Meetings between Chisago Lakes and Cambridge-Isanti, both located in the far, far, far reaches of the north metro suburbs — flyover country as one coach in that area called it — typically don’t receive a lot of fanfare.
This has been far from a typical year for both teams.
Chisago Lakes seniors Ryan Schmidt (28 points) and Nicholas Helland (27 points) have been among the state’s scoring leaders all season, helping propel the Wildcats to a 7-2-1 ranking and No. 15 state ranking in Class 1A.
Cambridge-Isanti is undefeated since inserting freshman goaltender Jaxon Sibell into the lineup in the third game of the season. The Bluejackets are 7-2-0 and ranked No. 16.
So, yeah, this matchup has a lot of juice.
The emergence of Sibell has been one of season’s great stories. He’s 5-0-0 with sparkling statistics — a .959 save percentage and minuscule 1.17 goals-against average (best in the state in both categories). He allowed a combined three goals in wins last week on the Iron Range against Greenway and Hibbing/Chisholm.
The Batman and Robin act of Schmidt and Helland has been compelling, too. Schmidt has a team-best 16 goals while Helland has racked up 22 assists, tied for fifth most in the state.