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“I tell them they’re going to skate Herbies if they mess up,” McClanahan said, generating some laughter in the postgame press conference.

In all seriousness, McClanahan, a gold medalist from the 1980 Olympic team, said he talked about accepting and embracing the big stage with his team.

“It’s even bigger today than when I had the opportunity to play in it, eons ago,” said McClanahan, who saw an undefeated season get upended with a loss to Richfield in the 1976, single-class tournament quarterfinals.  

The 2-seed Bears relished the opportunity and came away with a 7-5 victory over Maple Grove in a back-and-forth thriller to kick off the 2A part of the boys’ hockey tournament Thursday afternoon. All seven goals came from the Bears’ top line, with junior Joe Miller netting a hat trick and senior Jack Sabre scoring two goals and an assist.

Blake held a 3-2 lead through two periods, but the action was far from over, with seven more goals coming in the third period. After Sam Jacobs tied the game a few minutes in for Maple Grove, senior Gavin Best and Miller connected for a shorthanded goal to re-take the lead.

Maple Grove’s Chris Kernan tries to beat Blake goaltender Aksel Reid to a loose puck during their Class 2A quarterfinal game on Wednesday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. (Photo: Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

Miller and Best had a 2-on-0 opportunity through neutral ice and passed the puck back and forth a few times before Miller completed his hat trick.

“2-on-0s are pretty hard to come by,” Miller said. “But glad we were able to put it in the net.”

McClanahan loved to see the passing between two of his top players on that opportunity.

“It’s not just fun to watch,” McClanahan said. “I think it’s fun for the guys that are doing it.

“You move the puck like that, you’re going to have a lot of chances.”

Sabre made it a two-goal lead a couple minutes later, but Maple Grove tied it again with a pair of goals 1 minute, 16 seconds apart thanks to Tyler Oakland and Joshua Giuliani’s second of the game.

The game-winner came off senior defenseman Will Svenddal’s stick on the power play with 2:14 to play in regulation. His shot from the point made it through traffic and into the net. The penalty was a slashing call on Ben Leafblad.

“We battled the whole game,” Guiliani said. “I thought we were the better team. They got some lucky calls that I thought were not very good. And then they capitalized on their opportunities.”

A couple minutes later, Henry Nelson knocked the Maple Grove net off its pegs with 1:46 to play. McClanahan declined a penalty shot and chose to take the power play on the delay-of-game penalty. Best scored an empty-netter to seal the victory.

“It was pretty crazy,” Miller said. “I think I can say I’ve never played in a game quite like that. A lot of ups and downs. But I think we managed it well.”

Maple Grove coach Todd Bergland said after the game that he was not too upset about the delay-of-game call, but rather, he took issue with the slashing call during the tie game, “when we’ve got all the momentum in the world.”

“That clearly wasn’t a penalty,” Bergland said. “Again, refs are human. They make mistakes. And it’s a tough profession. I commend them for everything. But that was the game-changer right there. That was it. You don’t call that penalty, and we’re probably on the other end of the stick.”

These two teams faced each other not long ago, on Feb. 15 during the regular-season finale. The Crimson tied the game with 2 minutes, 2 seconds left in regulation before Sawyer Skanson scored the overtime game-winner about three minutes into the extra session for a 5-4 Crimson victory.

Blake (23-6-0) won the consolation title in 2006 in the Class 1A tournament. The program is in its first state trip as a Class 2A team, having opted up for the 2017-18 season.

Sabre called the Class 2A tournament the “holy grail.”

“This is the pinnacle of high school hockey, and this is where we wanted to be,” Sabre said. “We knew we could compete at this level.”

Maple Grove (20-9-0) is winless in three state tournament appearances so far (2012, 2017), taking an 0-5 record into the consolation bracket.

Eden Prairie pounces on Lakeville South

The state tournament is a place for star players to shine and add to their already impressive goal and points totals for the season. It’s a rarer to see a player score his first goal of the season on such a big stage.

But 3-seed Eden Prairie senior Kai Stansberry accomplished the feat, scoring what turned out to a game-winning goal in his team’s 4-0 shutout over Lakeville South in the second Class 2A quarterfinal Thursday. He put his team up 1-0 early on a mini breakaway, 3 minutes, 48 seconds into the game.

“My line, we do the heavy hitting,” Stansberry said. “We’re the grinders on the team. So, we like to get that jumpstart.”

It was a relief to get that first goal under his belt, coming on his line’s first shift of the game, too.

Stansberry shifted to the forward position about halfway through the season, according to his coach Lee Smith. They needed to make a change to get heavier and bigger to face the stronger teams as of late.

Eden Prairie Mr. Hockey finalist Ben Steeves scores the Eagles’ fourth and final goal in spectacular fashion during the second period of their 4-0 Class 2A state quarterfinal win over Lakeville South on Thursday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“And we’ve been talking about him being the difference-maker down the stretch,” Smith said. “And today he was.”

The Eagles (23-5-1) had a 2-0 lead through the first period after a goal from Luke Mittelstadt before getting a pair of goals from senior Ben Steeves in the second. First, Steeves finished off play where the puck bounced back out front from the end glass.

The fourth goal was reminiscent of one of the most famous goals former Minnesota Wild player Mikael Granlund scored, a diving play at the goalmouth. Steeves was a man on a mission with that goal, noting how Lakeville South was playing defensively, man-to-man.

“Every time I’d hear someone say, ‘I’ve got Steeves! I got (Jackson) Blake! I got Mittelstadt!’” Steeves said. “And they would just stay on us.

“So, we kind of figured out that if you beat your guy that’s on you, you can just take it to the net and nobody will come to you because they stay on the other guys. When I put it through the guy’s stick, I just drove the net and buried it.”

Steeves, a Mr. Hockey finalist, is up to 35 goals this season.

Eagles senior goaltender Axel Rosenlund made 29 saves for his third shutout of the season. The Cougars had some more offensive zone time in the second period and got some chances in the third but couldn’t cash in.

“We needed to get that one in just to get the bench going and get everybody going,” said Lakeville South coach Janne Kivilhalme.

The game was a complete rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, a game Eden Prairie also won, but it took three overtimes to get to the 3-2 decision. The Eagles outshot the Cougars 66-29 in that one, including 27-8 in overtime.

The Eagles and Bears will face each other in the semifinals. Blake defeated Eden Prairie 5-4 on Jan. 25.

“Hopefully it’s not miracle on ice for them again,” Smith said. “Hopefully it’s our time.”

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It’s because of those conditions that Blake boys’ hockey coach Rob McClanahan had his team do something he really doesn’t like in their game against Blaine.

“We dumped it and chased it,” McClanahan said. “We found a way to make it successful.

“It’s really hard for me to go to that style. I don’t know if everybody understands, exactly. These fellas have never done that with me, and they responded.”

From the second period on, the No. 8-ranked Bears found their game and ended up on the winning side of a 3-2 victory over Blaine with the sun shining down on Parade Stadium. Junior Joe Miller scored the game-winner with 7 minutes, 57 seconds left in the third period.

So, why the shift to dump-and-chase?

The host Bears put up 17 shots in the first period but faced a 1-0 deficit. Miller said it was frustrating for Blake’s top line, made up of Miller and seniors Jack Sabre and Gavin Best, to get a lot of chances and not score.

They changed their game plan on the fly in the second period, and they started winning races to the puck. Best made quick work of the team’s adjustment, getting the Bears on the board just 1 minute, 34 seconds into the second period to tie the game. The goal, with the assist from Miller, was Best’s 10th of the season and seventh in the past six games.

Blake took a 2-1 lead at the 7-minute mark of the period on a goal from senior Brett Witzke before the Bengals tied it up again early in the third period on a tally from junior Ben Wallraff.

Blaine senior Cole Hansen started the scoring only 27 seconds into the game, tallying his 16th of the season. But McClanahan wasn’t worried, adding that scoring early in a game like that isn’t always a good omen.

“I’ve been on the other side of that where we score right away and then the floodgates open the wrong way,” said McClanahan, a Mounds View hockey graduate, 1980 Olympic gold medalist and first-year head coach at Blake.

Changing the style of play after the first period was good to show just how adaptive Blake can be, Miller said. It shows they’re a dangerous team, regardless of who they’re playing, Sabre added.

“Especially today, showing that we can come out with a win after changing our style of play is good for us and good for our confidence,” Sabre said.

Miller’s winning goal, the 17th of the season for the University of Minnesota commit, went in off his shin pad on a Sabre shot from the point. It was the hockey gods shining on Blake after having missed wide-open nets three or four times, McClanahan said.

“I was just trying to get to the right place in front of the net,” Miller said. “Luckily this guy (Sabre), he was able to turn around and rip one, and luckily it just hit me and went in.”

The win for the Bears was their ninth in their past 10 games as they improved to 13-4-0 overall. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak, in which they outscored opponents 22-3, for the No. 19-ranked Bengals, who fell to 10-6-0.

Though the ice was outdoors on a field, it’s still right across the street from The Blake School. So it’s a bit like “defending your own turf,” Miller said. All the high school players who participated in Hockey Day suited up in make-shift dressing rooms located in the school. Blake’s dressing room was actually the room where Sabre said he had math class last year.  Because Blake was the host team, it likely lifted the importance of the victory for McClanahan’s players, the coach said.

“This is something that these fellas will remember the rest of their lives,” McClanahan said.

With all the preparation and hype that leads up to Hockey Day Minnesota, the players talked before the game about how it would all go by fast. They really wanted to cherish the moment, Sabre said.

“The head hits the pillow tonight, we’re going to want to remember as much as we can,” Sabre said. “So I think we did a good job of that.”

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The 14th Hockey Day Minnesota debuted in style in Minneapolis, and the sight was something to behold.

A rink was built into historic Parade Stadium, with the downtown Minneapolis skyline looming in the distance. And with temperatures hovering around 0 degrees, it felt like the quintessential Minnesota experience.

“It was unbelievable,” said Blake girls senior Adelaide Burton. “Leading up to this all week, [the anticipation] had just been building and building

“Being able to see the ice and the city in the background is truly a dream come true,” Burton added. “I could not have asked for better conditions.”

Added Minneapolis girls freshman Celia Midtbo: “It was different, everything felt different. But it also just felt like playing hockey outdoors with your friends.”

The three-day showcase kicked off Thursday night with a pair of girls high school games.

Minneapolis and the Academy of Holy Angels squared off in the opener, with Minneapolis claiming a 3-2 overtime win in Metro West Conference play.

With the teams tied at 2, Midtbo scored on a wraparound try that somehow squeaked through Holy Angels goalie Celeste Rimstad.

“I won the puck and just came around the net,” Midtbo said. “I just threw it [at the net] hoping for the best. Then I just screamed … it was huge.”

Said Minneapolis coach Sarma Ozmen: “She has an amazing shot. She’ll say she just threw it at the net, but I have a feeling she aimed for something.”

Bridget McGuire and Kaitlyn Kneeland scored for Holy Angels, while Maddy Helmstetter and Julia Stevens scored power-play goals for Minneapolis, which improved to 10-9-2 on the season. Holy Angels fell to 7-12.

Ozmen said she could tell her team was a bit in awe of the atmosphere at first.

“The atmosphere was great … I think we had nerves for the first five minutes or so but then we settled in and were fired up that it was a real hockey game,” Ozmen said. “I had to turn around and see the skyline a few times just to make it real with where we’re at.”

Blake senior Lily Delianedis scores the first of her three goals in the Bears’ 8-0 win over Grand Rapids/Greenway on Thursday night at Parade Stadium to complete a sweep for the co-hosting schools on opening night of this weekend’s Hockey Day Minnesota festivities in Minneapolis. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Blake wasn’t fazed by the impressive scenery in the nightcap, as the Bears cruised to an 8-0 win over Grand Rapids-Greenway.

Burton led the way with a hat trick and an assist, while senior Lily Delianedis also recorded a hat trick for the Bears.

Each player scored a shorthanded goal in the opening period, before Burton scored twice and Delianedis found the net again in the second period.

“It’s starting out fast and finishing on your chances,” Burton said of the shorthanded tallies. “But I’ve got to give it to our team … we played three full periods.”

Added Blake coach Sean Reid: “Those two have had a bunch of those this year. They’re able to pounce on the puck, see the opening and get those chances.”

Freshmen Elizabeth Morrison and Sam Broz later scored in the third period before Delianedis capped the scoring with her hat trick.

Blake is now 12-5-1 on the season, as goalies Molly Haag (two periods) and Ava Christie (final period) combined for the shutout. Grand Rapids-Greenway dropped to 8-9-2.

But the Bears will certainly remember this win, especially because of the atmosphere it came in.

“Being able to do this on a night like tonight,” Burton said, “it brought our team that much closer.”

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Six different scorers carry Bears to seventh state title

St. Paul — After spotting St. Paul United an early lead in Saturday’s Minnesota Class 1A Girls’ Hockey State Tournament title game, The Blake School scored six straight times and rolled to a 6-2 win to capture the Bears’ second straight and seventh overall state championship.

Blake’s Lily Delianedis led a balanced attack with a goal and two assists while Addie Burton, Audrey Wethington, Izzy Daniel and Hayley Konowalchuk added a goal and an assist each. Joie Phelps and Samantha Burke scored goals for United.

Early in the game fans at the Xcel Energy Center looked like they were going to be treated to a back and forth affair that would not be decided until late in the game. Both teams did a good job keeping the puck out of the middle of the ice and through five minutes of play the shots were even at two apiece.

Blake (27-2-1) then made one of their few mistakes of the game. United was able to get a turnover at their own blueline and create a three on one. Phelps – who tallied a hat trick in the quarterfinals – took a feed from Laure Boettcher and found the back of the net to give United (21-7-2) a brief 1-0 lead.

Just three minutes later Blake’s Konowalchuck fired a shot from the right faceoff circle into the net to tie the game.

From that point, the first period belonged to the Blake Bears. They would outshoot United 14 to 4 in the period and take the lead off the stick of Delianedis. Delianedis flipped home a shot while collecting a rebound off of United goalie Jillian Oncay who finished the game with 31 saves.

Blake started the second period where they left off in the first, keeping United to the outside and capitalizing on their opportunities. Two goals less than two minutes apart allowed the Bears to take control of the game. Grace Johnson and Wethington both scored right on the doorstep by banging away right in front of the blue paint. Oncay made a number of saves before both goals, but the Bears’ forwards were relentless.

Defensively the Bears controlled the middle of the ice. The few times United could sustain any pressure in the Bears’ zone, it was always along the boards. Any attempt to get the puck in front of the net was met with a Blake stick and a quick clear to the boards.

“We control the blue line and the middle of the ice,” Blake coach Shawn Reid said. “We just support each other on defense. We talked about working as a team with the puck and without the puck. It is just a philosophy of puck pursuit and puck support and making sure we keep the other team to the outside.”

Late in the second period, Blake scored its fifth goal of the game from their fifth different player when Daniel scored from the right faceoff circle.

“We don’t focus on who is on what line,” Reid said. “We just take a next man up mentality.”

While Blake wasn’t as explosive offensively in the third, up four goals, they didn’t need to be. Like much of the game, the Bears controlled the puck and kept United bottled up in their own zone much of the period. They killed off an early power play and goalie Anna Kruesel, while not having to make many saves, was solid on the 15 shots she faced. In the third, she made her two best saves of the night on that early third-period power play and on a breakaway late in the period.

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St. Paul – The championship game included two hat tricks, a five-goal second period and a new tournament record. Blake coach Shawn Reid looked like he couldn’t believe it: An 8-0 win in the state final.

Senior Carly Bullock and junior Lucy Burton tallied the hat tricks.

“I’m flabbergasted,” Reid said. “I certainly didn’t expect this result.”

The Blake Bears (26-2-2) lost in the championship final last year to Thief River Falls. They made no mistake about putting an exclamation point on this season with the Class 1A state title victory over No. 3 seed St. Paul United (23-6-1) Saturday at Xcel Energy Center. Blake also won two regular-season meetings with St. Paul United, by scores of 3-1 and 3-2.

It marks the third title in four years for the Bears, as they also won back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. They’ve won a state-best six state titles overall.

“As a team, we knew that this year we were just going to totally go all the way,” Burton said. “Especially after what happened last year, all the returners had a really icky feeling in our mouth, I guess.”

Safe to say that icky feeling didn’t stick around Saturday.

The first hat trick of the game came together in a span of 4:24 from Burton, who came into the game without a goal in this tournament. Reid moved her to Bullock’s line early in the game. Bullock assisted on two of Burton’s goals.

“After Lucy’s second shift, it was very clear that she had something tonight,” Reid said.

Freshman Madeline Wethington and senior Sylvie Wallin scored the other two goals for Blake. Eighth-grader Addie Burton, Bullock and Wallin all added three assists.

For Bullock, she saved the best for last.

Her first two goals of the game gave Blake a 2-0 cushion in the first period.

“She buries them. That’s what she does,” said St. Paul United coach Nate Mauer. “She opened it up. She’s a naturally-gifted goal scorer.”

That second goal, her 21st in her state tournament career, tied the all-time tournament record for goals scored with Krissy Wendell. With 24 seconds left in the game, Bullock put her name solely at the top of the list with 22 goals. She had 10 in this tournament.

Bullock said she wasn’t aware of the record before the game. She was just looking at the net on that 2-on-1 near the end.

“Twenty-two goals. That’s ridiculous,” Reid said. “It’s been so much fun coaching her.

“It’s amazing. For the four years I’ve been with her, she has cored numerous overtime goals. Numerous times she has called her goal.”

That final goal also capped a Bullock hat trick for the second game in a row. The Ms. Hockey finalist finished the season with 58 goals. Yes, that led the Bears this season.

“For our team to play as well as we did, it’s amazing,” Bullock said, who was still hoarse after taking a slash to the throat in the semifinal game Friday afternoon. “To walk away with a state championship senior year is just the best.”

Other notes:

Bullock, Grace Vojta, Lucy Burton, Wethington and Sylvie Wallin were named to the Class 1A All-Tournament team. Joie Phelps, of St. Paul United, was also named.

Proctor/Hermantown’s Sophie McGovern was given the Herb Brooks Award. She was also named to the All-Tournament team.

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St. Paul – Carly Bullock went down to the ice and looked to be in pain about seven minutes into the first period. Not a good sign for Blake’s leading scorer.

Right off a faceoff, she caught a stick to the throat.

“The heel of her stick caught me right here,” Bullock said, pointing to her throat. “So I’m a little hoarse. I just couldn’t breathe.”

But she wasn’t down for the count. Bullock returned later in the first period and ended up with a hat trick, giving top-seeded Blake (25-2-2) a 5-1 Class 1A semifinal victory over No. 4 seed Proctor/Hermantown (20-8-1) Friday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.

The Ms. Hockey finalist has seven goals in the tournament, giving her 59 for the season.

After the game, a hoarse-voiced Bullock talked about using her injury to her advantage.

“It was great,” Bullock said. “Just using the anger of getting hurt, using it in a good way.”

The line combos were shuffled a bit with Bullock out, but coach Shawn Reid wasn’t worried about his star player.

“I will never, ever bet against Carly Bullock,” he said. “I don’t think she’s ever been hurt in her career.”

Don’t be fooled though: Bullock isn’t carrying the team by herself. Seven different Bears have scored in the state tournament.

Blake got on the board first Friday, just 2:12 into the game. Sarah Chute got her stick on a Madeline Wethington shot through traffic from out near the blue line for a power-play goal. It was Chute’s second goal of the tournament, matching her season goal total before state.

Proctor/Hermantown held Blake to that 1-0 lead for the rest of the period and was only outshot 9-3 during that time. Blake had to kill off a couple penalties, including 43 seconds of a 5-on-3 situation.

The second period started with a quick goal as well, this time coming from the Mirage as senior forward Sophie McGovern tied it at 1 after a power play for her team had just expired.

“Definitely that goal kind of got our bench up,” McGovern said.

Any momentum seemed to be erased a couple minutes later as Bullock pumped in her first goal of the game, on a backhanded move off a breakaway.

“You can’t make very many mistakes,”  said Mirage coach Glen Gilderman. “If you make mistakes, they capitalize on them.”

Blake freshman Izzy Daniel brought the lead to two later in the period when she buried a pass in the slot. Bullock gave the Bears a lead extension on the power play with 45.8 seconds left in the second period to make it 4-1.

“I think we calmed down a little bit,” Reid said. “They were just all over us in the first period.”

Bullock sealed the deal only 29 seconds into the third period with a powerful shot from in between the circles to give her the hat trick and her team a comfortable 5-1 lead.

The teams also faced each other Dec. 4, a 1-0 victory for Blake. Proctor/Hermantown used that as motivation.

“We knew that we could play with them,” Gilderman said. “We carried some confidence in knowing that it can be done.”

But Blake outshot the Mirage 13-4 in the third period and 33-13 for the game. The Bears also went 2-for-4 on the power play and have now outshot opponents 93-15 in the tournament.

The Bears are in the hunt for their state-best sixth state title and third in the past four years. They will face No. 3 seed St. Paul United in the Class 1A championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

Proctor/Hermantown will face Warroad for third place at 9 a.m.

“We’re still going to the third-place game, and that’s amazing,” McGovern said.

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