2011 minnesota high school boys' hockey state tournament guide

Class A

Rochester Lourdes Breck New Ulm Hermantown Alexandria Hibbing/Chisholm Thief River Falls

Class AA

Lakeville North Edina Eagan White Bear Lake Blaine Duluth East Moorhead

Welcome to the 2011 State High School Hockey Tournament!

Eden Prairie

St. Thomas Academy

State

Tournament

Guidebook

The complete

March 9-12, 2011

Sixteen teams hit the X this week attempting to win state titles; Eden Prairie and St. Thomas Academy earn top seeds

You hold in your hands the mostcomprehensive guide to the teamsinvolved in this yearʼs tournament. Itwas published through the efforts ofthe Minnesota Hockey Hubʼs editors,writers and contributors, all of whomare partners with the Minnesota HockeyCoaches Association (MHCA).

Class AA team capsules are locatedin the first half of the guide, followed byboth the Class AA and Class A bracketsin the guideʼs center and the Class Ateam capsules in the last half of theguide. Each team capsule includesbasic information about the program,statistics of each teamʼs leadingscorers and goaltenders, full rosters,coachʼs corner, the “Road to the X,”and a scouting report on each teamwith pictures.

Minnesota Hockey Hub editor LorenNelson wrote roughly one third of theClass AA and Class A capsules. Youʼllrecognize his style as the man with hisfinger on the pulse of Minnesota highschool hockey.

Another third wastackled by

Minnesota Hockey Hub contributorMichael Murakami, who brings hisunique brand of knowledge andanalysis to the Metro area.

Tim Kolehmainen, editor ofBreakdown Sports USA and a frequentMinnesota Hockey Hub contributor,compiled the other third of the Class Aand AA capsules, as well as teamingwith Helen Nelson and Adam Crane toprovide all the photos in the guide.

There are plenty of old favorites inthis yearʼs tournament, with defendingchampions from Edina in Class AA andBreck in Class A teaming for numerousappearances -- and titles. But there arealso unfamiliar faces, programs thathave been to St. Paul before, but arenʼtnearly as frequent guests such asEagan and Thief River Falls.

Class A action begins the four-daycelebration at the Xcel Energy Center inSt. Paul. Second-seeded Hermantown(23-3-2) plays Alexandria (12-15-1) at 11a.m. Wednesday, March 9, followed byNo. 3 Rochester Lourdes (24-3-1)against Hibbing/Chisholm (17-9-2). Theevening session kicks off at 6 p.m. withNo. 1 St. Thomas Academy (22-6-0)taking on New Ulm (21-4-2), followed bytwo-time defending champion and No.4 Breck (20-8-0) against Thief RiverFalls (19-8-1).

The Class AA tournament opens thenext morning (Thursday, March 10) at11 a.m. with defending champion andNo. 2 Edina (18-7-2) against Blaine (20-4-4). At 1 p.m., No. 3 Duluth East(22-5-0) faces White Bear Lake (21-5-2).In the evening, top-seeded EdenPrairie (21-5-2) gets itstournament underway against

Lakeville North (13-14-1) at 6 p.m.The 8 p.m. game features No. 4

Eagan (17-6-2) and Moorhead (18-7-2)squaring off.

The Minnesota Hockey Hub will beyour complete home of the MinnesotaHigh School Hockey tournament. Weare pleased to announce that we willfeature our live in-game scoring andwill also offer audio play-by-playthroughout the tournament, featuringPete Waggoner and the great crew atthe Overtime Sports Network.

Please accept this invitation to joinus this week as along with our partnerswe will bring you the most up-to-dateand professional coverage of thegreatest event in high school sportsfrom the Xcel Energy Center.

Thank you for viewing our site thisseason, as it has been a success. Welook forward to seeing you all backnext winter!

-- Tim Kolehmainen, Editor,Breakdown Sports USA

-- Loren Nelson, Editor, MinnesotaHockey Hub

Eden Prairie’s Dan Molenaar

St. Thomas Academy’sGrant Sattler

The Minnesota Hockey Hub presents

Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 7 Eden Prairie 4-7 LDec. 9 at Eastview 3-5 LDec. 16 at Prior Lake 8-4 WDec. 18 Eagan 2-1 WDec. 21 Rochester Century 6-1 WDec. 23 at Rochester Mayo 3-1 WDec. 28 Virginia (Tourney) 3-4 LDec. 29 Grand Rpds (Tourney)2-2 TDec. 30 Hibbing (Tourney) 6-2 WJan. 4 Wayzata 1-5 LJan. 6 at Bloom. Kennedy 9-1 WJan. 8 at Burnsville 1-6 LJan. 10 Bloom. Jefferson 2-7 LJan. 13 Lakeville South 2-7 LJan. 15 at Rosemount 2-3 LJan. 20 Eastview 3-1 WJan. 22 at Bloom. Jefferson 5-8 LJan. 27 Prior Lake 9-2 WJan. 29 at Eagan 2-5 LFeb. 3 at Apple Valley 3-4 LFeb. 5 Bloom. Kennedy 1-0 WFeb. 10 Burnsville 0-6 LFeb. 12 at Lakeville South 1-6 LFeb. 17 Apple Valley 1-4 LFeb. 19 Rosemount 5-0 W

Section 1AA playoffsFeb. 24 Owatonna 7-1 WFeb. 26 Rochester Century 7-0 WMar. 4 Lakeville South 2-1 W

Charlie Lindgren

LAKEVILLE NORTHPanthers

Coach’s Corner

Randy Schmitz is in his 23rd yearof coaching at Lakeville North --previously LakevilleHS before the school split in2005 with the establishment ofLakeville South. Schmitzhas had a memorable tenurewith the Panthers, but perhapsnothing is more specialthan the past nine years withthe program as he makes hissixth state tournamentappearance -- his third withNorth -- since 2002.

Program info

Nickname: PanthersConference: South SuburbanSection: 1AARecord: 13-14-1State trips: 2002, 03, 04 (asLakeville), 2006, 10, 11Coach: Randy Schmitz

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsBlake Winiecki 25 25 50Charlie Hayes 15 12 27Ben Counters 18 8 26Gordon Kappers 8 17 25Johnny Domina 10 13 23Shaun Reinhardt 2 13 15Evan Peterson 6 9 15Conner Hyden 4 6 10Tristan Hazlett 6 5 11Jack Diercks 2 9 11

Goalies W-L-T GA SVChas Lindgren 11-9-1 2.85 .914Jake Anderson 2-5-0 4.23 .862

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Charlie Lindgren G 114 Jack Diercks F 105 Tristan Hazlett F 97 Tory Merz D 128 Charlie Hayes F 119 Gordon Kappers F 1210 Erik Rutt D 1011 Mitch Erdman F 1112 Conner Hyden F 915 Sam Petrick F 1016 Alex Wood D 1017 Johnny Domina F 1219 Ben Counters F 1222 Shaun Reinhardt D 1223 Ramsey Skjei F 1224 Blake Winiecki F 1126 Evan Peterson F 1131 Jake Anderson G 1032 Connor Eichmann D 10

Can they win?

Look no farther than the man in-between the pipes for LakevilleNorth to be the game changer.Junior goaltender Charlie Lind-gren has shown throughout hishigh school career that he canshut down -- and even shut out -- some of the state’s most pow-erful offenses. The Panthers willneed three big games out ofLindgren if they want the 2011title.

-- Michael Murakami

By Michael Murakami

Lakeville North continues toprove that anything is possiblewith great goaltending --

including advancing to the statetournament.

For the second consecutive year inthe Section 1AA championship game,the Panthers upset Lakeville Souththanks to another stellar performanceby junior goaltender Charlie Lindgren.

"It was a game where everythingwent my way and itwas probably the mostfun game I've everplayed in," Lindgrensaid followingLakeville Northʼs 2-1,triple overtime victory.

During 76 minutes,25 seconds of nerve-wracking game time,Lindgren made 51saves for the Panthers.

“It was great,”Lakeville North coachRandy Schmitz said.“It was exciting, tense,dramatic -- it was aroller coaster ofemotion.”

Not necessarily ahigh-scoring team, Lakeville Northnetted a total of 100 goals in theregular season and sectiontournament. However, the Panthershave shown their offense kicks thingsup a notch when their goaltender isred hot.

“We were playing better as the gamewent on,” Schmitz said about histeamʼs determination in the title game.“We always say, ʻplay 51 minutes,plusʼ -- we needed the ʻplusʼ in thatgame.”

Lakeville Northʼs effort advances theteam to its third state tournamentappearance -- the Panthers alsoparticipated in the 2006 and 2010tournaments.

“Itʼs one of the premier sportingevents in the country,” Schmitz said.“Itʼs a dream come true.”

While advancing to the statetournament is always a majoraccomplishment, Lakeville North hashistorically struggled once there withan all-time record of 0-4-0.

Surrendering a total of 21 goals inthose four tournament losses,Lakeville Northʼs fate in 2011 is likelyto fall onto the shoulders of Lindgren

who has posted an11-9-1 record (2.85GAA, .914 savepercentage).

“We want to stickaround a coupleextra days this year,”Schmitz said. “Wewant to play well andwin.”

Leading thePanthersʼ offense arejunior forwards BlakeWiniecki (25-25-50)and Charlie Hayes(15-12-27) as well assenior Ben Counters(18-8-26). Only onedefenseman -- seniorShaun Reinhardt (2-

13-15) -- is in double digits in points.

Lakeville North will meet top-seededEden Prairie in the quarterfinals at 6p.m. Thursday, March 10, at the XcelEnergy Center in St. Paul.

Regardless of the gameʼs outcome,Schmitz expressed the main goal ofthe week is to ensure the players havea positive experience.

“You represent your section andyouʼre community,” Schmitz saidabout playing in the tournament.“Weʼre going to do everything we canto make sure weʼre prepared.”

Junior forward Blake Winiecki


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreNov. 26 Buffalo 6-1 WNov. 27 Wayzata 2-3 LDec. 2 Burnsville 5-4 WDec. 4 Eagan 7-6 WDec. 16 Grand Rapids 1-2 LDec. 17 Elk River 4-1 WDec. 18 Eden Prairie 3-2 WDec. 29 Duluth East (Schwan) 4-3 WDec. 30 Hill-Murray (Schwan) 3-3 TDec. 31 Blaine (Schwan) 2-2 TJan. 4 St. Louis Park 14-2 WJan. 7 at Holy Angels 5-4 WJan. 11 at Benilde-SM 5-4 WJan. 20 Wayzata 4-5 LJan. 22 Minnetonka 1-4 LJan. 25 at Cretin-DH 2-3 LJan. 27 Hopkins 10-1 WJan. 29 Totino-Grace 5-0 WFeb. 3 at Eden Prairie 3-0 WFeb. 5 at Wayzata 1-2 LFeb. 10 at Minnetonka 4-2 WFeb. 12 at Hopkins 2-0 WFeb. 17 at Buffalo 8-2 WFeb. 19 Eden Prairie 5-4 W

Section 2AA playoffsFeb. 24 Bloom. Kennedy 8-1 WFeb. 26 Prior Lake 5-0 WMar. 2 Burnsville 3-2 W

Max Everson

EDINAHornets

Coach’s Corner

Curt Giles, a former defensemanwith the Minnesota North Stars,has two other former NHLers onhis staff in Dave Langevin, whowon four Stanley Cups with theNew York Islanders, and DonBeaupre, a former North Starsgoaltender. That’s a lot of experi-ence behind the bench for theHornets, who won the Class AAtitle a year ago.

Program info

Nickname: HornetsConference: LakeSection: 2AARecord: 18-7-2State trips: 1973, 74 Champs,77, 78 Champs, 79 Champs (asEast), 81 (as West), 1955, 56, 57,60, 62, 67, 68, 69 Champs, 70, 71Champs, 72, 82 Champs, 83, 84Champs, 87, 88 Champs, 89, 95,96, 97 Champs, 98, 2000, 07, 08,09, 10 Champs, 11Coach: Curt Giles

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsSteven Fogarty 25 22 47Michael Sit 13 25 38Ben Walker 18 14 32Jake Sampson 11 16 27Lou Nanne 12 13 25Max Everson 4 19 23Jon Cote 8 8 16

Goalies W-L-T GA SVConnor Girard 12-6-2 2.60 .894Alex Nelson 6-1-0 1.57 .910

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Connor Girard G 123 Ben Ostlie D 124 Max Everson D 125 Joey Kopp F 126 Matt Nelson D 107 Chris Dietzler F 118 Jake Sampson F 119 Jon Cote F 1110 Andy Jordahl F 1011 Lou Nanne F 1014 Ben Walker F 1115 Ryan Hatch D 1016 Bo Brauer F 1017 Michael Sit F 1218 Nick Leer F 1119 Steven Fogarty F 1220 Mitch Pederson D 1120 Hayden Anderson F 1021 Brian Baker D 1124 Anthony Walsh F 1030 Alex Nelson G 12

Defendingchamps!

Can they win?

Most of the top players from theEdina’s state title team a yearago have returned, so there’s noreason to think the Hornets can’tmake a run. Few teams canmatch Edina’s depth, as the Hor-nets’ have scorers stashed on allthree of their forward lines.

-- Loren Nelson

By Loren Nelson

AEdina coach Curt Giles typicallydoesnʼt show a lot of emotion.

Regular season win? Ho hum.

Regular season loss? Same reaction.

Gilesʼ even-keel demeanor is reflectedin his team, which typically turns in aconsistent, workmanlike performancenight after night.

Then comes the playoffs.

After the Hornetsbeat Burnsville for theSection 2AA title and afifth straight trip to thestate tournament,Giles was asked if theexcitement everdiminishes for a teamthat goes to the statetournament year afteryear.

Giles, in hisresponse, lit up withemotion. At least byGilesʼ standards.

“This time of theyear is unbelievable inhigh school hockey,”Giles said with a bigsmile. “If you donʼt getexcited at this time ofthe year, you donʼt have a pulse.”

A year ago, after a ho-hum regularseason, the Hornets found another gearin the section playoffs, then downshiftedagain at the state tournament. They wonthe state Class 2A title with a 4-2 triumphover Minnetonka, the stateʼs No. 1-ranked team for most of the season.

The Hornets could very well be on thesame trajectory this year. No. 2-seededEdina (18-7-2) plays unseeded Blaine(20-4-4) at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March10, in the opening round of the stateClass 2A tournament at the Xcel EnergyCenter in St. Paul.

Edina suffered three straight losses inwhat has become an annual Januaryswoon. The Hornets then finished fourthin the five-team Lake Conference with a4-4-0 record.

Not to worry. Itʼs the postseason thatmatters for a program that has wonseven state titles, 10 if you include thethree won by Edina East when the townhad two high schools.

“You donʼt want to let the city down,”said Hornets senior Jake Sampson, whoscored the winner in the closing minutesagainst Burnsville. “Every practice,every day you look at (the championshipbanners at Edinaʼs Braemar Arena). Andyou just say you want to be a part of it.

“Last year was great, and we just wantto do it again.”

The Hornets returnmost of the keycomponents from lastyearʼs championshipteam.

Senior goaltenderConnor Girard, whowas outstanding duringlast yearʼs stretch run,has a 12-6-2 record,2.60 goals-againstaverage and .894 savepercentage headinginto the statetournament.

Senior defensemanMax Everson, who bothdislocated and broke abone in his wrist in a

Feb. 10 triumph over Minnetonka, isnʼt atfull strength but is back in the Hornetsʼlineup and fully capable of playing ashutdown role. Everson, one of 10 Mr.Hockey finalists, has commited to playat Harvard next season.

Another Mr. Hockey finalist, seniorforward Steven Fogarty, gives theHornets a game-breaking offensivethreat. He has 25 goals and 47 points,both team highs.

Edinaʼs players, like their coach, areeager for what lies ahead.

“Iʼve played with these guys for 12years, and you donʼt want it to be yourlast game,” Sampson said. “You lovethem to death and would do anything forthem. You just want to keep playing withthem.”

Junior forward Ben Walker


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 2 Prior Lake 9-1 WDec. 4 at Edina 6-7 LDec. 9 at Burnsville 2-2 TDec. 16 Lakeville South 4-0 WDec. 18 at Lakeville North 1-2 LDec. 22 Eden Prairie 4-2 WDec. 27 North St. Paul (SSP) 7-0 WDec. 28 Woodbury (SSP) 5-1 WDec. 29 South St. Paul (SSP) 4-1 WJan. 4 Minnetonka 2-4 LJan. 6 Apple Valley 4-2 WJan. 8 Eastview 7-0 WJan. 11 at Hastings 7-3 WJan. 13 Bloom. Kennedy 10-0 WJan. 15 at Bloom. Jefferson 2-3 LJan. 20 Burnsville 6-7 LJan. 22 at Prior Lake 3-1 WJan. 27 at Lakeville South 10-0 WJan. 29 Lakeville North 5-2 WFeb. 3 Rosemount 7-0 WFeb. 5 at Apple Valley 3-3 TFeb. 10 at Eastview 4-2 WFeb. 12 at Bloom. Kennedy 12-1 WFeb. 17 at Rosemount 11-3 WFeb. 19 Bloom. Jefferson 2-3 L

Section 3AA playoffsFeb. 24 Park of Cottage Grv 5-0 WFeb. 26 Hastings 5-2 WMar. 3 Apple Valley 1-0 W

By Loren Nelson

Eagan is all set up for thecommonplace -- and deadly --“just happy to be there” trip to

the state tournament.

The Wildcats spent an entire yearprepping for one night, then turned in aperformance for the ages as they beatApple Valley 1-0 in the Section 3AAchampionship game.

“The last year?” said Eagan coach,Mike Taylor, taking exception to the 12-month timeframe that went into theWildcatsʼ win over Apple Valley. “Theydidnʼt just lose to Apple Valley (in thesection semifinals)last year, they lost tothem in Bantams, theylost to them in Peewees. ...”

The Wildcats nowfind themselves in thestate Class 2Atournament for thefirst time since 2006,Eaganʼs only otherappearance.

No. 4-seeded Eagan(20-6-2) opens againstunseeded Moorhead(18-7-2) in an 8 p.m.quarterfinal onThursday, March 10,at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The singular-focused Wildcats,admittedly, hadnʼt thought much aboutwhat they would do if they got pastApple Valley.

“Yes,” Taylor said when asked about apost-section championship hangoverextending all the way to St. Paul. “Firstgive them a day to have fun with it, thenweʼll give them a day off. Then weʼllcrack the whip and let them know weainʼt going there just to eat atCossettaʼs.

“Weʼre not going down there just forthe garlic.”

For the uninitiated, Cossettaʼs is theItalian market and pizzeria just across7th Street from the Xcel Energy Center.While the Wildcats might very well do

some carbo-loading there during thetournament, Taylorʼs point is well taken.

Moorhead must become the newsingular focus. Instead of seeingeverything as Apple Valley brown, theview now becomes Moorhead orange.

Most of the Eaganʼs top players,including leading scorers Michael Zajacand Will Merchant, are juniors.

“They are juniors who played all theirsophomore year,” Taylor said. “Morethan anything, they have a passion forthe game and very tight bond for each

other. Thatʼs what setsthem apart.”

Zajac, Eaganʼs leadingscorer with 24 goals and32 assists in 28 games,embraced a defensiverole against AppleValley. He clampeddown on Eaglessophomore star HudsonFasching and was oneof the reasons thequality chances allowedon Wildcats seniorgoaltender TommyBodeker was limited to amere handful.

“Thatʼs probably thebest game Iʼve seen our

team play all year,” Bodeker said.

Eagan, ranked No. 10 in the state inClass 2A for most of the final month ofthe season, beat Section 6AA championEden Prairie 4-2, lost to Section 2AAchampion Edina in a 7-6 shootout andsplit with Section 1AA championLakeville North, losing the first meeting2-1 and winning the rematch 5-2.

“They have as good a chance asanybody,” Apple Valley coach JerryHayes said. “They are big, they arestrong, they have good D who aremobile and can move the puck. Theyhave forwards who can finish.

“I wouldnʼt be shocked to see themplaying on Saturday night.” Will Merchant

EAGANWildcats

Coach’s Corner

Mike Taylor sold the Wildcats ona defense-first scheme againstApple Valley, and the strategypaid off in the form of a 1-0 tri-umph in the section titlegame.Now he must find a way to rampup his players for the rigors ofthe state tournament, not allow-ing them to get awestruck bythe state’s biggest stage.

Program info

Nickname: WildcatsConference: South SuburbanSection: 3AARecord: 20-6-2State trips: 2006, 11Coach: Mike Taylor

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsMichael Zajac 24 32 56Will Merchant 31 22 53Nick Kuchera 12 30 42Sam Wolfe 10 21 31Eli May 10 17 27John Carroll 14 15 29Brady Loew 8 15 23Kyle Bonstrom 7 14 21Cody Mason 2 15 17Connor McGovern 4 11 15Derick Kuchera 5 6 11Ryan Nelson 7 3 10Eric Peterson 4 5 9Cullen Willox 2 4 6

Goalies W-L-T GA SVTom Bodeker 14-6-2 2.01 .894Al Cimochowski 6-0-0 1.23 .919

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr3 Nick Kuchera F 114 Derick Kuchera D 115 Cody Mason F 116 Matt Yetzer D 127 Cullen Willox F 108 John Carroll F 129 Connor McGovern F 1110 Sam Wolfe D 1112 Ryan Nelson F 1214 Eli May D 1115 Kyle Bonstrom F 1216 Michael Zajac F 1119 Brady Loew F 1220 Tommy Nowariak F 1122 Eric Peterson F 1123 Will Peterson D 1024 Will Merchant F 1127 Zach Glienke F 1030 Alex Cimochowski G 1233 Tommy Bodeker G 12

Can they win?

Eagan has the top-end talent tocompete with anyone, as itproved during the regular sea-son with a win over Eden Prairie.A deep run, however, usually re-quires depth and big-game ex-perience, two areas where theWildcats could fall short.

-- Loren Nelson

Junior forward Nick Kuchera


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreNov. 27 Rochester Century 11-0 WNov. 30 Hastings 2-1 WDec. 7 at Woodbury 8-1 WDec. 10 Duluth East 2-5 LDec. 16 East Ridge 5-2 WDec. 18 Cretin-Derham Hall 7-1 WDec. 23 Hill-Murray 0-3 LDec. 29 Blaine (Schwan) 0-3 LDec. 30 St. Thomas (Schwan) 1-2 LDec. 31 Breck (Schwan) 2-1 WJan. 6 at Stillwater 5-1 WJan. 8 at Mounds View 3-3 TJan. 13 Forest Lake 7-3 WJan. 15 at Roseville 5-3 WJan. 20 at Hastings 4-3 WJan. 22 Woodbury 4-2 WJan. 27 at Park 4-1 WJan. 29 at East Ridge 3-2 WFeb. 3 Mounds View 6-0 WFeb. 5 Stillwater 3-4 LFeb. 10 at Cretin-Derham Hall4-4 TFeb. 12 at Forest Lake 4-3 WFeb. 15 Park 7-0 WFeb. 17 Roseville 1-0 WFeb. 18 Cloquet-E-C 7-2 W

Section 4AA playoffsFeb. 26 Mounds View 4-1 WMar. 2 Stillwater 3-2 WMar. 4 Hill-Murray 5-4 W

By Loren Nelson

Brandon Wahlin was first out ofthe locker room. He had hishockey bag slung over his

shoulder and immense satisfaction onhis face.

Happy, but exhausted.

The White Bear Lake senior co-captainhad, after all, just played into doubleovertime against arch rival and No. 1-ranked Hill-Murray in the Section 4AAchampionship game at the StateFairgrounds Coliseum.

The Bears beat thePioneers 5-4, ending a14-game winless skid totheir northeastsuburban rivals datingto 2004.

As Wahlin talked toreporters in theColiseum concourse,White Bear Lake fanscheered in thebackround. The chaoticscene set up perfectlyfor Wahlin to yell, postSuper Bowl style, “Iʼmgoing to Disney World!”

Except this isMinnesota high schoolhockey, and thereʼs nobetter Marchdestination than thestate tournament at the Xcel EnergyCenter in St. Paul.

“It was just like a burden has beentaken off our shoulders,” Wahlin saidabout the victory, which also snappedHill-Murrayʼs six-game playoff win streakover the Bears. “It means the world toour whole town. People are going to begoing nuts tonight.”

The party wonʼt last long. As Wahlinpointed out, White Bear Lake has yetanother gorilla sitting squarely atop itsshoulder.

The Bears, amazingly, have gone 0-for-17 in the opening round of the statetournament going back to their firstappearance in 1945.

Unseeded White Bear Lake (21-5-2)

plays No. 3 Duluth East in (22-5-0) in a 1p.m. state Class 2A quarterfinal matchupon Thursday, March, 10, at the XcelEnergy Center in St. Paul.

Duluth East beat White Bear Lake 5-2on Friday, Dec. 10, at the Vadnais HeightsSports Center.

“We have got to look forward,” Wahlinsaid. “We have to get past that 17 first-round losses in the state tournament.”

Itʼs an encouraging sign for the Bearsthat Wahlin, one of their inspirationalleaders, wasnʼt merely satisfied with

pulling off one of thebiggest upsets inrecent section playoffhistory. After all, itʼseasy to forget the 1980“Miracle” USA hockeyteam still had to beatFinland for the goldmedal after stunningthe great Soviet Unionjuggernaut.

Before heading intothe second overtimeagainst Hill-Murray, theBears were sprawledon their locker roomfloor.

“We lifted our legs inthe air to get the lacticacid out,” said Wahlin,who leads the Bears

with 58 points.

How much can White Bear Lake haveleft, physically and emotionally, in thetank? How many more tricks do theyhave stuffed in their jerseys? How manymore streaks can they end?

To re-energize for the state tournament,the plan is to try another go-to technique.

“Our coach always makes us drinkchocolate milk,” senior Mac Jansen, theBearsʼ goal-scoring leader with 35 in 28games.

Beyond the beverages, thereʼs nosubstitute for hard work.

“Weʼll come back Monday and have anice hard practice, sweat a little … andgo from there,” Jansen said.

Garen David

WHITE BEAR LAKEBears

Coach’s Corner

Tim Sager, who has a 172-70-12record in nine years at WhiteBear Lake, made all the rightmoves in the Bears' stirringupset against Hill-Murray, em-ploying a five-man neutral zonetrap that at times befuddled thetop-ranked Pioneers. In thelocker room, he kept the moodlight and loose by inserting a setof gag false teeth before givinghis "inspirational" speeches.

Program info

Nickname: BearsConference: Suburban EastSection: 4AARecord: 21-5-2State trips: 1945, 46, 49, 51, 56,66, 67, 70, 82, 89, 90, 94, 95, 96,98, 2001, 03, 05, 11Coach: Tim Sager

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsBrandon Wahlin 29 29 58Mac Jansen 35 15 50Max Birkinbine 18 18 36Mitch Morrisette 6 12 18R.J. Majkozak 0 15 15Jack Morrisette 3 12 15Garen David 7 7 14Mike Abrahamson 7 4 11Sam Basich 5 6 11Matt Glasgow 3 7 10

Goalies W-L-T GA SVJared Schletty 16-3-2 1.91 .909Michael Jordan 5-2-0 2.38 .887

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr3 Ben Clark D 126 Mike Abrahamson F 118 Lance Carney D 109 Garen David F 1211 Jon Predergast F 1212 Jack Morrisette D 1113 Mac Jansen F 1215 Sam Basich F 1216 Ben Wilke F 1019 Mitch Morrisette F 1120 Brandon Wahlin F 1221 Max Birkinbine F 1222 R.J. Majkozak D 1123 Matt Glasgow F 1224 Brandon Baker D 1228 Austin McDonald F 1129 Gavin Dehnert D 1231 Jared Schletty G 1133 Michael Jordan G 1240 Josh Bartness F 11

Can they win?

The Bears won the SuburbanEast Conference championship,have 21 victories and a confi-dence-boosting win over No. 1-ranked Hill-Murray notched intheir sticks. This is a quality teamthat can beat anyone on any-given night, as they proved inthe Section 4AA title game.

-- Loren Nelson

Junior goaltender Jared Schletty


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 3 Roseau 6-3 WDec. 4 at Willmar 6-4 WDec. 9 at Maple Grove 2-2 TDec. 16 at Osseo 4-0 WDec. 18 North Metro 10-1 WDec. 21 at Anoka 4-3 WDec. 23 at Minnetonka 3-3 TDec. 29 Wht Bear Lk (Schwan)3-0 WDec. 30 Minnetonka (Schwan)3-4 LDec. 31 Edina (Schwan) 2-2 TJan. 4 Champlin Park 1-3 LJan. 6 Andover 6-0 WJan. 13 Robb. Armstrong 4-0 WJan. 15 at Centennial 0-5 LJan. 17 Elk River 6-1 WJan. 20 Coon Rapids 4-2 WJan. 22 at Champlin Park 7-0 WJan. 27 Maple Grove 2-4 LJan. 29 at Elk River 4-3 WFeb. 3 Osseo 4-1 WFeb. 5 Duluth East 3-2 WFeb. 8 at Andover 4-2 WFeb. 10 Anoka 6-3 WFeb. 17 at Robb. Armstrong 3-3 TFeb. 19 Centennial 3-1 W

Section 5AA playoffsFeb. 24 Coon Rapids 4-1 WMar. 1 Osseo 4-2 WMar. 4 Maple Grove 4-3 W

By Loren Nelson

Mr. Hockey Nick Bjugstad isgone. This is JonnyBrodzinskiʼs team now.

Sure, Blaine has other go-to guys.Briggs Fussy scored some clutch goalsin the section playoffs. Nick Malvinmight as well carry a trowel and mortarbucket rather than a goalie stick the wayheʼs stonewalled opposing teams allseason. Sophomore defensemanMichael Brodzinski has much of thesame game-changing ability as his olderbrother.

But the Bengals goas Jonny goes, and theBengals are going tothe state Class 2Atournament for thesixth consecutiveseason.

Unseeded Blaine (20-4-4) plays No. 2 seedEdina (18-7-2) at 11a.m. on Thursday,March 10, in the statetournamentquarterfinals at theXcel Energy Center inSt. Paul.

“It was supposed tobe Maple Groveʼsyear,” JonnyBrodzinski said after the Bengalsupended the top-seeded Crimson inovertime in the Section 5AA final. “Westripped it from them. Nice.”

Brodzinski, a senior forward and Mr.Hockey finalist receiving heavy DivisionI interest, has scored 28 goals andadded 29 assists for 57 points in 28games. He put up those numbersdespite receiving extra attention frommost every opponent, much likeBjugstad, now starring for the Universityof Minnesota, did last season.

As a right wing on a line centered byBjugstad last season, there werenʼt a lotof layers to Brodzinskiʼs role.

“My job was to get Bjugstad thepuck,” he said.

This year Brodzinski knows much

more will be expected of him at the statetournament. No one expects more out ofBrodzinski than Brodzinski.

“I have to compete more,” he said. “Ihave to put up a bunch of pointsbecause I know Iʼm the go-to guy. I needto start playing more physical, and Ineed to be more of a key guy out there.”

During Blaineʼs section title gamevictory, a Maple Grove player was ruledto have closed his hand on the puck inthe Crimson crease. The Bengals wereawarded a penalty shot. Blaine coach

Dave Aus had his pickof players to send onthe ice.

Brodzinski, naturally,was the selection.

Brodzinski tried tofire the puck betweenRyan Coyneʼs leg pads,but the Crimson goaliecalmly turned the puckaway.

What could havebeen an emotionaldrain for the Bengalswas, in fact, no bigdeal.

“He doesnʼt really getdown when he missesthose kinds of things,”Michael Brodzinski said

about his brother. “He just gets the nextgoal and turns the game around.”

After riding Bjugstadʼs scoringthrough two tough section semifinal andfinal games last season, the Bengalsappeared to be running on empty at thestate tournament, when they were upsetby Apple Valley 2-0 in the quarterfinals,then lost to Roseau 7-5 in theconsolation round.

Aus said he expects most observerswill predict a similar fate for Blaine thistime around.

“Weʼre not going to be seeded,” Aussaid after winning the section title.“Weʼre not going to get any respect. Iwouldnʼt count us out against anybody.”

Jonny Brodzinski

BLAINEBengals

Coach’s Corner

“For me, personally, this is thebiggest win I’ve ever had atBlaine, bar none,” Dave Aus saidafter the Bengals knocked offNo. 4 ranked Maple Grove in theSection 5AA title game. Ausmight have had his best seasonas a coach, considering this wassupposed to be a “down” year forBlaine. He’s guided the Bengalsto six straight section champi-onships, quite an accomplish-ment with the turnover in highschool rosters.

Program info

Nickname: BengalsConference: NW SuburbanSection: 5AARecord: 20-4-4State trips: 1992, 96, 99, 2000Champs, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11Coach: Dave Aus

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsJonny Brodzinski 28 29 57Dylan Lambert 13 29 42Michael Brodzinski 13 17 30Jesse Norling 12 15 27Briggs Fussy 12 14 26Gunnar Meger 6 10 16Tyler Cline 5 8 13Mikey Cameron 3 9 12Drew Mezzano 5 5 10Scott LeMire 3 7 10Joey Vegel 6 3 9Dalton Nowicki 2 5 7Ian Scheid 0 6 6Alex Copa 1 5 6

Goalies W-L-T GA SVNick Malvin 17-4-4 1.87 .931

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr2 Mac Nadeau F 105 Dan Kremer F 126 Scott LeMire F 119 Zach Stevens D 1211 Alex Copa D 912 Dalton Nowicki D 1113 Gunnar Meger F 1216 Joey Vegel F 1120 Michael Brodzinski D/F 1021 Mikey Cameron D 1222 Jonny Brodzinski F 1223 Jesse Norling F 1025 Dylan Lambert F 1126 Tyler Cline F 930 Mitch Swanson G 1232 Nick Malvin G 1133 Briggs Fussy F 1238 Forrest Callahan F 1239 Ian Scheid D 9

Can they win?

The Bengals have a hot goalie inNick Malvin, two game-chang-ers in the Brodzinski brothers,Michael and Jonny, and a solidsupporting cast. That wasenough to get through the sec-tion playoffs, and with a fewbreaks Blaine might push all theway to the championship.

-- Loren Nelson

Junior goaltender Nick Malvin


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 2 Apple Valley 6-3 WDec. 4 at Bloom. Jefferson 8-1 WDec. 7 at Lakeville North 7-4 WDec. 16 Elk River 7-0 WDec. 17 Grand Rapids 9-5 WDec. 18 Edina 2-3 LDec. 22 at Eagan 2-4 LDec. 28 Benilde (Classic) 8-5 WDec. 29 Maple Grove (Classic) 6-0 WDec. 30 Moorhead (Classic) 4-0 WJan. 6 at Hill-Murray 2-1 WJan. 11 at Burnsville 4-2 WJan. 15 at Duluth East 3-4 LJan. 20 Holy Angels 3-5 LJan. 22 at Wayzata 3-3 TJan. 25 Lakeville South 9-5 WJan. 27 Minnetonka 4-2 WJan. 29 at Hopkins 12-2 WFeb. 1 Hermantown 5-4 WFeb. 3 Edina 0-3 LFeb. 5 Buffalo 6-0 WFeb. 10 Wayzata 4-3 WFeb. 12 at Minnetonka 3-3 TFeb. 17 Hopkins 9-3 WFeb. 19 at Edina 5-4 W

Section 6AA playoffsFeb. 24 Minneapolis 8-1 WFeb. 26 Minnetonka 4-0 WMar. 2 Wayzata 4-3 W

Dan Molenaar

EDEN PRAIRIEEagles

Coach’s Corner

Lee Smith has a 343-124-25 in18 seasons. His best work mighthave come in the offseason,when he loaded up the Eagles’nonconference schedule withtraditional state powerhousessuch as Duluth East and Hill-Murray in anticipation of a deepplayoff run.

Program info

Nickname: EaglesConference: LakeSection: 6AARecord: 21-5-2State trips: 1992, 99, 2001, 03,09 Champs, 11Coach: Lee Smith

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsKyle Rau 36 38 74Luc Gerdes 27 26 53David Rath 20 26 46Nick Seeler 7 30 37Mark Rath 16 17 33Des Shavlik 14 13 27Dan Molenaar 6 20 26Jack McCartan 5 11 16Andrew Knudsen 2 9 11Curt Rau 3 8 11Joe Kerker 3 8 11Luke Sudman 0 9 9

Goalies W-L-T GA SVAndrew Ford 16-4-2 2.49 .893Patrick Heiller 5-1-0 2.34 .865

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Patrick Heller G 124 Andrew Knudsen F 105 Mark Rath F 126 Brad Boldenow F 117 Kyle Rau F 129 Chad Dahlquist F 1110 Curt Rau D 1211 Nick Seeler D 1212 Des Shavlik F 1215 Joe Kerker D 1217 Dan Molenaar D 1220 Mason Bergh F 1021 Jack McCartan F 1223 Daniel Thayer F 1124 Ben Boldenow F 1225 David Rath F 1227 Luke Sudman D 1128 Luc Gerdes F 1229 Andrew Ford G 12

By Loren Nelson

Dan Molenaar remembers sittingin a Target Center locker room,wondering where it all went

wrong.

“The disappointment was justunbearable,” Molenaar, an Eden Prairiesenior, said about last seasonʼs loss toMinnetonka in the Section 6AAchampionship game. “We were going todo whatever it took to win anotherchampionship.”

Two seasons ago,Eden Prairie won thestate Class 2Achampionship with anastounding 10sophomores in thelineup.

Molenaar said theidea back then was tomake a run at threestraight titles, tocarve Eden Prairieamong the list of thestateʼs greatdynasties.

The harsh reality ofthat humbling 7-2section title gameloss to Minnetonkaforced the Eagles torethink everything. Tocome up with a new long-range plan.

“This year we opened up our eyesand saw that it is not going to comejust because we are an Eagle,” seniorMr. Hockey finalist and University ofMinnesota recruit Kyle Rau said.

Top-seeded Eden Prairie (21-5-2)plays unseeded Lakeville North (13-14-1) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, inthe state Class 2A quarterfinals at theXcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Eden Prairie finished the regularseason ranked No. 2 in the state inClass 2A. The Eagles won the LakeConference title, outdueling west metropowerhouses Edina, Minnetonka andWayzata to win the stateʼs toughestleague.

As if their conference schedulewasnʼt tough enough, Eden Prairieplayed every team ranked in theHockey Hubʼs final top 10 rankings atleast once.

“We have a lot of confidence goingin,” said Molenaar, who is scheduled tohave surgery on both his hips two daysafter the conclusion of the statetournament.

Rau scored the winner in doubleovertime against Wayzata in theSection 6AA title game and has 36

goals and 38 assists in28 games. He recentlywas named the StarTribuneʼs Metro Playerof the Year and is theheavy favorite to benamed Mr. Hockey.

He gives the Eaglesan element few otherteams have, a goal-scorer who thrives inpressure situations.

“Some guys justhave that knack,” EdenPrairie coach Lee Smithsaid. “Neal Broten justhad that knack offinding the right areasto be in.

“(Rau) is just a greatkid. Heʼs a warrior. The guys all rallybehind him.”

Although 10 players return from EdenPairieʼs 2009 state championshipsquad, that team was led to the title bydefenseman Nick Leddy, who went onto be named Mr. Hockey and now playsfor the Chicago Blackhawks.

This version of the Eagles plays withan edge. Those sophomores are bigger,stronger and more mature. They havetasted the worst kind of defeat.

“We have the experience now,”Molenaar said, looking back to theirstate tournament experience two yearsago. “I think the first game, when wegot there, we were kind of in awe a littlebit.”

Can they win?

The better question for the Ea-gles is, “How can they bestopped?” This is a big, strong,fast, veteran team with a naturalborn sniper in Kyle Rau leadingthe way. Goaltender AndrewFord needs to be solid, not spec-tacular, for the Eagles to win thetitle.

-- Loren Nelson

Senior forward Kyle Rau


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 4 at Wayzata 1-2 LDec. 7 Andover 10-1 WDec. 9 Cambridge-Isanti 16-0 WDec. 10 at White Bear Lake 5-2 WDec. 14 at Centennial 5-1 WDec. 16 at Cloquet-E-C 4-0 WDec. 22 at Moorhead 6-0 WDec. 29 Edina (Schwan) 3-4 LDec. 30 Breck (Schwan) 5-2 WDec. 31 St. Thomas (Schwan) 4-2 WJan. 3 at Duluth Central 7-1 WJan. 11 at Anoka 5-1 WJan. 13 Grand Rapids 2-1 WJan. 15 Eden Prairie 4-3 WJan. 18 at Apple Valley 3-6 LJan. 22 St. Cloud Tech 4-2 WJan. 25 Forest Lake 5-0 WJan. 29 Maple Grove 1-3 LFeb. 1 Superior (WI) 8-3 WFeb. 5 at Blaine 2-3 LFeb. 8 Cloquet-E-C 8-1 WFeb. 12 Elk River 2-1 WFeb. 15 Hastings 12-2 WFeb. 19 at Tartan 6-0 W

Section 7AA playoffsFeb. 22 Cambridge-Isanti 11-0 WFeb. 26 Elk River 5-1 WMar. 3 Grand Rapids 2-1 W

By Tim Kolehmainen

Meirs Moore looks innocentenough. The Duluth Eastsophomore defenseman still

has a hint of youth about him, with eyesthat smile when he talks. Thereʼs noweariness or hardness in his face. Heseems harmless.

But to Grand Rapids, Moore wasdeadlier than any assassin.

As the clock wound down the finalminutes of the Section7AA final Thursdaynight, Moore and top-seeded Duluth Eastwatched their statetournament hopes tickaway. For almost 50minutes, theGreyhounds threweverything they had atGrand Rapidsgoaltender DomDeGuiseppi.

Nothing worked.

DeGuiseppi waslightning fast with 27saves, often flashing aquicker glove than aMichael Jackson dancenumber. His ʻtendingheld up a 1-0Thunderhawksʼ lead – and it appeared asif it might be enough to slay the ʻHounds.

But with just 1:30 remaining, Mooretook his best shot. He ripped a risingwrister from the point – over the slidingThunderhawksʼ forward, overDeGuiseppiʼs left shoulder and somehowinto the top corner.

The Greyhounds had new life.

“We werenʼt going to give up, whateverhappened,” said Moore.

Twenty-six seconds into overtime,Moore connected again. He found juniorJake Randolph in the corner with a bulletpass. Randolph quickly one-timed it toTrevor Olson in the slot and he slammedit home for the game-winner.

“We just had to keep plugging awayand find a way to get the puck in the net,”

said East coach Mike Randolph, who haswon 454 games in 23 seasons at East.“Thereʼs no quit in them.”

The game – and the game-winner –typified the season for the ʻHounds.Moore (6-22-28), the son of former DuluthEast and UMD fan favorite SkeeterMoore, is one of several solidsophomores who have made significantcontributions, including forwards ConnerValesano (13-12-25), Ryan Lundgren (7-12-19) and Alex Toscano. Freshman Phil

Beaulieu (3-7-10) is ablue line regular.

But in crunch time,the ʻHounds have moreoften that not looked totheir high-scoring firstline.

Randolph (27-35-62)and Olson (25-40-65)are on the ʻHounds topunit along with DomToninato (27-30-57),who is also the son of aformer UMD Bulldog,Jim Toninato fromBemidji. Scariest of allfor teams like GrandRapids – all three arejust juniors.

Their puck control isunparalleled and was

on display for much of the third periodand overtime against the Thunderhawks.Despite heavy minutes, the ʻHoundscontrolled play with the trio on the ice.

East also has a solid defensive corpswith Moore, Beaulieu, junior NateRepensky (4-26-30) and senior HunterBergerson (3-7-10).

Between the pipes, JoJo Jeanetta (16-4-0, 1.53, .923) will play in his thirdstraight state tournament when the third-seeded Greyhounds (22-5-0) open playwith White Bear Lake (21-5-2) at 1 p.m.Thursday in the Xcel Energy Center.

Jeanetta is an athletic goaltender witha terrific work ethic. Heʼs been among thestateʼs best in save percentage and goalsagainst average each of the past twoseasons.

Hunter Bergerson

DULUTH EASTGreyhounds

Coach’s Corner

Winning hasn’t gotten old forDuluth East under Mike Ran-dolph. In 23 seasons as the headcoach, Randolph has led the‘Hounds to 13 state tourney bidsand compiled a remarkable 454-128-19 record -- including statetitles in 1995 and 1998. A Duluthguy, Randolph also coachedbriefly at the college level (St.Scholastica and Minnesota-Du-luth) and at rivals Duluth Den-feld and Duluth Cathedral.

Program info

Nickname: GreyhoundsConference: IndependentSection: 7AARecord: 22-5-0State trips: 1958, 60 Champs,61, 64, 75, 91, 94, 95 Champs, 96,97, 98 Champs, 2000, 03, 04, 05,09, 10, 11Coach: Mike Randolph

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsTrevor Olson 25 40 65Jake Randolph 27 35 62Dom Toninato 27 30 57Nate Repensky 4 26 30Meirs Moore 6 22 28Conner Valesano 13 12 25Ryan Lundgren 7 12 19Zac Schendel 8 7 15Phil Johnson 5 9 14Luke Renier 6 7 13Hunter Bergerson 3 7 10Phil Beaulieu 3 7 10

Goalies W-L-T GA SVJoJo Jeanetta 16-4-0 1.53 .923Joel Perlinger 6-1-0 1.57 .909

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr3 Andrew Kerr D 104 Steven Holappa F 116 Kyle Campion F 118 Luke Renier F 129 Zac Schendel F 1212 Trevor Olson F 1113 Domenick Bergeland F 1115 Meiers Moore D 1016 Jake Randolph F 1119 Dom Toninato F 1121 Ryan Lundgren F 1023 Alex Toscano F 1025 Phil Beaulieu D 926 Conner Valesano F 1028 Nate Repensky D 1131 JoJo Jeanetta G 1232 Beau Hughes D 1034 Phil Johnson F 1239 Joel Perlinger G 1241 Hunter Bergerson D 12

Can they win?

The Greyhounds may be ayoung team but they have play-off experience, particularly innets with JoJo Jeanetta. For the‘Hounds to win it all, the top lineof Jake Randolph, Trevor Olsonand Dom Toninato needs help.

-- Tim Kolehmainen

Sophomore defenseman Meirs Moore


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 2 at Fargo South (ND) 3-0 WDec. 9 Bemidji 1-1 TDec. 14 at Roseau 1-2 LDec. 18 Brainerd 3-2 WDec. 22 Duluth East 0-6 LDec. 28 Jefferson (Classic) 4-2 WDec. 29 Wayzata (Classic) 2-1 WDec. 30 Eden Prairie (Classic) 0-4 LJan. 4 East Grand Forks 5-2 WJan. 6 at Thief River Falls 8-0 WJan. 8 at Minnetonka 1-3 LJan. 11 at St. Cloud Tech 5-1 WJan. 15 at Wayzata 4-1 WJan. 18 Buffalo 6-0 WJan. 20 at East Grand Forks 3-1 WJan. 22 Warroad 4-1 WJan. 25 Roseau 6-1 WJan. 27 at Brainerd 6-5 WJan. 29 Centennial 4-3 WFeb. 3 Benilde-SM 1-6 LFeb. 5 Grand Rapids 3-4 LFeb. 8 at Bemidji 2-2 TFeb. 12 Hill-Murray 2-3 LFeb. 18 at Alexandria 8-0 W

Section 8AA playoffsFeb. 22 Buffalo 5-1 WFeb. 26 Roseau 3-2 WMar. 2 Bemidji 2-0 W

Michael Bitzer

MOORHEADSpuds

Coach’s Corner

It’s been quite arun for the Spudsunder 14-yearcoach Dave Mor-inville. During histenure, Moorheadhas qualified for seven statetournaments and finished sec-ond four times (2001, 04, 05 and09). Morinville began coachingas an assistant with the Spuds inthe mid-1970s. He’s also been anassistant at the college and prolevels.

Program info

Nickname: SpudsConference: MariucciSection: 8AARecord: 18-7-2State trips: 1992, 93, 94, 95, 97,2001, 02, 03, 04, 05, 09, 11Coach: Dave Morinville

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsBryant Christian 13 20 33Eric Brenk 13 14 27Logan Ness 15 11 26Jacob Uglem 1 18 19Terry Leabo 4 14 18Brendan Johnson 8 9 17Tony Uglem 9 7 16Ben Doda 5 9 14Noah Julin 1 11 12Nicholas Uglem 4 7 11Nic Oxton 3 8 11

Goalies W-L-T GA SVMichael Bitzer 18-7-2 1.94 .932

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr2 Ben Welle D 113 Simon Selberg F 114 Nic Oxton D 125 Jacob Uglem D 116 Terry Leabo D 117 Evan Cook F 128 Noah Julin D 1210 Tony Uglem F 1011 Bryant Christian F 1112 Brendan Johnson F 1214 Eric Barker D 1015 Ben Doda F 1217 Nicholas Uglem F 1019 Cody Rahman F 1120 Crosby Steen F 1121 Jesse Doschadis F 1122 Eric Brenk F 1123 Sean Kunkel D 1224 Nate Johnson F 1125 Zach Quaife F 1126 Logan Ness F 1127 Thomas Carey F 1031 Evan Cochran G 1133 Michael Bitzer G 11

By Tim Kolehmainen

As a former goaltender, Moorheadcoach Dave Morinville sees theice from the net outward. Itʼs no

surprise his team plays much the sameway.

Strong defense and one of the stateʼsbest goaltenders in junior Michael Bitzerhelped the Spuds (18-7-2) return to thestate tournament for the seventh time inMorinvilleʼs 14-year tenure at the school.Moorhead faces fourth-seeded Eagan inthe state quarterfinals at 8 p.m. Thursday,March 10 at the Xcel Energy Center in St.Paul.

“We have guys who are prettyconscientious back there,” said Morinvilleof his team, which allows just 1.94 goalsper game. “Iʼm very critical of everythingthey do away from the puck as an oldgoalie.”

That style was apparent in the Section8AA final, as the Spuds completelystymied the offense of top-seededBemidji, 2-0. Moorhead allowed just 18shots on net – almost none from primescoring locations.

Senior forward Brendan Johnsonsealed the victory by giving up his bodyto block two shots from the point. On thesecond, he bounced back to his feet,chased the puck down and dumped it inthe empty net.

When theyʼre playing at their best, theSpuds play well away from the puck andallow Bitzer (18-7-2, 1.94, .932) to swallowup shots from the perimeter. The junior isa great athlete with a quick glove hand,

but his strongest trait is his ability to limitrebounds.

“(The defense) relies on him to makethat first save,” said Morinville, whoadded that Bitzer is rarely beat clean onthe first shot.

Defensively, juniors Jacob Uglem (1-18-19) and Terry Leabo (4-14-18) lead the wayalong with seniors Noah Julin (1-11-12)and Nic Oxton (3-8-11).

Itʼs a veteran crew that moves the puckwell, helping jump start the Spudsʼoffense. Julin also plays with an edge andhis toughness is key to keeping the slotclear of forwards.

Offensively, Moorheadʼs top line ofJohnson (8-9-17) and juniors BryantChristian (13-20-33) and Logan Ness (15-11-26) has been on a roll since earlyJanuary. Junior power forward Eric Brenk(13-14-27), Tony Uglem (9-7-16), Ben Doda(5-9-14) and Nicholas Uglem (4-7-11) addscoring depth, although it truly is a teamthat will rely on play in its own zone tomake a deep state tournament run.

The Spuds have been defending againstmore than just opposing offenses thiswinter. Controversy off the ice -- includingthe suspension of four players for twoweeks in January and the rehashing ofold eligibility questions of a key player --has resulted in an us-against-the-worldmentality.

“This team has been through a lot, buttheyʼve hung in there,” said Morinville.“Itʼs been a good learning experience forthis team in a lot of ways.”

Can they win?

Moorhead isn’t a high-scoringteam, so it must not get intoshootouts. But the Spuds havethe experienced defensive corpsand top goaltender (MichaelBitzer) to win three grind-it-outgames at state.

-- Tim Kolehmainen

2 - Edina (18-7-2)

11am, 3/10

Xcel

Blaine (20-4-4)

6pm, 3/11

Xcel

3 - Duluth East (22-5-0)

1pm, 3/10

Xcel

White Bear Lake (21-5-2)

7pm, 3/12

Xcel Champion

1 - Eden Prairie (21-5-2)

6pm, 3/10

Xcel

Lakeville North (13-14-1)

8pm, 3/11

Xcel

4 - Eagan (20-6-2)

8pm, 3/10

Xcel

Moorhead (18-7-2)

4pm, 3/12

Xcel Third place

10am, 3/11

Mariucci

noon, 3/12

Mariucci Consolation

noon, 3/11

Mariucci

2 - Hermantown (23-3-2)

11am, 3/9

Xcel

Alexandria (12-15-1)

11am, 3/11

Xcel

3 - Rochester Lourdes (24-3-1)

1pm, 3/9

Xcel

Hibbing/Chisholm (17-9-2)

noon, 3/12

Xcel Champion

1 - St. Thomas Academy (22-6-0)

6pm, 3/9

Xcel

New Ulm (21-4-2)

1pm, 3/11

Xcel

4 - Breck (20-8-0)

8pm, 3/9

Xcel

Thief River Falls (19-8-1)

9am, 3/12

Xcel Third place

10am, 3/10

Mariucci

10am, 3/12

Mariucci Consolation

noon, 3/10

Mariucci

CLASS AABRACKET

CLASS ABRACKET


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreNov. 26 New Richmond (WI) 5-1 WNov. 27 Superior (WI) 3-2 WDec. 4 at Tartan 3-1 WDec. 7 New Prague 3-1 WDec. 9 at Red Wing 6-5 WDec. 14 Chanhassen 4-0 WDec. 18 St. Cloud Cathedral 4-3 WDec. 21 Northfield 7-2 WDec. 23 at Holy Family 3-2 WDec. 28 Dodge Co (Kiwanis) 6-1 WDec. 29 Eau Claire (Kiwanis) 0-2 LDec. 30 Richfield (Kiwanis) 5-2 WJan. 4 at Albert Lea 4-0 WJan. 8 at Duluth Marshall 1-5 LJan. 11 Mankato West 3-2 WJan. 22 at Delano 5-1 WJan. 25 at New Prague 3-1 WJan. 27 at New Ulm 5-1 WJan. 29 at Faribault 5-2 WFeb. 1 Monti/A/ML 4-1 WFeb. 5 Breck 5-3 WFeb. 8 at St. Thomas Acad 5-6 LFeb. 10 Owatonna 10-1 WFeb. 15 at Rogers 4-1 WFeb. 19 at Totino-Grace 3-3 T

Section 1A playoffsFeb. 24 LeSueur-Hend/St.P 11-0 WFeb. 26 Red Wing 4-2 WMar. 3 New Prague 2-0 W

Jason Samuelson

ROCH. LOURDESEagles

Coach’s Corner

Josh Spaniol, in his second sea-son as the Eagles head coach, is2-for-2 in reaching the statetournament but 0-for-2 in thestate quarterfinals. Spaniol hassurrounded himself with two ofsouthern Minnesota’s most re-spected veteran coaches in as-sistants Kirk Gill and ToddLampman.

Program info

Nickname: EaglesConference: IndependentSection: 1ARecord: 24-3-1State trips: 2000, 01, 02, 03, 09,10, 11Coach: Josh Spaniol

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsJason Samuelson 26 14 40Alex Funk 14 23 37Landon Farrell 15 18 33Rory Vesel 13 15 28Alec Brandrup 8 17 25Ryan Nicolay 8 11 19Brian Wasz 8 6 14Andy Benner 6 7 13Connor Nellans 5 8 13

Goalies W-L-T GA SVNick Heimer 24-3-1 1.72 .915

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Jesse Neumann G 112 Connor Nellans F 113 Ryan Nicolay F 114 Ben Weir F 105 Alec Brandrup D 126 Andy Benner F 127 Jason Samuelson F 108 Landon Farrell F 119 Justin Dewitz F 1110 Griff Slightam D 811 Nathan Roth D 1012 Karl Krecke D 1014 Louis Hanson D 1215 James Armstead F 1117 Brian Williamson F 1118 Eric Potvin F 1119 Sam Slightam D 1220 Alex Funk F 1021 Rory Vesel D 1223 Brian Wasz F 1224 Dan Rossman D 1230 Nick Heimer G 12

By Loren Nelson

Rochester Lourdes seemed onthe verge of bumping off No. 1-ranked St. Thomas Academy,

but Eagles coach Josh Spaniol wasnʼtaltogether comfortable with what hewas watching.

“Iʼm not a run-and-gun kind of guy,”Spaniol said.

No, Spaniol is the sort of guy whosprinkles the word defense into mostevery sentence at this time of the year.

“Iʼm a D-first kind of guy,” he said.“If you have good defense and goodgoaltending, I figurethe offense will takecare of itself.”

During that Feb. 8game against theCadets late in theregular season inMendota Heights, theEagles showed somesurprising offensivemight. Meanwhile, St.Thomas Academyexploited somegaping holes in theusually airtightLourdes defense.

The Cadets, whohad trailed 3-1 after the first periodand 5-3 late in the second, eventuallyprevailed 6-5 in overtime.

No. 3 seed Rochester Lourdes (24-3-1) faces another potentially explosiveoffense when it opens the state Class1A tournament at 1 p.m. onWednesday, March 9, againstunseeded Hibbing/Chisholm (17-9-2).

“This matchup is very intriguing,”Spaniol said. “We donʼt know muchabout them, they donʼt know muchabout us. Weʼre trying to get a littlescoring report on them from a coupleof different guys.

“We just have to come out and playphysical and play our game.”

Rochester Lourdesʼ defensive

philosophy centers around seniorgoaltender Nick Heimer, who hasstarted all 28 games and has a 1.72goals-against average and .915 savepercentage.

Heimer was in goal last year whenthe Eagles were blown out by Warroad9-0 in a quarterfinal matchup.

“I expect us to show up first of all,”Spaniol said about what he believeswill be different about the Eaglesʼopening game this year after first-round losses each of the previous twoseasons. “Weʼve been going down the

left side and not theright side of thebracket.

“That wonʼt happenagain if we really playthe game we aresupposed to play.”

All four ofRochester Lourdesʼtop defenseman alsoreturn from lastseason. Senior RoryVesel (10 goals, 13assists) is the mostdynamic player in thegroup, but seniorsSam Slightman andAlec Brandrup and

sophomore Karl Krecke all have theexperience of logging extensive icetime in pressure situations.

After Heimer and his defensivecorps, Spaniol will rely on yet anothergritty group to shut down Hibbingʼshigh-scoring forward duo of AdamJohnson and Nick DeCenzo. Spaniolʼs“grinder” line of senior Brian Waszand juniors Ryan Nicolay and ConnorNellans likely will have the honors ofmatching up against the Bluejacketsʼtop unit.

“It took us about half a year to get itthrough their skulls that if we donʼthave a (shutdown) line like that, wearenʼt going to do much,” Spaniolsaid.

Can they win?

Strong goaltending and soliddefense can take a team greatdistances in the postseason, andLourdes has all the ingredientsrequired. The Eagles also shouldbenefit from a rugged noncon-ference schedule in which theyplayed most of the state’s top-ranked Class 1A teams.

-- Loren Nelson

Sophomore forward Alex Funk


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreNov. 30 Mahtomedi 8-0 WDec. 4 Red Wing 7-0 WDec. 7 Providence Academy 5-3 WDec. 18 St. Paul Academy 6-0 WDec. 23 St. Paul Johnson 7-0 WDec. 29 Hill-Murray (Schwan) 0-8 LDec. 30 Duluth East (Schwan) 2-5 LDec. 31 Wht Bear Lk (Schwan)1-2 LJan. 4 at St. Paul Saints 14-1 WJan. 11 St. Cloud Cathedral 6-4 WJan. 13 at Minnehaha Acad 19-0 WJan. 17 Delbarton Acad (NJ) 2-3 LJan. 18 St. Paul Como Park 12-2 WJan. 22 at St. Thomas Acad 4-5 LJan. 25 at Totino-Grace 3-6 LJan. 27 at Blake 2-4 LJan. 29 St. Paul Saints 13-3 WFeb. 1 at Providence Acad 6-1 WFeb. 3 at St. Paul Johnson 8-4 WFeb. 5 at Rochester Lourdes 3-5 LFeb. 8 Minnehaha Acad 10-2 WFeb. 10 at St. Paul Como Pk 13-0 WFeb. 12 at Faribault 6-0 WFeb. 15 at St. Paul Academy 4-1 WFeb. 19 Blake 5-1 W

Section 2A playoffsFeb. 25 Mound-Westonka 6-2 WMar. 1 Delano 5-4 WMar. 3 Orono 4-3 W

By Michael Murakami

After a thrilling 4-3 victory overOrono in double overtime ofthe Section 2A championship,

Breck heads into its eighth Class 1Atournament appearance in search ofits third consecutive title.

“How ʻbout that?” Breck coach LesLarson said. “Itʼs an unbelievabledream to go there. Unless youʼve beenthere, you think you know what itʼslike. Itʼs just the best thing in theworld.”

Breck graduated 12 letter winnersfrom last yearʼs state championshipteam forcing some to think this was arebuilding year for the youngerMustangs.

“We had to work very hard,” Larsonsaid. “We knew we had talented kidsbut we also knew that they were veryyoung. The maturity level, age-wise,from last year to this year is just like adifferent level of hockey mentally.”

Larson dealt with lesser experiencedplayers before with positive results.

“Last year wasnʼt easy, either,”Larson said. “Everybody thinks yougot all these guys returning from astate championship team. There areother challenges with a veteran clubbut these kids did everything that weasked them to. We kept getting better.

“Weʼre a lot better team now than wewere at the start of the year. Afterthese last two victories (in the Section2A playoffs), theyʼre believers in thesystem and in the work ethic.”

The top five scorers for theMustangs this year are allunderclassmen – junior forwardsConor Andrle (19-43-62), GrantOpperman (25-34-59) and WesleyIverson (28-20-48) as well assophomores Thomas Lindstrom (22-28-50) and Matt Colford (14-32-46).

“It feels amazing,” Colford saidabout heading to the state tournament.“Itʼs the first time for a bunch of ourguys on the team -- should be a greattrip for all of us.”

Not all Mustangs will be participatingin their first state tournament --including senior forwards David Zosel(10-18-28) and Max Oppenheimer (8-14-22) -- but that doesnʼt take away theglamour or determination for anothertitle.

“Itʼs a dream come true,” Zosel said.“Iʼve been there twice but this time itwill be a little bit more special becausethis is my last shot at it.”

Not to be forgotten is the Breckdefense that poses a threat at bothends of the ice.

Junior defensemen Austin Rudnick(12-19-31) and Ben Tegtmeyer (5-14-19) lead a feisty Mustang blue line thatalso features eighth grader KeeganIverson (11-12-23) who has a nose forhard hits and the scorerʼs column.

One potential question mark forBreck is the goaltending. Threeplayers have split time at the position.

The Mustangs seem to have placedtheir trust in junior netminder JackKenney who played all three gamesduring the Section 2A playoffs.Kenney has a combined 9-4-0 recordwhile allowing an average of 2.42goals per game and boasting a .901save percentage.

Despite their seniorʼs experienceand impressive performance byunderclassmen, Breck enters the 2011state tournament as the No. 4 seed.

“Weʼre going to come in maybe asan underdog,” Larson said. “Weʼvebeen there before, we know what ittakes -- this is our third year in a row.Weʼre going to take one game at atime, we got almost a whole week toprepare so weʼre very, very excited.

“Thereʼs some teams in there thatbeat us this year that weʼll have achance to play again so weʼll see if weimproved and how much theyimproved. Weʼre very much so lookingforward to it.”

Grant Opperman

BRECKMustangs

Coach’s Corner

Breck must have known it washiring someone special whenLes Larson was giventhe head coaching position in2008. In his three years at thehelm Larson has ledthe Mustangs to a 76-13-1record (as of March 3) as well asthree state tournamentappearances -- with Breck win-ning the Class 1A title the pasttwo years. Talk aboutmaking a positive first impres-sion.

Program info

Nickname: MustangsConference: Tri-MetroSection: 2ARecord: 20-8-0State trips: 1994, 96, 97, 2000Champs, 04 Champs, 09Champs, 10 Champs, 11Coach: Les Larson

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsConor Andrle 19 43 62Grant Opperman 25 33 58Wesley Iverson 28 20 48Thomas Lindstrom 22 28 50Matt Colford 14 32 46Austin Rudnick 12 19 31David Zosel 10 18 28Keegan Iverson 11 12 23

Goalies W-L-T GA SVJack Kenney 9-4-0 2.42 .901Coop Stainbrook5-0-0 1.29 .919Max McCormick 6-4-0 3.01 .843

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Max McCormick G 125 Conor Andrle F 117 Nate Breitenfeldt F 118 Keegan O’Connor F 119 Keegan Iverson D 811 Duffy Fallon F 1012 Andrew Headrick F 1114 Grant Opperman F 1116 Thomas Lindstrom F 1017 Jack O’Connor F 1018 Derek Wiitala D 920 Shayne Ciernia D 1221 Max Oppenheimer F 1222 Ben Tegtmeyer D 1123 Matt Colford F 1024 Austin Rudnick D 1125 Ben Gleekel F 1026 Wesley Iverson F 1127 David Zosel F 1233 Joe Oesterle D 1137 Jack Kenney G 1138 Mitch Ritz F 1144 Trae Vaillant D 1155 Cooper Stainbrook G 12

Defendingchamps!

Can they win?

Experienced senior leadershipand impressive underclassmenwill most likely advance Breckinto the semifinals but the Mus-tangs will need a big game ingoal from junior Jack Kenney toupset top-ranked St. ThomasAcademy.

-- Michael Murakami


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 2 at New Prague 7-5 WDec. 4 at Prior Lake 2-2 TDec. 7 Fairmont 12-1 WDec. 9 at Marshall 5-2 WDec. 14 Hutchinson 1-0 WDec. 18 Delano/Rockford 2-8 LDec. 21 at LeSueur-Hend/StP 8-1 WDec. 28 Sioux Fls, SD (Kiwanis)2-2 TDec. 29 Richfield (Kiwanis) 3-2 WDec. 30 EC Mem, WI (Kiwanis)2-0 WJan. 4 at Dodge County 5-2 WJan. 6 Litchfield/D-C 4-1 WJan. 11 Austin 5-2 W Jan. 14 Faribault 4-2 WJan. 18 at Fairmont 9-1 WJan. 22 at Litchfield/D-C 1-2 LJan. 25 at Chaska 6-7 LJan. 27 Rochester Lourdes 1-5 LFeb. 3 Marshall 3-0 WFeb. 7 at Waseca 5-0 WFeb. 8 LeSueur-Hend/StP 5-3 WFeb. 10 at Northfield 3-2 WFeb. 14 at Windom Area 11-0 WFeb. 17 Waseca 5-1 W

Section 3A playoffsFeb. 24 Fairmont 11-0 WFeb. 26 Marshall 3-1 WMar. 4 Litchfield/D-C 1-0 W

By Loren Nelson

Last year New Ulm made thestate tournament, then madeESPNʼs SportsCenter for all the

wrong reasons.

The Eagles gained nationwidenotoriety as Breck scored four goalsin 52 seconds in the second period ofthe teamsʼ Class 1A quarterfinalmatchup. The Mustangs rolled to an11-1 victory en route to their secondstraight state title.

“I expect a lot better,” New Ulmcoach Erik Setterholm said about histeamʼs openingperformance in thisyearʼs statetournament.

Unseeded New Ulm(23-4-2) again will bethe heavy underdogwhen it opens with a6 p.m. quarterfinalmatchup against No.1-seed and No. 1ranked St. ThomasAcademy (22-6-0) atthe Xcel EnergyCenter in St. Paul.

“We are facing thesame type of samescenario,” Setterholm said. “But Iʼmnot going to tell you I see us gettingblown out like that again.

“I think we were a much better teamthan we were last year.”

New Ulm beat Section 1A runner-upNew Prague and tied Prior Lake, aClass 2A program, early in the regularseason. The Eagles then won aholiday tournament in Rochester withan impressive 2-0 victory overWisconsin powerhouse Eau ClaireMemorial in the championship game.

New Ulm reached the statetournament with another shutoutvictory, this one by a 1-0 margin overLitchfield/Dassel-Cokato in the Section3A title game.

“Weʼve got a pretty good goaltender,

and that is key to playing those kindsof games,” Setterholm said aboutsenior Blake Burgau. “He keeps us ina lot of games.”

Burgau allowed just one goal inthree section tournament games,posting a .033 goals-against averageand .978 save percentage. His regular-season numbers (2.06 goals-againstaverage, .916 save percentage)although not as spectacular, also wereimpressive.

The 6-foot Burgau is a big presencein the net and in the locker room. He

also serves as a co-captain.

“And I donʼt likehaving a goaltenderbeing a captain,”Setterholm said. “Inthis case I couldnʼt nothave him be a captain.”

New Ulmʼs roster isdotted with playerswho return from thathumbling loss toBreck. Setterholmrecently replayed videoof that loss, althoughhis editing wasselective. The

Mustangsʼ amazing four-goal outburstdidnʼt make the final cut.

“We didnʼt want to watch anythingbut the first period,” Setterholm said.“We didnʼt hardly have a forecheckgoing in that game. Weʼre going tohave to try to get out and come after(St. Thomas Academy).

“We have to play it to win.”

That's not a foreign concept for theEagles. New Ulmʼs junior and seniorswere highly successful at the youthlevels, where they typically went deepin the playoffs before running intometro powerhouses such as Edinaand Burnsville in regional play.

“Those are two teams we will neverhave to play,” Setterholm said.

Brody Peterson

NEW ULMEagles

Coach’s Corner

Erik Setterholm has guided theEagles to back-to-back statetournaments after an 18-yeardrought -- and played on the Ea-gles’ first state team in 1992.After last year’s quarterfinal lossto Breck, Setterholm shouldhave a better handle on how toprepare his team for the wildmomentum swings and goal-scoring rushes that are com-monplace in state tournamentgames.

Program info

Nickname: EaglesConference: South CentralSection: 3ARecord: 21-4-2State trips: 1992, 2010, 11Coach: Erik Setterholm

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsKaleb Juntunen 20 26 46Brody Peterson 18 27 45Adam Loose 10 18 28Aaron Pfaff 17 11 28Zach Hoffmann 9 16 25Dyl Schreckenberg 8 16 24Jeff Banal 7 13 20Blake Neumann 7 12 19Shane Traulich 10 7 17Brent Schiller 8 6 14Drew Pfaff 5 8 13Tyler Traulich 2 7 9Tim Kehren 2 5 7Judd Davis 1 2 3

Goalies W-L-T GA SVBlake Burgau 21-4-2 1.87 .920

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Willie Osborne G 112 Tim Kehren D/F 113 Kaleb Juntunen F 124 Conner Stark D 115 Brody Peterson F 116 Aaron DuChene F 117 Troy Altmann F8 Drew Pfaff F 119 Aaron Pfaff F 1210 Jeff Banal F 1111 Zach Hoffmann D 1212 Adam Loose F 1213 Dylan SchreckenbergF 1114 Blake Neumann F 1015 Brad Portner D 1216 Tyler Traulich D 1217 Judd Davis F 918 Shane Traulich D 1219 Brent Schiller F 1233 Blake Burgau G 12

Can they win?

An underdog New Ulm teamwould need a near flawless per-formance, some lucky bouncesand the game of goaltenderBlake Burgau’s life to KO the No.1-ranked Cadets. Possible, butnot likely.

-- Loren Nelson

Junior forward Jeff Banal


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 4 at Duluth Marshall 5-1 WDec. 7 Minnetonka 3-4 LDec. 14 Cretin-Derham Hall 5-4 WDec. 18 at Henry Sibley 5-0 WDec. 29 Minnetonka (Schwan)4-5 LDec. 30 Wht Bear Lk (Schwan)2-1 WDec. 31 Duluth East (Schwan) 2-4 LJan. 6 South St. Paul 4-2 WJan. 8 Mahtomedi 6-1 WJan. 13 Tartan 4-0 WJan. 15 Delbarton Acad (NJ) 2-1 WJan. 18 at Shattuck Prep 4-6 LJan. 20 at North St. Paul 7-1 WJan. 22 Breck 5-4 WJan. 27 at Hill-Murray 3-4 LJan. 29 Richfield 14-1 WFeb. 1 Totino-Grace 6-0 WFeb. 3 Henry Sibley 10-1 WFeb. 5 at South St. Paul 5-0 WFeb. 8 Rochester Lourdes 6-5 WFeb. 10 at Mahtomedi 5-1 WFeb. 12 at Tartan 8-4 WFeb. 15 at Simley 11-1 WFeb. 17 North St. Paul 7-1 WFeb. 19 Hill-Murray 2-4 L

Section 4A playoffsFeb. 24 Simley 9-0 WMar. 1 Mahtomedi 4-0 WMar. 4 Totino-Grace 5-3 W

Grant Sattler

ST. THOMAS ACADEMYCadets

Coach’s Corner

Tom and Greg Vannelli (picturedabove) have had their ups anddowns as head coaches at St.Thomas Academy. Low pointswere the past two years withtop-ranked and top-seededCadets’ teams that never made itout of Section 4A. However,since being hired in 2003, theVannellis have led St. ThomasAcademy to state tournamentappearances in 2005, 2006,2007, 2008 and now 2011 withthe Cadets winning the Class 1Atitle in ‘06 and ’08.

Program info

Nickname: CadetsConference: Classic SuburbanSection: 4ARecord: 22-6-0State trips: 1999, 2005, 06Champs, 07, 08 Champs, 11Coach: Tom and Greg Vannelli

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsZach Schroeder 24 33 57A.J. Reid 24 32 56Matt Kroska 25 24 49Taylor Fleming 8 33 41Peter Krieger 8 24 32Eric Schurhamer 8 21 29Andrew Commers 17 13 30Alex Johnson 12 15 27

Goalies W-L-T GA SVDavid Zevnik 15-4-0 1.89 .911Ian West 7-2-0 2.37 .876

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Ian West G 112 Matt Raiola D 123 Gunnar Regan D 104 Wyatt Schmidt D 105 Eric Schurhamer D 116 Tony Bretzman D 107 Grant Sattler D 118 Mike Ferriera F 129 Zach Schroeder F 1210 Austin Sattler F 1011 Tom Abbott F 1112 John Gerhan D 1214 Henry Hart F 1015 Matt Kroska F 1216 Taylor Fleming D 1217 A.J. Reid F 1218 Adam Peterson F 1219 Alex Johnson F 1020 Peter Krieger F 1121 Andrew Commers F 1122 Grant Eichstadt F 1223 Matt Perry F 1030 David Zevnik G 10

Can they win?

Waiting two years to head to thestate tournament may not seemlong for some teams. For St.Thomas Academy it’s an eter-nity. With continued standoutperformance from the top lineand sophomore goaltenderDavid Zevnik, St. Thomas Acad-emy has a good chance to winits third Class A trophy in sixyears.

-- Michael Murakami

By Michael Murakami

After four-straight statetournament appearancesspanning from 2005-2008 --

including two Class A championshipsin 2006 and 2008 -- St. ThomasAcademy found itself in the midst ofanother streak.

A losing one.

Despite top rankings in Class 1A andthe top seeding in Section 4A, theCadets failed to reach the statetournament in 2009 and 2010.

St. Thomas Academy ended its two-year tournament drought on March 4with a 5-3 victory over Totino-Grace.

“Weʼre so relieved,” St. ThomasAcademy coach Greg Vannelli saidafter the championship game. “To bein the (section) final three years in arow and lose two of them, this isgreat.”

For the past two years, the Cadetsʼseason preview included the words“hungry” and “ravenous”. Seniorforward Zach Schroeder had adifferent phrase.

“We were dedicated to get back andIʼm really excited,” Schroeder said.

Though many thought St. ThomasAcademy would suffer a drop back tothe pack due to graduation losses, thisyearʼs upperclassmen have led atalented Cadets team to its fifth statetournament appearance in six years.

“Iʼve been there once before and itʼsthe greatest feeling in the world,” St.Thomas Academy senior forward A.J.Reid said.

“I think we have a lot moreconfidence going into the games atthe X.”

Schroeder (24-33-57) centers theCadetsʼ top line featuring Reid (24-32-56) and fellow senior Matt Kroska(25-24-49) that fuels an electric offenseincluding juniors Andrew Commers

(17-13-30) and Peter Krieger (8-24-32)as well as sophomore Alex Johnson(12-15-27).

St. Thomas Academy scored 135goals during the regular season andadded 18 goals in the section playoffs.

Defensive play for the Cadets hasbeen headed by contributions at bothends of the ice from senior TaylorFleming (8-33-41) and junior EricSchurhamer (8-18-26).

One of the questions St. ThomasAcademy had to answer during the2010-2011 season was play in-betweenthe pipes after the Cadets lost startinggoaltender Kurt Altrichter (13-4-0, 2.45)and backup Zach Wynne (9-2-0, 1.84)to graduation.

Sophomore goaltender David Zevnikhas provided an answer and steppedinto the starting position, posting arecord of 15-4-0 while allowing anaverage of 1.89 goals per game with a.911 save percentage.

The combination of talentedupperclassmen and youth helped theCadets to a 22-6-0 record while playingone of the teamʼs toughest schedulesin recent history.

St. Thomas Academy played 13 of its25 games against Class 2A teams,going 8-5-0 in those matchups. TheCadets also played and defeated No. 3seed Rochester Lourdes (6-5, OT) andNo. 4 seed Breck (5-4) during theregular season.

As for the game plan heading intostate, St. Thomas Academy isnʼtplanning any surprises.

“(Weʼre not going to) changeanything,” Vannelli said. “Weʼve had agood year and hopefully we cancontinue.

“You just take it one shift, oneperiod at a time. If itʼs meant to be, itʼsmeant to be.”


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 3 Sauk Rapids-Rice 7-1 WDec. 7 at Two Harbors 11-1 WDec. 10 Hopkins 6-4 WDec. 14 at Superior (WI) 5-3 WDec. 18 Rogers 4-0 WDec. 21 at Virginia/MIB 5-2 WDec. 23 at Duluth Central 3-2 WDec. 28 Crookston (Tourney) 9-4 WDec. 29 Thief Rv Fls (Tourney) 2-2 TDec. 30 E Grnd Frks (Tourney)4-3 WJan. 4 Duluth Marshall 7-2 WJan. 8 International Falls 3-1 WJan. 11 Grand Rapids 5-1 WJan. 14 at St. Cld Cathedral 6-4 WJan. 18 Superior (WI) 5-0 WJan. 20 Ashland (WI) 11-0 WJan. 22 at Bemidji 2-6 LJan. 25 at Proctor 5-1 WJan. 29 at New Prague 2-0 WFeb. 1 at Eden Prairie 4-5 LFeb. 3 Cloquet-E-C 5-7 LFeb. 5 Monticello/A/ML 2-1 WFeb. 8 Duluth Central 5-2 WFeb. 12 at Red Wing 8-1 WFeb. 18 at Hibbing/Chisholm 2-2 T

Section 5A playoffsFeb. 24 Sauk Rapids-Rice 5-2 WFeb. 26 St. Cloud Cathedral 7-1 WMar. 4 Rogers 5-0 W

Garrett Skrbich

HERMANTOWNHawks

Coach’s Corner

Bruce Plante began his coachingcareer in Cloquet in the late1960s and early 1970s at theBantam A level, then was hiredfor the Hermantown varsitywhen it opened in 1983. Aftersix years, he took a six-year hia-tus to scout for the NHL’s Min-nesota North Stars beforereturning in 1995. Since his re-turn, the Hawks have been toseven state tournaments, win-ning it all in 2007.

Program info

Nickname: HawksConference: Lake SuperiorSection: 5ARecord: 23-3-2State trips: 1994, 98, 99, 2001,06, 07 Champs, 10, 11Coach: Bruce Plante

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsGarrett Skrbich 39 29 68Jared Thomas 28 37 65Brian LeBlanc 7 22 29Andrew Mattson 9 18 27Jared Kolquist 6 18 24Jake Zeleznikar 5 16 21Bo Gronseth 12 8 20Chris Benson 7 12 19Jesse Dyson 7 5 12Owen Stauber 3 8 11Travis Koepke 4 7 11Billy Grillo 4 5 9Jeremy Amys 3 4 7Joe Hicks 1 5 6

Goalies W-L-T GA SVConnor Lucas 19-3-2 2.15 .908

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr4 Jake Zeleznikar D 105 Bo Gronseth F 106 Jake Knowles D 127 Jeremy Amys F 119 Andrew Mattson F 1110 Jared Thomas F 1113 Hazen Elmgren F 1214 Brian LeBlanc D 1116 Jared Kolquist D 1117 Garrett Skrbich F 1219 Billy Grillo F 1120 Chris Benson F 1021 Owen Stauber D 1122 Joe Hicks F 1223 Jesse Dyson F 1226 Mike Robertson D 1127 Travis Kopeke F 1029 Grant Sega F 1035 Matt Mensinger G 1136 Chad Illikainen G 1039 Connor Lucas G 12

Can they win?

The Hawks are one of the fa-vorites, with the high-scoringduo of Garrett Skrbich and JaredThomas, veteran defensemensuch as Jared Kolquist and BrianLeBlanc and the surprise goal-tending of Connor Lucas.

-- Tim Kolehmainen

By Tim Kolehmainen

While the rest of Hermantownwas celebrating the Hawksʼsecond-place finish in the

Class A state tournament last March, aquestion kept nagging at longtime coachBruce Plante.

“We were kind of wondering where wewere going to get our players from (thisyear),” Plante jokingly recalled Monday.

Such is the life of a hockey coach.

Always plan ahead.

Never get caught unprepared.

Hermantown graduated 14 seniorsfrom a squad thatcame one bad bounceaway from winning astate title. The Hawkswere deadlocked in atie game with Breck inlast yearʼschampionship gameuntil with 1:40remaining, a puckricocheted off theMustangsʼ Mike Morinand into theHermantown net.

It was a bitter endfor the talented Hawks,perhaps even more sowhen it appeared arebuilding year was onthe horizon. Just a handful of veteransreturned this winter, forcing Plante torely on junior varsity graduates andyoungsters moving up from Bantams.

“We hoped we would just get better aswe go and be a playoff team by the endof the year,” Plante admitted.

Instead, the Hawks came out of thegates on fire.

Hermantown outscored Sauk Rapids-Rice and Two Harbors in its first twogames by a combined 18-2 and neverlooked back. The Hawks were the stateʼslast unbeaten team, going 15-0-1 beforefinally losing to Bemidji on Jan. 22.

Itʼs been a great mix of youth andveterans such as forwards GarrettSkrbich (39-29-68) and Jared Thomas(28-37-65) and defensemen Brian

LeBlanc (7-22-29) and Jared Kolquist (6-18-24) that have led the way.

“We knew there would be questions,”Skrbich said after the Hawksʼ 5-0 victoryover Rogers in the Section 5A final. “Ourveterans really stepped up and we knewthey would."

Skrbich in particular has reallyresponded. After playing third linecenter and second power play for part oflast winter, heʼs just one goal shy of theschool record (40 by B.J. Radovich in2001).

“Heʼs as good a senior as weʼve everhad,” said Plante, high praise for a

school that hasproduced plenty oftalented players,including Adam Krause,a finalist for Mr. Hockeylast winter.

Plante and the Hawksalso got a huge lift withthe play of seniorgoaltender ConnorLucas (19-3-2, 2.15,.908), who had playedthe last two years at theJV level.

“Heʼs just been lightsout,” said Plante, wholikes to point out thatLucas stands just 5-

foot-6 (on a good day) and has a prettythin margin for error because of his size.“Heʼs a very good athlete who playsfootball and baseball. Heʼs also tacticallygood and fundamentally sound. Hemakes guys shoot first and keeps hispatience.”

LeBlanc and Kolquist are both in theirthird years as starters on the blue line,bringing stability and a veteran influenceon youngsters Jake Knowles and JakeZeleznikar. Plante calls his defensivecorps his teamʼs strength, but even heseems stunned by the success theHawksʼ have experienced.

“This wasnʼt really expected,”shrugged Plante. “I thought weʼd havesome growing pains. I just know thatweʼre a better team than I thought weʼdbe.”

Junior defenseman Jared Kolquist


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreDec. 3 Prairie Centre 5-4 WDec. 7 at St. Cloud Cathedral2-4 LDec. 9 Willmar 3-2 WDec. 14 at Brainerd 2-5 LDec. 16 Little Falls 2-3 LDec. 21 St. Cloud Apollo 1-3 LDec. 23 St. Cloud Tech 0-5 LDec. 28 Lk of Wds (Tourney) 4-3 WDec. 29 Mandn, ND (Tourney)8-1 WDec. 30 Roseau (Tourney) 1-2 LJan. 4 Brainerd 3-5 LJan. 6 at Sartell-St. Stephen 3-6 LJan. 11 at Sauk Rapids-Rice 5-2 WJan. 13 Fergus Falls 4-4 TJan. 18 River Lakes 4-2 WJan. 20 at St. Cloud Tech 0-5 LJan. 25 at Willmar 2-4 LJan. 29 Bemidji 2-7 LFeb. 3 at St. Cloud Apollo 4-3 WFeb. 8 Sartell-St. Stephen 0-3 LFeb. 10 Sauk Rapids-Rice 5-0 WFeb. 11 at Little Falls 1-7 LFeb. 14 at Fergus Falls 2-4 LFeb. 17 at River Lakes 5-4 WFeb. 18 Moorhead 0-8 L

Section 6A playoffsFeb. 22 Fergus Falls 4-3 WFeb. 26 St. Cloud Apollo 4-0 WMar. 3 Willmar 2-1 W

By Tim Kolehmainen

Scott Woods stayed patient. Itwasnʼt easy, but the fourth-yearAlexandria coach knew

championships arenʼt won in December.He realized it might take time for histeam to reload.

Thatʼs not to say his patience wasnʼttested.

Through an early losing streak thatsent the Cardinals -- the defendingSection 6A champions -- into theholidays with a 2-5-0 record, Woodscontinued to tinker with linecombinations. He searched for playerson whom he couldrely. He tried to findmotivation for hisplayers, many ofwhom werenʼt used tothe losing.

“We have someskilled players, but welost a lot of talent offthat team last year,”said Woods of theteam that won 21games and endedLittle Fallsʼ Section 6Adomination lastwinter.

“A lot of guys realized they need tocome out there and work really hard,”said Woods of his team, which doesnʼtboast of any 20-goal scorers, Division Idefensive recruits or 10-win goaltenders.“It took a long time to juggle thingsaround and find line combinations.”

Even as the regular season wounddown, Woods wasnʼt sure he had turnedthe right keys and opened the rightdoors. The Cardinals didnʼt have asingle multi-game winning streakagainst Minnesota high school teamsand won only nine games in total. Theywere just a fifth-seed in the sectionplayoffs and had to travel to No. 4Fergus Falls in the quarterfinals.

Thatʼs when the pieces fell into place.Just like that.

Click.

“We surprised everybody a little bit,”

smiled Woods.

Did they ever. The Cardinals toppledFergus Falls (4-3) in the opener, thenreceived a boost when No. 1 Little Fallswas upset by No. 9 St. Cloud Apollo.Alexandria took care of the Eagles (4-0)and edged third-seeded Willmar in theSection 6A final (2-1) on the first varsitygoal by Jacob Hennessy.

“All year, we had so many closegames and we just couldnʼt quite pullthem out,” said Woods. “We kind offound it at the end of the year.”

Woods described the teamʼs playoffeffort as 51 minutes of grit and hard

work, something that isreflected in the play ofhis veterans, such asthird-year defensemanScott Hennen (6-14-20)and second-yeargrinders Nick Swanson(11-8-19), JordanDomine (17-15-32) andZach Van Orsdel.

Sophomoregoaltender Ben Allen (7-3-0, 2.64, .911) alsocame up big, starting allthree playoff games andallowing just four goals.Allen, who played at the

Bantam level last winter, began the yearbehind two incumbent goalies, but hasplayed his way into a starting – andstarring – role.

“Heʼs one of our hardest workers,”said Woods. “He does all the extrathings he needs to do to get better. Asthe year wore on, he wanted that spot.”

Allen will be tested at state, as theCardinals (12-15-1) drew No. 2Hermantown in the quarterfinals at 11a.m. Wednesday at the Xcel EnergyCenter. But even as the only sub-.500team left in Class A, Alexandria wouldnʼtwant to be anywhere else.

“You always have to believe youʼregoing to win,” said Woods. “But asmuch as you believe it, thereʼs still thatsense of awe that weʼre going to goback.”

Garrett Skinner

ALEXANDRIACardinals

Coach’s Corner

Scott Woods is in his fourth yearas the head coach of the Cardi-nals and has led them to back-to-back state tournamentappearances, doubling theschool’s total. Prior to his time inAlexandria, Woods coached sixyears at Wadena-Deer Creek,bringing the Wolverines to theironly state tournament appear-ance in school history in 2004. In10 seasons overall, Woods has a173-86-13 record.

Program info

Nickname: CardinalsConference: Central LakesSection: 6ARecord: 12-15-1State trips: 1992, 96, 2010, 11Coach: Scott Woods

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsJordan Domine 17 15 32Tom Schmidt 10 13 23Scott Hennen 6 14 20Jack Wensman 5 14 19Nick Swanson 11 8 19Garrett Skinner 5 11 16Andrew Hittle 4 5 9Brock Wood 4 3 7Jacob Bigger 2 4 6Jacob Smith 4 2 6Bryce Miller 3 2 5Zach Van Orsdel 2 3 5Charlie Wensman 2 2 4

Goalies W-L-T GA SVBen Allen 7-3-0 2.64 .911Erich Murphy 2-6-1 4.59 .877Dom Wysocki 3-6-0 3.06 .889

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr3 Bryce Miller F 114 Logan Hochsprung D 105 Jacob Bigger F 127 Nick Swanson F 128 Jack Wensman F 1011 Myles Bjelland F 1214 Scott Hennen D 1215 Andrew Hittle D 1219 Tom Schmidt F 1020 Jacob Smith F 1121 Brock Wood F 1122 Zach Van Orsdel D 1227 Jordan Domine F 1128 Jacob Hennessy F 1130 Domonic Wysocki G 1234 Chase Porter F 1035 Ben Allen G 1036 Charlie Wensman D 1137 Garrett Skinner F 1139 Jacob Rusch F 12

Can they win?

Make no mistake, Alexandria is ahuge underdog as it was a No. 5-seed in Section 6A for a reason.That said, the defense andgoalie Ben Allen are on fire, al-lowing just one goal in the lasttwo games. That gives the Car-dinals hope.

-- Tim Kolehmainen

Junior forward Jordan Domine


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreNov. 26 Little Falls 1-6 LNov. 27 at Mound-Westonka 4-1 WNov. 30 International Falls 3-2 WDec. 3 at Minnetonka 2-3 LDec. 4 at Chisago Lakes 8-3 WDec. 10 Warroad 3-1 WDec. 11 Roseau 8-7 WDec. 16 Duluth Marshall 3-3 TDec. 20 at Two Harbors 11-1 WDec. 22 at Greenway 9-0 WDec. 28 Mahtmedi (Tourney) 9-3 WDec. 29 Spr Lk Pk (Tourney) 7-4 WDec. 30 Lakeville N (Tourney) 2-6 LJan. 7 at Rochester Mayo 6-5 WJan. 8 at Albert Lea 9-2 WJan. 11 at Cloquet-E-C 3-4 LJan. 15 Virginia/MIB 4-3 WJan. 18 at Duluth Central 2-4 LJan. 21 at Grand Rapids 0-2 LJan. 31 at Proctor 1-4 LFeb. 3 at International Falls 7-0 WFeb. 8 Grand Rapids 1-5 LFeb. 11 Eveleth-Gilbert 10-1 WFeb. 15 at Virginia/MIB 0-4 LFeb. 18 Hermantown 2-2 T

Section 7A playoffsFeb. 24 Silver Bay 9-0 WFeb. 26 Duluth Central 5-1 WMar. 2 Virginia/MIB 5-0 W

By Tim Kolehmainen

AItʼs an experience to sit backand watch Adam Johnsonwheel and wind his way

through a defense. Itʼs easy to marvelat the crisp passing and smart play ofNick DeCenzo. Itʼs inspiring to watchthe toughness and hard work of JoeAnderson.

Hibbing/Chisholmʼs top line justmight be most prolific offensive unit inthe state, with both Johnson (38-42-80)and DeCenzo (23-55-78) among thetop-10 scorers and Anderson (20-30-50) not that far behind.

The only problem is the show shouldbe only for fans to enjoy. On too manyoccasions earlier this year, theBluejackets (17-9-2) found themselvesdoing exactly the same.

Watching that trio produce.

Counting on them to produce.

No, needing them to produce.

“Any team has those kind of kids,”downplayed longtimeHibbing/Chisholm coach MarkDeCenzo. “But I think thatʼs part ofthe reason we had a bump in the roadis that we relied too heavily on them.”

A late-January swoon in which theBluejackets lost four of five hadHibbing wondering if this might not bethe year to break their unfortunateplayoff streak. The program hasplayed in nine straight Section 7Afinals and had lost the last six in a row(three to Virginia, two to Hermantownand one to Duluth Marshall).

Yet DeCenzo found comfort in theBluejacketsʼ final regular seasongame, a 2-2 tie against powerfulHermantown. He began to see theteam take charge of its own destiny –and not just watch that top line.

“Now weʼre starting to get somemore from other kids who grow andmature,” said DeCenzo. “If we rely on

them too much, weʼre going to be introuble. We need the goalie to playwell, our D to play well and all threelines to play well.”

Hibbing/Chisholm got all threeelements in an impressive run throughthe Section 7A tournament, in whichthey totally stymied Silver Bay (9-0 onFeb. 24), Duluth Central (5-1 on Feb.26) and rival Virginia/Mt. Iron-Buhl (5-0on Mar. 2), the team that knocked theBluejackets out in the previous twosection title games.

“It feels great because we came heretwo years in a row and we just didnʼthave it,” senior goaltender Nate Trompsaid after the game. “Then in the thirdyear we came out and gave iteverything we had and got it.”

Tromp was magnificent in the playoffrun and leads the state with a .983save percentage in the postseason (57saves on 58 shots in three games).Defensively, Mike Pechovnik (10-28-38)is an anchor who is often overlooked,but scored double-digit goals andplays a stout defensive game.

“Heʼs a solid kid who doesnʼt getmuch credit,” agreed DeCenzo.

The top line did score 10 of theteamʼs 19 section playoff goals, butthere were additional contributionsfrom up and down the lineup, as JakeDoherty (10-20-30) and Josh Bestuladded big efforts.

“I like this group of kids,” saidDeCenzo. “If we play well, we do thethings weʼre doing, we have the abilityto skate with anybody. The last fewgames of the year, we started to getback on track.

“Now we need to stay on the tracksand donʼt get derailed.”

Adam Johnson

HIBBING/CHISHOLMBluejackets

Coach’s Corner

Mark DeCenzo has been coach-ing in Hibbing for 30 years atsome level, shortly after finish-ing his playing career at Michi-gan State University (1974-78).It’s been a good run, as he’s ledthe team to several state berths-- as well as nine straight Section7A finals. In 1997, DeCenzo wasrecognized by the MinnesotaHockey Coaches Association asits John Mariucci award winner(Class AA coach of the year).

Program info

Nickname: BluejacketsConference: Iron RangeSection: 7ARecord: 17-9-2State trips: 1952 Champs, 67,70, 73 Champs, 74, 82, 84, 85, 86,94, 2003, 04, 11Coach: Mark DeCenzo

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsAdam Johnson 38 42 80Nick DeCenzo 23 55 78Joe Anderson 20 30 50Mike Pechovnik 10 28 38Jake Doherty 10 20 30Cole Schafer 4 13 17Derek Abrahamson 8 5 13Billy Wherland 4 7 11Josh Bestul 5 6 11Eric Gooden 4 6 10Dylan Pechovnik 0 7 7Tom Newbauer 2 5 7

Goalies W-L-T GA SVNathan Tromp 12-9-2 2.60 .907Tyler Rajkovich 5-0-0 2.63 .897

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr1 Nathan Tromp G 123 Dylan Pechovnik F/D 94 Ryan Hoag F5 Derek Abrahamson F 106 Nick DeCenzo F 127 Adam Johnson F 108 Eric Gooden F 99 Cole Schafer F 1012 Billy Wherland F 1013 Taylor Persson F15 Mke Pechovnik F 1116 Tom Newbauer F 1117 Ian Kritz D 1218 Max Butler D19 Austin Rohwer D 1123 Josh Bestul D 1024 Sage Hopke F26 Cole Maki F 1027 Joe Anderson D 1129 Tyler Rajkovich G 1235 Tyler Carlson G

Can they win?

The Bluejackets will need to getplenty of scoring out of its topline, which hasn’t been a prob-lem this season. Adam Johnson,Nick DeCenzo and Joe Andersonhave combined for 81 goals and208 points. That has to continue.

-- Tim Kolehmainen

by Tim Kolehmainen

There has been an unofficial catalogof accomplishments for MicahRanum this winter. Call it his high

school hockey bucket list.

The Thief River Falls senior forward maynot even be aware he’s keeping tally, buthis words belie that notion. After thesecond-seeded Prowlers upset Warroad inthe Section 8A final Thursday night, 4-1 toadvance to the statetournament for the firsttime since 2006, Ranumlet it slip.

“We can celebrate for12 hours, then we’reright back at it,” he saidin anticipation of theProwlers’ statequarterfinal game at 8p.m. Wednesday nightagainst two-timedefending championBreck (20-8-0).

“That’s the next checkmark for us.”

It’s been a season ofhitting goals andknocking down barriersfor Ranum and Thief River Falls (19-8-1).

The biggest to this point was gettingout of their own back yard. The Prowlershave played Warroad in the sectionplayoffs in each of the last 10 years – anduntil Thursday night, had lost all but oneof them.

“It’s been a lot of close calls,”said coach Tim Bergland,

who is in his fourthyear at the helm ofthe Prowlers. Bergland

is a former Thief RiverFalls star who went onto captain theUniversity of Minnesota

and play in the NHL withthe Washington Capitals

and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bergland has seen the Prowlers getagonizingly close to state (and was anassistant on the 2006 team that was thefirst state qualifier since 1965), only to fallshy to Warroad. It made Thursday’s victoryespecially sweet.

While his players skated victory laps andsaluted the standing room only crowd atthe “Little Ralph,” Bergland soaked up theatmosphere and enjoyed the town’s joy.

He fully expects it to bethe clichéd “last one outof Thief River Falls, turnout the lights” when theProwlers play Breck onWednesday in St. Paul.

So can Thief River Fallsslay another giant?

“We’re ready to go,”said Bergland. “We’ll justkeeping doing the samething we’ve been doingand try to get better atit.”

Ranum (21-21-42) iskey as the team’s mostformidable offensiveweapon. He’s a physicalplayer who isn’t afraid to

throw his weight round – the epitome of a“Northern hockey” player.

Senior Beezer Skime (14-8-22) andjuniors Evan Ose (10-8-18) and RileySoderstrom (10-7-17) are the team’s otherdouble-digit goal scorers and each hadbig efforts in the playoffs.

Junior Jon Narverud (7-4-1, 2.23, .897)has taken over the goaltending duties inthe playoffs and responded by allowingjust one goal in each of the three sectionvictories.

He’s on top of his game at the right time,although there is plenty of help from arugged defensive corps that includesseniors Ryan Crosson (9-27-36), MattAudette (1-13-14) and Derek Kayser (4-14-18).

Senior forward Beezer Skime


Road to the X

Date Opponent ScoreNov. 30 at Roseau 3-1 WDec. 3 at Totino-Grace 2-3 LDec. 4 at Blake 1-5 LDec. 10 Tartan 4-2 WDec. 11 St. Paul Johnson 7-6 WDec. 16 at Bemidji 2-5 LDec. 18 International Falls 10-2 WDec. 21 Warroad 2-5 LDec. 28 Marcus, TX (Tourney) 9-1 WDec. 29 Hermantn (Tourney) 2-2 TDec. 30 Hutchinsn (Tourney) 5-0 WJan. 4 Kittson Central 17-1 WJan. 6 Moorhead 0-8 LJan. 11 Park Rapids Area 10-1 WJan. 13 Crookston 4-1 WJan. 20 at Warroad 2-1 WJan. 25 at East Grand Forks 4-1 WJan. 28 Duluth Central 5-1 WJan. 29 Duluth Marshall 2-4 LFeb. 1 at Lake of the Woods 1-2 LFeb. 4 at Crookston 4-1 WFeb. 5 at Red Lake Falls 4-1 WFeb. 8 Roseau 1-0 WFeb. 15 East Grand Forks 3-2 WFeb. 17 Bemidji 1-5 L

Section 8A playoffsFeb. 25 Park Rapids Area 10-1 WFeb. 28 Lake of the Woods 3-1 WMar. 3 Warroad 4-1 W

Austin Odberg

THIEF RIVER FALLSProwlers

Coach’s Corner

After beginning as an assistantcoach at Thief River Falls in 2004,Tim Bergland has led theProwlers for the past four years.Prior to coming back home toThief River Falls, he coached inFergus Falls from 1999-2004. Theformer Prowlers’ star was a cap-tain at the University of Min-nesota from 1983-87 and playedin the NHL for Washington(1987-92) and Tampa Bay (1992-95).

Program info

Nickname: ProwlersConference: MariucciSection: 8ARecord: 19-8-1State trips: 1945, 51, 52, 54Champs, 55, 56 Champs, 59, 60,65, 2006, 11Coach: Tim Bergland

Stat leaders

Scorers G A PtsMicah Ranum 21 21 42Ryan Crosson 9 27 36Brady Meunier 9 14 23Chris Forney 9 14 23Beezer Skime 14 8 22Evan Ose 10 8 18Derek Kayser 4 14 18Riley Soderstrom 10 7 17Austin Odberg 3 14 17

Goalies W-L-T GA SVTanner Holmes 3-0-0 1.66 .898Josh Koop 9-4-0 2.25 .895Jon Narverud 7-4-1 2.23 .897

Playoff roster

# Name Pos Gr2 Andrew Lansing D 113 Matt Audette D 124 Derek Kayser D 126 Drew Erickson D 127 Logan Kennedy F 128 Chris Forney F 109 Brady Meunier F 1210 Evan Ose F 1111 Hans Harder F 1014 Riley Soderstrom F 1115 Austin Odberg F 1116 Kael Fontaine F 1017 Logan Engelstad F 1019 Tanner Nessen F 1121 Micah Ranum F 1222 Matt Ortloff F 1223 Grady Pederson D 1026 Riley Olson D 1127 Connor Doherty F 1129 Beezer Skime F 1230 Tanner Holmes G 931 Josh Koop G 1235 Jon Narverud G 1166 Ryan Crosson D 12

Can they win?

The Prowlers finally broke War-road’s playoff hold on them toget to state, but don’t expectthem to be happy just to get tothe X. Thief River Falls isn’t star-studded, but can pitch a solidall-around team effort.

-- Tim Kolehmainen

2011 minnesota high school boys' hockey state tournament guide

Documents

class aa tournament

class aa andbreck

class aa team capsules

class aand aa capsules

class ateam capsules

years tournament

theclass aa

thief riverfalls