Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Girls Hockey Relies on Top Line as Section Playoffs Start

The Lumberjacks' top line, which features a player from each school, combined for 134 points during the regular season.

CLOQUET, Minn. – The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team relied on their seniors this season, especially their top line of forwards Taylor Nelson, Kiana Bender and Dea DeLeon, as the Lumberjacks set a program record with 22 regular season wins and the number 1 seed in the section 7A playoffs.

“All three of us have just played so well as a line and every minute we’re on the ice together, it makes it so much fun and so memorable,” DeLeon said of her line.

Nelson currently ranks seventh in the state with 54 points, while Bender and DeLeon have combined for 80 points this season.

“They take it seriously and show up and buy their time. It’s been fun to see the success that they have created and I give them all of the credit in the world because they put in their time and they are just a bunch of hard-working kids,” head coach Courtney Olin said.

But what makes this line so unique is how they truly embody their team. Bender is from Cloquet, DeLeon is from Esko, and Nelson is from Carlton, making their top line a true co-op, something the Lumberjacks haven’t seen in years.

“It’s pretty nice to have Cloquet-Esko-Carlton on one line. We work really well together and it shows how well a co-op team can do,” Bender said.

“It shows some diversity between me, Taylor and Kiana, and it shows our other schools that it’s not just one school based and that athletes come from all different schools and they can all work together,” DeLeon added.

Nelson and Bender have been playing together since squirts, while DeLeon spent time playing in boys hockey first.

“Dea came in our ninth grade year. We didn’t play together since me and Kiana have played together but I felt like as soon as she came up and we started working together, I feel like it clicked really well,” Nelson said.

Despite being from different schools, the three have become best friends, and their bond off the ice has translated on the ice.

“When we’re out on the ice and we hear each other, we just know to give them the puck and let them do their thing,” DeLeon said.

“We all want to work harder in practice and get each other better. We all criticize each other, even, just to make us better,” Nelson added.

All three have been to state in other sports, but the Lumberjacks haven’t been to state in hockey since 2009, so this dynamic trio is hoping for the storybook ending.

“It’d be amazing. It’s a whole new atmosphere and a whole new team so going there with my hockey team would literally mean the world,” Bender said.

“I think it’d be a blessing and a dream come true for everyone on our team, not just the seniors. We’d love to just get any more time on the ice that we can,” DeLeon added.

“That’s what I’ve always wanted since I was little and I think that we all just want to lay it all on the ice and being able to play there would mean so much to us,” Nelson said.

Cloquet-Esko-Carlton will open section playoffs on Tuesday night hosting International Falls at Northwoods Credit Union Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.