East Ridge boys hockey: Raptors celebrate senior night with win over Forest Lake

The East Ridge boys hockey team rebounded from a close loss to Suburban East Conference power White Bear Lake with a victory over Forest Lake two nights later.

East Ridge (6-14-2; 3-10-2 SEC) beat Forest Lake 4-2 on Saturday, Feb. 4, at Cottage Grove Ice Arena after losing 4-2 at conference-leading White Bear Lake on Thursday, Feb. 2.

In the win over Forest Lake (10-11-1; 8-7-0 SEC), Devin Donohue broke a 2-2 tie with an unassisted goal 8:41 into the third period. With 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining, the Raptors’ Tyler Fitzsimmons iced the win with a short-handed goal, putting East Ridge ahead 4-2.

Fitzsimmons had a goal and assist in the game, as did Ian Penvose. Also, Connor Leferink had a goal for the Raptors.

“We celebrated all of the dedication and sacrifices made by our seven seniors,” East Ridge head coach Doug Long said. “This is the last group left from our innaugural season and it seemed fitting that they all contributed in this big victory.”

In the loss to White Bear Lake (11-9-1; 10-3-1 SEC), East Ridge played the Bears to a 0-0 first period, then took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jake Nickoloff (assists by Donohue and Ryan Karrow). However, White Bear Lake popped in two goals with under seven minutes to play in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. However, Nickoloff netted his second goal of the game, tying things up 2-2 with 7:43 remaining in the game. But, White Bear took a 3-2 lead just minutes later, then netted an empty-net goal to escape with a win.

“We played a good game and had numerous opportunities to tie the score with a four-and-a-half-minute power play to end the game,” Long said. “We had five excellent chances during that powerplay. We just couldn’t put the puck in the net.”

In addition to Nickoloff’s two-goal game, senior Andrew McDonough made 20 saves in the loss.

Next, East Ridge travels to Roseville (12-7-2; 9-5-1 SEC) on Thursday, Feb. 9, before facing off with rival Park on Saturday, Feb. 11, in the second half of the battle of Cottage Grove Ice Arena. The Wolfpack edged East Ridge 6-4 earlier this season.

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