarae White came in first in the 170 – the best finishes for the Rangers on the weekend – as both athletes punched their tickets to the 2024 State High School Wrestling Championships. Carlson and White are set to compete in the state tournament held at the Xcel Energy Center from Thursday, Feb. 29, through Saturday, March 2.
Aliya Garcia capped things off with a third-place finish in the 190-pound weight class, and Ariana Thorud finished in fifth in the heavyweight 235 class.
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