Sister act helps Blake girls take state title
By Matt Thomas Sports Reporter
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Sisters usually get to experience many things together, but not too many sisters get a chance to win a state hockey championship together. At Blake, two sets of sisters got that unique opportunity last week and they seized it.
Katharine and Margaret Chute, along with Laura and Sally Komarek, led the Bears offensively all season. Last week the sister act took center stage at the state tournament and led the Bears to their second Class A state championship in five years.
"All year long the two older sisters, Katharine and Laura, have provided great leadership and they pulled everybody along with them," Bears head coach Brano Stankovsky said.
"The two younger ones just worked hard. Sisters don't always get along, but we never saw that with these girls," Stankovsky said.
In state tournament victories over Breck, Hibbing and then Farmington in the state championship game, the Chutes and Komareks accounted for nine of Bears' 10 goals.
In the team's 2-1 victory over Farmington in the title game, it was Margaret Chute who opened the scoring with 5:16 remaining in the first period.
With the Bears on the power play, Margaret Chute buried a rebound into the back of the net after her sister Katharine had ripped a slap shot from the point.
While the first period goal gave the Bears an early advantage, by the end of the second period things weren't looking so good.
Despite holding a 20-6 shots on goal advantage, the Bears found themselves deadlocked in a 1-1 game with 17 minutes to play.
"It was a little frustrating just knowing that we were outshooting them quite a bit and only had the one goal," Katharine Chute said. "I think we felt that it would come."
Indeed it came. Two minutes and 38 seconds into the third period, Katharine Chute showed why she is considered one of the best players in the state.
She took the puck from deep in the Bears zone, made a move near center ice to get around a Farmington defender and skated into the offensive zone on a two on one.
Chute appeared to have the puck poked away from her, but she recovered just in time to sneak the game-winning goal inside the left post.
"I was actually trying to pass it. The Farmington defender did a good job of trying to poke check it away, but I just got a stick on it at the end," Chute said. "I was surprised when it went in, but when you put shots on net you never know what's going to happen."
While Chute's goal gave the Bears a third period lead, they weren't out of the woods. The Tigers had several power play opportunities in the third period including a five-on-three advantage for just over a minute.
Enter Blake goaltender Rachel Bowens-Rubin. Bowens-Rubin proved to be the best goaltender in the state over the final two months of the season after putting up ridiculous statistics.
She gave up two goals in the three state tournament games and those are the only two goals she allowed in the months of January and February - a span of 11 games.
"Rachel has been amazing. She's done everything we've asked of her and more," Katharine Chute said. "I can't give her enough credit for everything she's done. She's been there when we've allowed breakaways or two on ones. She's come up with huge saves so she's been great for us."
The Bears' three state tournament opponents came up empty in 15 power play opportunities.
Farmington went zero for 7 with a player advantage in the championship game.
"It was pretty amazing because the day before we killed six penalties off and you just think you're going to get bit one of those times," Stankovsky said. "In watching them the day before we knew they liked to work the puck to [Erin Johnson] because she just has a great shot. We tried to overplay her so they would have to give the puck to someone else who's not as deadly and it seemed to work out. The other part of it was Rachel was just fantastic."
The Bears wound up winning their last 15 games of the season to finish with a final record of 26-4. Most importantly, they got to end the season in a celebratory fashion at the Xcel Energy Center.
"They were extremely excited and satisfied," Stankovsky said. "Not just for winning because they were able to accomplish a huge goal together."
Chute wins Ms. Hockey
While Katharine Chute scored the game-winning goal in the state championship game, it's not the only impressive fact on her resume.
The senior forward has a near flawless grade point average, has narrowed her college search to the likes of Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth, and finished the season with 41 goals and 38 assists. Those factors all contributed to her being named Ms. Hockey for 2007.
"I don't think it was something I was expecting. I thought there were a lot of deserving candidates," Chute said.
"I think I just came into the season trying to work hard for our team and work towards our team goals and winning a state championship. The Ms. Hockey thing is something that just came along with it," Chute said.
Reprinted with permission LakeShore News
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