Great Night for Northern Minnesota Lacrosse

In the first ever winter indoor lacrosse games in Northern Minnesota, the NorthCoast Indoor Lacrosse League kicked off its inaugural season last night.  Six teams are competing in the 8 game winter indoor lacrosse season.  The 8 game regular season will be followed up with playoffs and the first ever NILL Championship to be played on March 25.  Two teams from Grand Rapids and 4 teams from Duluth are competing in this first season of NILL play.

Game 1 action

Opening night proved to be a success with 3 exciting games of lacrosse.  In game 1, Team 2 - Halver defeated Team 4 - Grand Rapids 18-5 behind a flurry of goals from Matt Reeves and Cooper Carlson, each notching 5 goals.  Mitch Smerz added 3 goals and Britton Harris scored a pair for Team 2.  Steve Halver, Zack Galo and Andrew Martin each added a goal.  Goalie T.J. Vallie stopped 8 shots.

For Team 4 - Grand Rapids, goalie Tyler Altringer withstood a flurry of shots stopping 16 in the process.  Joey Keating notched a hat trick for Team 4 with three goals.  Doug Jensen and Ben Dunnell each added a goal.

Game 2 action

In game 2, Team 6 - Free Agents took on Team 5 - Grand Rapids.  In a game that was tied at halftime, the Free Agents pulled away in the second half to win 14-9.  The Free Agent team, comprised of several former UMD Bulldogs lacrosse players, displayed some crisp passing before putting the ball in the back of the net on a more regular basis in the second half.

In the first half, the scrappy and talented Team 5 - Grand Rapids team played very well and kept the game close.  Team 5 was led by Christian Higginbotham who notched 3 goals.  Ben Dunnell and Joey Keating scored 2 goals and Zach Smith and Jace Martientto added a goal apiece.

The Free Agents were led by Scott Wishart and Brandon Gilseth each scoring 3 goals.  Bobby Moore added two goals, both beautiful behind the head shots that found the back of the net on consecutive goals.  In a display of depth, 6 other players added a goal apiece.  Matt Kampmeyer, 8th grader Gage Kuhlmey, Matt Koppang, Brandon Nispel, Steve Lokken and Alex Rogers all scored one goal for the Free Agents.  Goalie T.J. Vallie stopped 8 shots.

In the final game of the night, the young Honey Badgers team comprised primarily of 9th graders with one 8th grader and an old guy took on Team 3 - Wieczorek, both Duluth teams.  In a game that stayed close most of the night, Team 3 prevailed 11-8.

Team 3 was led by Brody Carlson and Kyle Limoseth, both notching 3 goals apiece.  Jimmy Bendas and 8th grader Silas Wieczorek each added 2 goals apiece and Mike Nowicki added 1 goal.

Game 3 Action

The Honey Badgers were led by Jesse Larson and old man Andy Holak, both with 2 goals.  Beau Holappa, 8th grader Bryce Holak, Zack Zierden, and Dan O'Connell each added a goal.  Zierden also added two assists.  Goalie Mike Vuchetich stood tall in the goal for the Honey Badgers making 12 saves on the night.

All in all, it was a great night for lacrosse in Northern Minnesota.  Here's to many more winter lacrosse games in Northern Minnesota in the future!