Panthers stay together and are perfect, veteran coach takes note

The Lakeville North Panthers opened the 2014-2015 season with seven NCAA Division I college athletes, six for hockey and one in baseball.

They closed it by collecting their gloves, sticks, and helmets that littered the Xcel Energy Center ice after capturing their first-ever state high school hockey championship as the remaining fans from a record state final session crowd of 19,495 filtered out of the building.

Labeled as a state title contender from the season’s opening faceoff, Lakeville North went bell-to-bell in posting a perfect 31-0-0 record, capping the season off with a 4-1 win over Duluth East in the Class 2A championship game.

It is a team Duluth East coach Mike Randolph, a strong proponent of high school hockey, issued a direct statement to in an acknowledgement of how impressive the Panthers were this year and how valuable the Minnesota High School Hockey experience is to a player and team.

It was a message levied to all that have been tugged on by outside forces to move to other leagues and teams.

After the final question had been asked in his post-game press conference, Randolph pulled the microphone back toward him saying, “I just want to make a comment about Lakeville North.”

He began his unsolicited comments by saying Lakeville North reminded him of the Eden Prairie team that beat the Greyhounds in 2011 and talked about his visit to the Eagles’ locker room after Kyle Rau scored the game winning goal against his team in the third overtime period.

Randolph was referring to his well-covered congratulatory moment when he applauded the likes of Rau and his teammates for sticking together and playing for each other and their community. Randolph’s team stuck together too and it was a gesture of respect from the long-time coach who has perspective on high school hockey and its impact on players, including the winning Panthers.

“Kyle Rau stayed in school, a bunch of them stayed in school, and this is a repeat example of kids staying in school, staying with their buddies and they will cherish that moment for the rest of their life,” Randolph said. “It’s a credit to those kids that they stuck together and the target was on them all year and they went undefeated and they are a true champion.”

He went on to say how much the Panthers gained as players and a team seeing their goal through, and in doing so are the first team to win 31 games without a loss or a tie.

“It’s an example that kids don’t have to leave early,” Randolph explained. “Those kids will have great college careers.”

He has a living example of that himself in his son Jake, who starred on his Duluth East teams, stayed in school with a number of players, played a season in the USHL for the Omaha Lancers while lighting up the scoreboard, and is currently third in scoring for the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

“They are great hockey players and did not lose a thing [by not leaving],” Randolph said of the Panthers. “In fact, they gained a ton by playing in this tournament in front of the big crowds. That’s a credit to them, sticking to their communities, sticking to their families, and they will always remember it so you don’t need to leave.”

The image of the Panthers standing arm-in-arm at the blue line during the awards ceremony was powerful image to what it means to be a team and sticking together to compete in high school hockey.

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A spectacle that lives up to the hype

It was another great run for Hermantown but, despite a late rally, the Hawks once again fell to East Grand Forks in their Class 1A title tilt on Saturday, March 7 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo (Jeff Wegge)

In this day and age, very few things actually live up to their hype. Yet somehow and some way each year the State High School Hockey Tournament does so. It hardly matters the teams or the match-ups there is always drama, upsets and great story lines and this year was no different.

How could you not root for Hermantown coach Bruce Plante whose Hawks team has been to the state title Game in Class 1A six consecutive times and lost each one?

For the moment forget the losses, even though Plante insisted afterwards that he was kind of “getting used to this.” To get to the title game six straight times is nothing short of amazing, considering that rosters change and you’re dealing with teenagers (which most parents know can be a challenge).

Plante is one of the good guys in hockey and he truly loves coaching young men and teaching them about hockey and life. Unfortunately, sometimes the lesson just sucks. No matter how impressive it was to have a chance to learn it. 

Chapter two of the great novel that was this year’s state tourney was about those “cardiac kids” from Duluth East who made it to the finals of the Class AA tournament by using up more lives than a cat.

Duluth East players celebrate a goal in their shocking win over No. 2 Edina in their state semifinal clash on Friday, March 6 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jonathan Watkins)

First, they came back from being down three goals in the section finals just to punch their ticket to state. They came back from being down three goals again versus St. Thomas Academy in the quarterfinals. They beat No. 2 seed and defending champion Edina in the semifinals.

They didn’t just defy the odds; they looked fate in the face and slapped it.

In the finals they ran up against one of the most dominating teams in high school hockey history in Lakeville North. Duluth East coach Mike Randolph, who’s been a coach in this state a long time, said North was one of the best teams he’d ever seen – which is really saying something. 

That brings me to the aforementioned team of destiny in Lakeville North. The first big school team since the 1992-1993 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars to finish a season perfect and with a state title.

They finish the season 31-0. An astounding feat when you think of all that it takes. Coach Trent Eigner didn’t just do a great job of coaching hockey; he did a great job of managing men. 

There are a lot of reasons that perfect seasons don’t happen often. Competition in this state is hard, the target gets continually bigger and mistakes are often made. But the Panthers never made a misstep, not once.

Not when people started talking about how good they were, not while the state realized how amazingly stacked their roster was, not even when annoying television sports reporters constantly asked them how it felt to still be undefeated.

They kept their eyes on the prize, stayed humble and continued to dominate the competition without giving into their own hype. (Which, when you’re dealing with 16-18 year old kids who already think they are invincible, is a feat in itself.)

By the time they got to the State Tournament Lakeville North could have easily picked their poison. Which pressure would eventually do them in? The quest for perfection or the thought of the school’s first, ever, state title in boy’s hockey. 

The answer was neither.  

Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner celebrates with his players after the Panthers’ defeated Duluth East in the Class 2A championship game on Saturday, March 7 at Xcel Energy Center (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Before the tournament Eigner told me that at this point in the year the boys were used to hearing about what they had done and that he didn’t think they really even gave it much thought anymore. While the rest of us certainly did, they just went out and played hockey, methodically dismantling all challengers.

If was fun to witness history — it usually is. It’s even more enjoyable when it’s a bunch of kids who are just playing the game they love. As the clock wound down Saturday night with the Panthers victorious and their perfect season intact, it was fun to imagine what that might have felt like. Many of us know what it’s like to play and win, but so very few know the feeling of perfection. 

I also noticed something that you rarely get to see: a normally stoic hockey coach celebrating like he was a kid. Amidst all of the jumping, yelling and high-fives, Trent Eigner was hugging his players and crying tears of joy along with them — the pressure and excitement of the year finally off of his shoulders — and on a stage for all of us to be able to see.

So, well done Minnesota State Hockey Tournament! You’ve done what so many good stories have failed to do, continually make each sequel better than the last and make us pining for the next one to come out.

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Lakeville North caps off undefeated season with 4-1 win over Duluth East

St. Paul — Before every game this season, both Lakeville North goaltender Ryan Edquist and defenseman Jack McNeely took a photo of themselves using the social media application Snapchat, always captioning their photo with “business trip” as they traveled on the bus to each game.

What started out as something fun turned into a superstition for the two teammates who realized the seriousness of their photo caption.

The Panthers had unfinished business to take care of following a state final loss to Edina in 2014, and now a year later after taking a trip of 31 victories with no losses, Lakeville North finished its business.

The Panthers capped off an impeccable season with a 4-1 victory over the Duluth East Greyhounds in the 2015 Class AA state championship at the Xcel Energy Center, Saturday night. Finishing 31-0, Lakeville North is the first team to win a state championship after going undefeated since the 1992-1993 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars.

When Edquist joined the team before the start of the season after leaving Shattuck-St. Mary’s, the mandate from his new teammates was clear.

“I could tell right away when I got here, met the guys, that they had one goal in mind and it was to come back in this game and win it and that’s what we ended up doing,” Edquist said. “Right when I came into the program, they had it in mind that we were going to win it this year; we had the talent and we had the hard work ethic.”

In the state championship game, this hard work ethic showed from puck drop. The Panthers got off to a quick start as they out-skated the Greyhounds and asserted a physical level of play. While most of the team brought this high level of compete early, the most impressive performance was that of sophomore forward Ryan Poehling.

Lakeville North’s Ryan Poehling fires a shot in the Panthers’ 4-1 win over Duluth East to capture the school’s first state title. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

The youngest of the Poehling-trio fought a sickness all tournament long as Lakeville North head coach Trent Eigner said Ryan had been “sicker than a dog.” While the future St. Cloud State Husky struggled with illness throughout the week, he didn’t struggle to provide a spark for his team in the state title game.

Ryan Poehling took a pass from his brother Nick in the slot and fired the puck just past Greyhound goaltender Gunnar Howg’s glove to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 4:27 left in the first period.

Even though the youngest Poehling really had nothing left to provide for his team as sick as he was, his coach wasn’t surprised he still came up big on the biggest of stages.

“There’s a part of me that expects Ryan will always come up with something special,” Eigner said. “His tank was empty last night. The fact that he could come out and provide that kind of energy tonight was awesome.”

In the second period, the high-speed Panther offense continued right where it left off. Not even  two minutes into the second, a Poehling struck again when Jack scored his 38th goal of the season.

As Lakeville North found success in the offensive zone, the Panther defense continued to stifle the Duluth East offense throughout the game. Even when the Greyhounds had a one man advantage, they couldn’t get the puck on net mostly due to the play of defender Jack Sadek.

Sadek often displayed a calm confidence, continuously clearing the puck, and intimidating Duluth East at the blue line and in the neutral zone. After registering only one shot in the first period, the Greyhounds only mustered 13 shots on net through three periods.

After a goal from 2015 Herb Brooks award winner Angelo Altavilla in the third, Duluth East wasn’t about to give in just yet. Junior forward Ryan Peterson put the puck past Edquist on the power play to narrow the scoring gap to 3-1 at 11:21 of the third period.

Lakeville North goalie Ryan Edquist needed to make only 13 saves in the Panthers’ win over Duluth East in the Class 2A state title game. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

The Greyhounds are no strangers to coming back from a three-goal deficit, but Edquist wasn’t about to hit the panic button after giving up his only goal of the game and only his fourth goal of the tournament.

“We all know what they did the last [couple games],” Edquist said. “I had confidence in my teammates who have been able to hold onto leads.”

While Edquist wasn’t worried, the Greyhounds believed that that goal would be the one to spark a late game comeback.

“The whole game we knew we had a shot of coming back but we knew we needed to put one in first just to get it going and that was our goal,” Greyhounds’ senior forward Nick Altmann said. “So after that one went in we just started thinking ‘OK, we can do this, we can do this, we just need to get another one and we’ll get the energy back,’ but it just didn’t happen.”

Duluth East has recent experience coming back down three twice against the St. Thomas Academy Cadets in the quarterfinals and Elk River in the section championship, so there wasn’t a doubt that it could be done. But Greyhounds coach Mike Randolph believed it was too late in the game to muster another triumphant comeback.

“That’s what I was waiting for,” Randolph quipped about his team falling behind by three. “We should have done it a little earlier and we might have had a little more time.”

An empty-netter from Nick Poehling ended Duluth East’s comeback attempt, ultimately giving Lakeville North its first boys’ hockey state championship in school history. For Randolph, the coach of the Greyhounds for the past 27 years, he had nothing but respect for the Panthers squad following the loss.

“That’s why they’re 31-0, one of the best high school teams I’ve seen since I came here,” he said.

Winning the state championship involves mixed-emotions for the Panthers because of the senior class that is leaving including Sadek, Jack and Nick Poehling, McNeely, and Altavilla. But ending a high school career with a state championship victory is a best-case scenario for Jack Poehling.

“To leave as a senior with a state championship win, there’s nothing better,” Jack Poehling said. “At the end of the day, I don’t know how you can be sad leaving like this.”

The post Panthers take care of business appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Tweten’s OT winner thwarts furious Hermantown rally

St. Paul — Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith, who has guided the Eagles to two state titles in his tenure, said after his team’s quarterfinal win over Blaine on Thursday night, “The only chance you have of winning a state tournament is your top guys playing big.”

East Grand Forks’ top guys played plenty big — particularly in the game’s biggest moment — in Saturday afternoon’s Class 1A state championship tilt at Xcel Energy Center. Tanner Tweten scored 4:26 into overtime to lift the Green Wave (26-4-0) to a second consecutive state title with a 5-4 win over perennial bridesmaid Hermantown.

Grant Loven’s pass from behind the Hermantown net found Tweten streaking through the slot and the junior’s one-timer went in, much to the delight of the legions of East Grand Forks fans on hand.

East Grand Forks’ top line of Tweten, Loven, and Dixon Bowen combined for three goals and six assists giving the Green Wave more than a chance to finish on top.

“I always knew we had it in us,” Bowen said. “All year long we played our systems and we did it the best today against Hermantown and ended up winning. It’s very special.”

The runner-up finish for Hermantown (27-3-1) is its sixth straight, matching its number of consecutive title game appearances. The difficulty of the defeat was not lost on Hermantown’s opponent.

“Some of our players know some of their players and, you know, you just feel for them,” Bowen said. “They worked extremely hard and they’ve had a great season and you just feel for them.”

But the Hawks did not go down without a fight, staging a stunning come comeback in the final 33 seconds to force the extra session.

Wyatt Aamodt  and Eric Gotz scored 17 seconds apart in the game’s waning moments with Hermantown goaltender Luke Olson on the bench for an extra attacker. The momentum seemed firmly behind the Hawks at that point but Green Wave coach Tyler Palmascino quickly calmed his team in the brief intermission prior to overtime.

“All I said was ‘If I would have told you at 8 a.m. this morning that we’ll be 4-4 going into overtime, would you take it?’ and of course they would, you have a chance to win the game” Palmascino said. “We felt like we played a pretty damn good period for 16 minutes and they made some plays, give Hermantown credit, they made a couple plays there at the end and, you know, we made one more play than they did.”

The Hawks outshot the Green Wave 31-25 but never was able to grab a lead at any point in the contest.

“I thought we outplayed them at certain times of the game and had our chances and we didn’t capitalize when we did,” Hermantown coach Bruce Plante said.

Second line forward Austin Monda scored two goals of his own, including a huge third-period breakaway goal which, at the time, appeared to give the Green Wave the breathing room they needed.

With his team nursing a 3-2 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Monda picked off a pass in the high slot in his own zone and was off to the races. The senior went in alone on Hermantown Olson and roofed a backhand shot for his 12th of the year.

The goal took on added importance after Aamodt and Gotz’s late-game heroics.

The Hawks came out flying in the in the opening period, peppering Weber with 12 shots, but it was the Green Wave which carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

Tanner Tweten opened the scoring at 4:26 poking in a loose puck Olson thought he had frozen to the left post but Tweten found an opening to pot his 20th of the year. Later in the period, Tweten’s backdoor feed from the left circle found Austin Monda all alone near the weak-side post for his second of the tournament and 11th of the year at 12:03.

Weber, meanwhile, did his part keeping Hermantown off the board in the game’s opening 17 minutes, making back-to-back stops on Hawks’ star Ryan Kero and later turning away a Pionk deflection with the Green Wave shorthanded.

“We had a lot of great chances, especially early,” Plante said. “We came out of that first period with nothing … so it made it tough fighting uphill the whole game.”

“Josh is one of the calmest goalies I’ve ever been around,” Palmascino said. “It’s amazing how when he’s in the eye of a storm he has the ability to stay calm in net. He’s now a goaltender that’s won two section titles and two state titles; I think that’s pretty rare.”

But Hermantown responded in lightning quick fashion to open the middle frame, scoring twice in 4:02 to draw even with East Grand Forks. Parker Hawk — the player with the most Hermantown name of all-time — got things going at 1:28, on a shot Weber probably wants back, and Pionk tied it just 2:34 later.

Pionk turned the corner on a defender in the right circle where his backhand pass through the slot intended for linemate Cole Koepke was blocked by Green Wave defenseman Trevor Selk. But the puck caromed off Selk right back to Pionk who caught Weber leaning away from the right post and buried his 35th goal of the season.

The Green Wave’s top unit struck again, though, at 10:14 of the second to carry 3-2 lead into the third.

Loven drove to the net from the left corner where Olson thwarted his stuff-in attempt but the puck ricocheted through the crease to an awaiting Dixon Bowen who scored his third of the tourney and 22nd on the season.

“Their level of play just rises in the moment,” Palmascino said. “When the game’s on the line, they have the ability to raise their level of play and it’s rare to have a group like that.”

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Lakeville North earns another title shot with win over Eden Prairie

St. Paul — No overtime drama required this time around.

The Lakeville North Panthers broke open a tie game after two periods with four goals in the final 10 minutes to defeat Eden Prairie 6-2 at Xcel Energy Center on Friday night and make back-to-back trips to the Class 2A state title game.

In the second consecutive state tournament appearance for each team, Lakeville North and Eden Prairie last faced each other a year ago in precisely the same situation, playing the late game on semifinal Friday.

That night the Eagles opened up a 4-2 second-period lead only to see it evaporate with Nick Poehling scoring the Panthers’ final two goals including the winner at 8:26 of the second overtime for a 5-4 Lakeville North win.

But “free hockey” was not on the Lakeville North agenda on Friday.

Max Johnson broke the deadlock with a power-play goal at 5:43 of the third period, pouncing on a rebound of a Jack Sadek shot that Eden Prairie goaltender Shaun Durocher lost track of until it was too late.  Goals by Chaz Dufron and Jack Poehling extended the lead before Henry Enebak’s empty-net goal provided the final margin.

Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner said his team struggled through the first two periods with its normally reliable puck-possession game. The Eagles took advantage to the tune of outscoring the Panthers 2-1 in the second while outshooting them 14-5.

“Going into that third period, with what we’ve been through as a team this year and the success we’ve had, it’s not like our confidence ever wavered,” Eigner said. “But we just wanted the gears to kind of click and see if we could play one great period tonight and fortunately we did that.”

Lakeville North goaltender Ryan Edquist backstopped the Panthers’ win with 35 saves to help his team get back to the championship game. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

But the top-seeded and undefeated Panthers (30-0-0) were put in the unusual position of being outshot 37-21 for the game by a skilled and aggressive Eden Prairie team. The Eagles (19-10-0) played well but succumbed to mistakes at key times, a bit of bad luck and a hot goaltender in Lakeville North’s Ryan Edquist, who finished with 35 saves.

“We played great hockey, our kids, I’m proud of them,” Smith said. “Lakeville North’s goalie played really well. We were not in awe of Lakeville North, we don’t leave in awe of them, we respect them just like [we did] coming into [the game] but our kids played great.

“There’s a reason why they’re undefeated but I thought we were just as good tonight.”

The Panthers stuck first, capitalizing on an offensive zone turnover by the Eagles to springing Lakeville North’s second line of Enebak, Johnson and Taylor Schneider a 3-on-1. Using his linemates as decoys, Enebak carried the puck into the zone and fired a shot from the right circle past Durocher at 7:45 of the opening period.

The 1-0 score held into the intermission but Eden Prairie wasted little time potting the equalizer on Andy Aguilar’s wrister from the left point just 23 seconds into the second.

The teams traded goals in the period’s first 10 minutes by Lakeville North’s Sadek and Eden Prairie’s Nicky Leivermann. Nick Poehling’s slapper caromed off the end boards to Sadek and the University of Minnesota recruit buried a right circle shot at 4:18 while Lievermann finished an end-to-end rush with by roofing a blistering short-side wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle to make it 2-2 at 9:06.

Awaiting the Panthers in Saturday’s championship game is a red-hot and dangerous Duluth East team which took out No. 2 Edina in the early game on Friday after beating fourth-seeded St. Thomas Academy in the quarterfinals.

Eigner said he knows he won’t have to worry about his team’s preparation and work ethic on Saturday, as it’s been there for them all season. He added the key for the Panthers will be all about execution.

“For us, a puck-possession team, if we’re doing things clean, in terms of the way we’re playing early on in a game, I think it kind of builds confidence for us. But we fully understand that [Saturday] will be a humdinger for both teams.”

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Duluth East scores 3 unanswered goals on its way to upsetting Edina

St. Paul — There will be no three-peat.

Unseeded Duluth East played spoiler for the second time in as many games in this state tournament, as it handed No. 2 seed, and two-time defending champion, Edina a 3-1 loss in the Class 2A semifinals Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

“I think we believed right from the get-go tonight,” senior Nick Altmann said. “We never gave up.”

A day after Duluth East (16-10-4) came back from a 5-2 deficit to upset St. Thomas Academy in overtime of the quarterfinals, the comeback kids did it again, handing Edina (25-2-2) only its second regulation loss this season. Still, the tournament seedings didn’t seem to faze Duluth East coach Mike Randolph.

“I didn’t think it was an upset,” he said after Friday’s game. “We’re finding a way. I think at moments … we locked in.”

It was Edina that struck first, on a goal with a sharp deflection. Senior Patrick Haug camped out in front and redirected senior Ben Foley’s point shot.

A few minutes later, Duluth East tied it up on the power play. Junior Luke Dow got the puck behind the net and quickly came out front for a wrap-around goal. Randolph said he thought his team came out nervous but adjusted after Dow’s tally.

“We popped one,” Randolph said. “I think the guys kind of settled in.”

Duluth East’s Nick Altmann watches the puck go in the Edina net after his diving shot eluded Edina goaltender Kobie Boe in the second period of the Greyhounds’ win over the Hornets on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo /Jonathan Watkins)

The Hounds didn’t waste any time, 31 seconds to be exact, settling in and then grabbing the lead in the second period. Edina failed to clear its zone, and a shot bounced off the front of Edina goaltender Kobie Boe. A diving and outstretched Nick Altmann put the puck past the sprawling goalie for the 2-1 lead.

“It was a dirty one,” Nick Altmann said. “I just had that second effort and dove for it.”

Junior Ash Altmann put the game away with 2:41 left in the third. He used a backhand move to put the puck upstairs. The building went crazy. A stoppage with 3.7 ticks on the clock brought a cheering crowd to its feet.

“It was unbelievably loud,” Ash Altmann said, of the final minute. “You could barely hear yourself talk.”

The Hornets played their semifinal without their leading scorer. Senior Dylan Malmquist was injured during the quarterfinal game when a puck hit him behind the knee.

“I went out there, tried to skate and just couldn’t go today,” Malmquist said.

It hurt not having him play with the team, said Edina coach Curt Giles, because Malmquist knows how important he is to the Hornets.

“Life’s full of curve balls, you know?” Giles said. “Next thing you know, he can’t play.”

Duluth East, making its seventh consecutive state tournament appearance, placed sixth last year. If they come out victorious Saturday, it will be the fourth title for the Greyhounds, having last won in 1998.

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A constant presence, Mike Randolph constantly finds new ways to win

St. Paul — Mike Randolph has had no shortage of success in his 27 years as the head coach of the Duluth East Greyhounds. From two state championships to nine straight tournament trips, Randolph has won with a multitude of players and unique array of teams.

But the 2014-2015 Greyhound team perhaps posed the most difficult challenge for the veteran coach.

With a sub .500 record most of the season and finishing only 11-10-4 on the regular season, the Duluth East varsity squad raised a high amount of doubt from its fans and other onlookers.

“There was a lot of negative talk out there about that we would be the first team in nine years to not make the tournament,” Randolph said. “We’d be the first team to have a losing record at [Duluth] East ever.”

Yet, the Greyhounds righted their season, returned to the 2015 Class AA boys’ state hockey tournament and their story only continues, now headed to the state final after a fourth-straight upset, defeating No. 2 Edina 3-1.

The 2014-2015 Duluth East Greyhounds portray similar qualities to many of the previous teams that Randolph coached, but they aren’t quite “at the skill level.”

What the team lacked in skill, they made up for in strong leadership.

Randolph believes the team wouldn’t have returned to the state tournament if it weren’t for captains Nick Altmann and Brian Bunten who silenced the outside criticism that the team received in their low moments throughout the season.

“Bunten and Altmann have done an incredible job of staying the course,” Randolph said.”There was lot’s of noise. The leadership group has done a nice job of blocking that noise out in our group and continuing to work.”

Mike Randolph embraces Greyhounds’ goaltender Gunner Howg after Duluth East’s improbable win over Edina. (MHM Photo / Jonathan Watkins)

The loudest outside noise came after a game in late December when the Greyhounds traveled to Braemar Arena, the home of Edina, and were defeated 7-1.

“It was kind of one of our most embarrassing defeats,” Randolph said. “They wanted to have the opportunity to show Edina that we’re better than that.”

In the state semifinals, the Greyhounds did more than just improve, they also knocked the two-time reigning champion Edina Hornets out of the state tournament.

The regular season was far from desirable for Duluth East. But Randolph made sure his team saw the first 25 games as a lesson rather than something that defined them, heading into the postseason.

“Really, we emphasize during the season that the regular season is more or less 25 lesson plans and the real season starts in the first round of the playoffs,” Randolph said.

Now defined as the team that can beat any team on any given day, the Greyhounds embrace their underdog role. Randolph’s team knocked off No. 19 Grand Rapids and No. 6 Elk River in section play as well as No. 4 St. Thomas Academy and No. 2 Edina in the state tournament.

Down at some point in the game in nearly all four upsets, Duluth East is the epitome of a team capable of turning things around, which is something they’ve done often, thanks to the leadership on the team.

“Whenever your captains are two of your hardest workers and they continue to work hard, you have a chance to turn it around,” Randolph said. “And to their credit, they have.”

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Cole Koepke and Jesse Jacques scored in the semifinal to send Hermantown back to the title game

St. Paul — Bringing a 1-0 lead into the third period of its Class 1A semifinal, top-seeded Hermantown junior Cole Koepke provided an insurance goal just 1:23 into the final frame to make it 2-0 against St. Cloud Apollo.

“Yeah, that really gets rid of some of the ulcer juices right there,” said Hermantown Coach Bruce Plante. “(That) second goal is a coach-loving goal. I’ll tell you that.”

His team’s 2-0 victory Friday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center landed Plante and the Hawks in the Class 1A state title game for the sixth year in a row.

“Yeah, isn’t that wonderful?” Plante said. “It’s great, man. I think every team in Minnesota has that same aspiration.

“And what are the odds to be in that game six years in a row? It’s almost laughable if it didn’t hurt so much.”

That’s because unlike other teams across the state, Hermantown has been there the past five years without winning the title. Four of those five, Plante said his players played really well but they just didn’t win. He strives to get his teams playing a hard game and doing the best they can.

This year marks their 12th state tournament. Their only title came in 2007.

In Friday’s game against St. Cloud Apollo, Hermantown, which scored eight goals in its quarterfinal game against Spring Lake Park, was held scoreless until the 6:44 mark of the second period. That’s when sophomore Jesse Jacques fired a blistering slapshot from the top of the circle past Apollo’s goaltender for a 1-0 lead.

“Yeah, that was huge, just to get that first one,” Jacques said, as he addressed the media in the pink and white Minnie Mouse bicycle helmet that Hawks players give to the player of the game. Wearing it for the first time, he said it felt “pretty good.”

Keeping the Hawks off the scoreboard for as long as possible was part of the game plan for St. Cloud Apollo Coach Pete Matanich.

“I thought our guys came out and played exceptionally well today,” he said. “I was hoping we’d be able to put a little pressure on them.”

Offensively, Apollo had its chances, with a breakaway as time ticked down in the first period and a shot off the outside of the pipe, but Hermantown’s defense didn’t give them much and shut them down.

Hermantown’s junior goaltender Luke Olson faced just 13 shots in his shutout. The Hawks haven’t given up a goal in this year’s state tournament. Plante said that their defense has been overlooked all season long.

“We do play good defense, and I think any good championship team has to do that,” he said.

For the final game, it’s a rematch of last year’s 1A championship between East Grand Forks and Hermantown. The Green Wave was victorious last year, 7-3. The two squads met earlier this season, resulting in a 3-0 win for the Hawks.

So, what might make this year’s championship game different from the rest for Hermantown? Koepke knows that this year’s roster, including eight seniors, brings more experience to the table this time. They’ll feed on adrenaline during the game, he added.

“It’s just going to be a good time to get some redemption from last year,” he said.

The post Hermantown shuts out St. Cloud Apollo appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Green Wave is ‘Loven’ it after junior’s hat trick in win over Zephyrs

St. Paul — To be a two-time defending section champion going for a second consecutive state title puts a gigantic target on a team’s back, according to East Grand Forks Coach Tyler Palmiscno, who added that his Green Wave (25-4-0) have worked hard all year.

“Today, we battled hard,” he said. “We wanted to make it a man’s game.”

No. 3-seed East Grand Forks used its physical play and a hat trick from junior Grant Loven on the way to a 5-2 win over No. 2-seeded Mahtomedi (25-3-2) in the Class 1A semifinals Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

The Green Wave will look for one more win Saturday in order to capture a second consecutive state title.

Loven, who came into the game with 11 goals on the season, had his hat trick by the second intermission. His first tally came on a 2-on-1 when he shot the puck past the blocker of Mahtomedi goaltender Will Swanson.

His second goal was a second-effort shot off his own rebound as he crashed the net. With 3:06 left on the clock in the second, hats came over the boards from the Green Wave faithful as Loven put his team ahead with the eventual game winner.

Going into the locker room up 3-2 was a huge deal for his team, Palmiscno said.

“I was lucky enough to put it in,” Loven said. “Got us the lead, I guess.”

Mahtomedi came back to tie it twice on goals from Joe Forciea and Timothy Kuivinen. The Zephyrs registered 20 shots on goal. The play was physical from the start, with multiple scrums and a couple coincidental minor penalties.

“I think it was effective in that it took us off our game a little bit,” said Mahtomedi Coach Jeff Poeschl. “They were very physical. When you play a physical game, it’s a very exhausting game. I don’t think they intimidated us, but I think they wore us down, physically.”

But it was junior Trevor Selk’s goal early in the third that sealed the game and another trip to the title game for East Grand Forks. It was just his second goal of the season. He was out for about six weeks with an injury and was medically cleared to play yesterday morning, according to Palmiscno.

Selk said afterward that he was going to help his team either way. The help came in the form of a goal, which he credited his teammate Dixon Bowen for a good screen.

“It felt great putting the puck in the back of the net,” Selk said. “Six weeks is a long time not to play.”

Hat trick aside, Loven said that Selk’s goal was the one to really set East Grand Forks apart. Still, Palmiscno said Loven has been good for the past six weeks, filling in at different positions with Trevor’s void.

The quality of the game on the ice seemed to match the atmosphere at the X. The lower bowl was packed with fans, and the upper level seats opened up not long after puck drop.

Palmiscno asked Poeschl the size of his community. Poeschel told him 7,500.

“I said, ‘I think they’re all here,’” Palm said. “Their student section was huge.”

Poeschl agreed.

‘’For decades, this is the premiere tournament,” he said. “I think single A has grown in its strength.”

The post East Grand Forks battles past Mahtomedi appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Lumberjack state legacy continues 29 years later

Current members of the Bemidji Lumberjacks had not known the first-hand experience of their hometown team going to the state boys hockey tournament until now.

Moreover, no one in Bemidji born after 1986 has witnessed the excitement of their Lumberjacks competing in Minnesota high school hockey’s biggest stage. They could only go by the stories of those who played or followed the Lumberjacks teams in the mid 1980s and before when the program last appeared at state.

Fittingly, three members of the state entrant Bemidji team this season grew up hearing of those stories from their fathers who played on Lumberjack state squads in the 1980s or 1970s. Jack Johnson, Michael Forseth, Chase Hartje and his brother, Cole, helped the Lumberjacks end a 29-year state tournament drought.

“We haven’t even seen a team come down here from Bemidji, so it’s kind of a first,” Forseth said. “We’re excited and just happy to be here.”

Against No. 2 seed Edina on Thursday in the Class 2A state tournament, Bemidji looked more like a team out for a colossal upset than content just to be at the Xcel Energy Center. A goal by Johnson and then Josh Lusby in less than two minutes apart toward the end of the third period had the Lumberjacks within a goal of the two-time defending champs.

Only an empty-netter in the final seconds by Edina seemed to keep its title hopes off the chopping blocks. Nonetheless, the Lumberjacks wowed the full house at the X and a community that had not seen its team in state hockey in almost three decades.

“People are going to be excited, and they should be because we have good hockey team,” Lumberjacks coach Wade Chiodo said.

Support has flooded in for the team since beating Moorhead 2-0 on Feb. 25 for the Section 8AA championship in Thief River Falls, where Chiodo grew up. Chiodo has coached the Lumberjacks to the section finals twice now in his seven years at the helm.

Last time came in 2011 when they fell 2-0 to Moorhead in TRF. Either the Spuds or Roseau had won Section 8AA and gone to state for 19-straight years until the Lumberjacks won the 8AA crown last month.

Winning gave cause for the Bemidji community to celebrate like it hadn’t in 29 years.

“Everybody’s supporting us,” Forseth said. “The whole week, the town’s just been buzzing, so it’s been really awesome to see all of our fans follow us down here.”

Messages of support rolled in throughout the week – even from members of past state teams from a while ago. Chiodo received a message from former goalie Steve Peters, who net-minded for the Lumberjacks on a state tournament team in the 1980s.

Bemidji fans purchased 1,000 tickets at school prior to the tournament. It looked and sounded like more than that on Thursday at the X.

“Yeah, at the end there when the crowd erupted it was pretty loud,” Forseth said. “That was cool.”

Forseth’s father also experienced playing in front of a state tournament crowd in 1976 with the Lumberjaks. Johnson’s father did too in 1985 when Bemidji again made state. The Hartje brothers’ father also did in the former last Lumberjack state trip in 1986.

Current Bemidji players Jake and Nick Leitner also have ties to the last time a Lumberjack team played in state since their mother attended the school at the time. Jake led the team offensively with 47 points going into state.

He had a goal against the Hornets and pulled his team within a point at 3-2 in the second period. Bemidji had been down 3-0 through the first period.

“It took us the first period to get them [the nerves] out,” Forseth said. “We started off a little slow [and] a little shaky, but once we got them out, we started coming back in the game.”

After all, the Lumberjacks were playing for a community that hadn’t seen this in 29 years.

The post Welcome back Jacks appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.