Photo courtesy of the team M-2 hockey action at the Carlton Tournament last weekend. The M-2s had the exciting experience of playing on UMD Bulldog ice at the DECC in Duluth. If you would like to see the M-2s in action, stop by the skating rink at the Cook County Community Center on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Drive by the ice skating rink at the Community Center after school on a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday and you’re likely to find the rink filled with kids. If it is between the hours of 4:30 and 6:30 p.m those kids are members of the Cook County hockey team.
The Cook County Hockey Association is surprisingly large for such a sparsely populated area. Maybe it’s because the hockey families are such wonderful people but more likely it is because hockey in Cook County is actually an affordable sport to participate in.
The Cook County Hockey Association provides players with almost all of the gear needed to play. There’s a small fee to play but costs are kept down due to generous sponsors who donate money to participate in tournaments. This past weekend The M-1 and M-2 teams both played three games each in the Carlton Tournament. The M-2 Team was sponsored by the Lake Superior Trading Post and the M-1 Team by Joynes Ben Franklin.
The hockey players are divided into two teams by their age. The M-1 players are between the ages of 5 and 7 and are coached by Brian Cooley and Nate Sheils. The M-2 players are ages 8 or 9 and are coached by Paul Sporn, Steve DuChien and Mike Prom. There are 12 players on each team and Coach Steve Smith makes sure all of their skates are sharpened throughout the year.
Photo by Roxann Berglund The M-1 hockey team, sponsored by Joynes Ben Franklin, played in the Carlton Jamboree last weekend. Honing their skills are Tanner Berglund #30 and Lucas Sheils #29.
The weekend was all about hockey with both the M-1 and M-2 teams playing two games each on Saturday. The M-2 team came out strong in their first game and played a close game. Scores are not kept at this age level but most players and spectators know we scored two goals against a Cloquet team and they scored just one on us. Thesecond game didn’t go quite as well with just a couple of hours of rest in between games. Perhaps the team was saving their energy for the big game of the day.
The M-2 team was invited to play between periods of the UMD Bulldog Men’s hockey game at the DECC in Duluth. There were 88 Cook County hockey fans at the game—players, family and friends. The kids were filled with excitement as they waited to play against a team from Spooner, Wisconsin.
Cook County took to the ice with enthusiasm and determination. Game time was set for a mere six minutes. The defense did a great job of keeping the puck away from their net, protected by Cameron Roy. Andrew Miller, Will Ramberg, Trevor Berglund and Chase Gwash set the puck soaring any time it got close to the Cook County net. From there Cook County offensive players of the evening, Connor Somnis, Jayden Grivette, Levi Sheils, Ethan Sporn, Tristen Bockovich and Josh Prom worked to get the puck in the net. Shots were taken and one by Ethan Sporn was just barely deflected by the Spooner goalie only to have Josh Prom punch it in for the one and only goal of the game.
It was a great night for Cook County Hockey followed by another day of tournament play in Carlton. TheM-1 team members are Noah Furcht, Finn Furcht, Tanner Berglund, Kevin Viren, Lucas Sheils, Bridget Cooley, Ryan Bilben, Nathan Bilben, Jack Haussner, Patrick Pierre, Tucker Foley and Ryan Christiansen. M-2 player Alyssa Lashinski played at the tournament but was not present for the Bulldog game.
If you want to see some of these great players in action, come to Silver Bay this weekend to cheer them on. TheM-2 Team plays on Saturday, January 16 at 10:30 a.m. against Esko; Sunday at 10:15 a.m. against Two Harbors and again at 3:30 p.m. against Hermantown. Or swing by the Community Center hockey rink for a look at what Cook County Hockey is all about.
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