Cloquet-Esko-Carlton junior forward Christian Galatz skyrocketed up the state scoring charts with his four-goal effort in a 5-0 victory over Bloomington Jefferson on Saturday. His nine goals this season is second most in the state.
The Lumberjacks also boast one of the state’s goaltending leaders in Owen Carlson, whose 1.20 goals-against average and .954 save percentage place him in the top five in both categories.
Consistent star performances from Galatz and Carlson, among others, have helped Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (3-1-1, 2-0-0) to a hot start and seemingly set the Lumberjacks up for a victory over struggling rival Duluth East (1-3-0) on Thursday.
The Greyhounds lost their top six scorers from last season to graduation and are in full rebuild mode. Zarley Ziemski leads this year’s group of forwards with a modest four points. Still, this is a program with pedigree that has appeared in 13 state tournaments in the 2000s and is led by a legendary coach in Mike Randolph. Which is to say, don’t be quick to count out Duluth East.