By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

Minnetonka senior attackman Pete Carbonneau was consistently good throughout the 2009 season, except for in big games.

In big games, he was great.

Carbonneau scored at least one goal in each of the Skippers’ 18 contests – all victories en route to the program’s first state championship. But against rivals Wayzata and Edina, and in the playoffs, his play was at another level.

Consider these numbers:

-In the two games against Wayzata, he had four goals and three assists and then four goals and one assist, respectively.
 
-In the two games against Edina, he had seven goals and one assist and then three goals and three assists, respectively.

-In the state semifinals, he had five goals and three assists. In the state championship game, he scored a hat trick.

“He was so consistent, but he was huge in big games,” Minnetonka Coach Aaron Olivier said.

Carbonneau, who earned U.S. Lacrosse All-American honors, finished the season with 49 goals and 29 assists. Perhaps most impressive was the efficiency with which he scored – 47 percent of his shots found the back of the net.

“And in some games,” Olivier said, “he’d literally go seven goals on eight shots....He was the best finisher and attackman in close in the state.”

In addition to his ability to finish, Carbonneau had a knack for getting in the right place at the right time.

“He didn’t create his own shots, but he always found the soft spot to be able to put himself in position to get a goal,” Olivier said. “His field sense was almost (Wayne) Gretzky-esque. He could see how a play was developing and be in the right position two passes before the play.”

Carbonneau, also a standout hockey player, came up to the varsity lacrosse team as a sophomore. And “it really started to click for him,” Olivier said, as a junior.

“You saw signs of where he was going to go,” Olivier said. “But I don’t think anyone expected what he did this year.”

Especially in the biggest games.