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Notes and quotes from Day 1 of the Class AA state tournament

By Declan Goff and Brian Halverson [table id=8 /]

No. 1 Edina vs. Lakeville North

Edina’s top line impresses in quarterfinal win.

It was hard to tell if the Class AA quarterfinal matchup between the Lakeville North Panthers and Edina Hornets was a hockey game or a track meet.

It was as if Edina had rockets glued to their skates in their 7-1 win over Lakeville North.

Speed Kills

Edina’s top line of Sammy Walker, Jett Jurgens and Mason Nevers have been terrorizing opponents with speed and goals all season. Every time the trio headed towards the net, Lakeville north just couldn’t keep up with them.

“You just can’t teach speed,” Nevers said who finished with two goals in the win. “When you can outskate teams for three periods it’s really special.”

Panthers coach Trent Eigner was well aware just how dangerous Edina can be with open space.

“You give a really good offensive team and you make them comfortable and loose, (I mean) good luck.”

Edina senior forward Sammie Walker’s goal and four assists led the Hornets to a 7-1 Class AA state quartefinal win over Lakeville North. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

The Sammy Walker Show

Edina senior Sammy Walker put on a clinic. With incredible quickness and a compass for the net, Walker was orchestrating offense all game long. He finished with five points points: one goal and four assists. With his team on the penalty kill, Walker skated coast-to-coast, deked out an opposing player at neutral ice and skated in untouched to beat Panthers’ goaltender Will Johnson to put Edina up 3-0 in the first period.

“The D stepped up on me, so I didn’t have a lot of options,” a humbled Walker said. “I just kind of threw it out to the middle and beat him to the puck and then the rest is history.”

Walker was drafted by the Tampa Lightning in 2017 NHL Draft and will also be playing college hockey for the University of Minnesota this fall.

Jett all the way

Walker’s linemate Jett Jungles is also having a phenomenal season. He came into the tournament with 23 goals and the junior ended up netting two more to go along with two assists in the team’s win. His first came on the power play and his second tally was on a 2-on-0 with Walker feeding Jungles a puck which he rifled to the back of the net.

“Yeah I was really picking if I should pass it back or not,” Jungles said. “Because I was like, I should give Sammy a goal – but I just got it and we both finished it off. It was a good play by Sammy.”

Like Walker, Jungles will also be playing college hockey, but at Northern Michigan. However he isn’t expected to join Grant Potulny’s Wildcats until the 2019-20 season.

— By Declan Goff

No. 3 Duluth East vs. St. Michael-Albertville

Mr. Hockey finalist Garret Worth’s hat trick leads Duluth East to a win over St. Michael Albertville.

The Duluth East Greyhounds marched to a 5-0 win over the St. Michael Albertville Knights in the quarterfinal round.

A potent offense and stellar goaltending set up the Greyhounds for a date with the Edina hornets in the semifinal round.

A hat trick for Duluth East’s Garrett Worth drove the Greyhounds past St. Michael-Albertville 5-0 in the Class AA state quarterfinals. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Worth It

Worth has been scoring goals all season long. Entering the tournament, Worth, a finalist for Mr. Hockey, had 42 goals in 28 games this season. So go figure he that the senior continued his scoring trend with a hat trick. His first goal was a snipe from the slot, his second goal came when he buried a loose puck in front of the crease and his third was a tipped slap shot. It was a little bit of everything.

“To see that first one go in right away, I think that’s what jump started us,” Worth said. “We came out a little flat to start the game and we weren’t getting much chances and much quality looks. We stuck with it and Kleive came up big in the net and the puck started filling in for us.”

Unsung Hero

Obviously Worth and the Greyhounds offense was essential to the team’s win, but you have to give credit to Duluth East netminder Parker Kleive who pitched a shutout making 28 saves. Greyhounds coach Mike Randolph had high praises for his goaltender to make up for the team’s slow start.

“He earned that shutout,” Randolph said. “We were sloppy in a lot of areas of our game. I thought we came out a little anxious. And I thought as the game went on and we got stronger and stronger.”

Everyone loves Cake

It’s not exactly a secret that some fans pick on other schools who have a slew of students that come from high-income families. Which is exactly what was on Worth’s mind when asked why he’s excited to take on Edina in the semifinal round.

“It’s going to be an exciting game. I mean It’s Edina vs. East in the Xcel there’s nothing better than that,” Worth stated, with a big grin on his face. When asked to expand on that he replied, “It’s East and Edina, you kidding? It’s the cake from the north and cake from the south.”

— By Declan Goff

No. 1 Minnetonka vs. Hill-Murray

The Skippers scored early and then often, particularly in the first period, and cruised to a 6-2 win over the Pioneers.

Sophomore Bobby Brink scored twice as seven different Minnetonka players found their way to the score sheet. The two teams combined for three shots on goal in the first 5:53 of the game with all three finding the back of the net.

The Skippers celebrate the first of two Bobby Brink goals in the second period of Minnetonka’s 6-2 Class AA state quarterfinal win over Hill-Murray. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Rapid Response

Joe Molenaar gave the Skippers a quick 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, but the Pioneers wasted little time netting the equalizer. Just 1:26 later, Hill-Murray senior Michael Fleischhacker beat Minnetonka goaltender Charlie Glockner to draw the Pioneers even again.

Not to be outdone, the Skippers showed they could play the quick answer game and beat the Pioneers at it in the process.

Sophomore defenseman James Miller’s goal 1:34 later to put the Skippers back out in front for good.

“One of our statements is, you’ve got to work harder after a goal, and that was disappointing,” Lechner said. “Hats off to Minnetonka, they worked harder after we scored.”

In the second, Hill-Murray’s Joseph Quast cut the Skippers’ lead to two with a sharp angle shot from the goal line to Glockner’s left at the 6:04 mark. But it took Brink just 25 seconds to score his first goal of the game for a 5-2 Minnetonka lead.

“We’ve been doing that all year,” Goldsworthy said. “I think we have resilient kids and we’ve been preaching next shift all year, whether we score or we get scored on.”

Department of Offense?

Miller’s goal was the first of his varsity career and he celebrated accordingly. Teammate, and fellow defenseman, Grant Docter, was among the happiest Skippers to be there the see it.

“We shoot a lot together and I’ve always wanted to see him get that first one so that was awesome,” Docter said. “He had a good celly too so it was good to see him get that first one and pull that big celly out of nowhere.”

Docter and defense partner Josh Luedtke finished with three assists each, sharing assists on three of Minnetonka’s goals to give the Skippers’ blue line a seven-point night. The duo finished plus-4 on the night and were not on the ice for either Hill-Murray goal.

Extra Special Teams

Brink’s shorthanded goal with 59 seconds to play was the 14th such goal for the Skippers this season against just 12 power play goals allowed. Minnetonka notched its 27th power-play goal of the season on Luke Loheit’s tally midway through the opening period.

The Skippers kept the Pioneers scoreless on three power-play opportunities, including a five-minute major boarding penalty to Loheit early in the third.

“We’ve got some kids, if you give them some space in an odd-man situation, you can score some goals,” Goldsworthy said.

No. 4 St. Thomas Academy vs. No. 5 Centennial

Cougars overcome 2-0 deficit and stage third period rally to upset Cadets 3-2

True Believers

Goals by Cade Huntley and Ben Stucker gave St. Thomas Academy a two-goal lead after one period and the Cadets appeared to be in control after goaltender, and Frank Brimsek Award finalist, Atticus Kelly withstood an early surge by Centennial. But appearances are deceiving according to Centennial coach Ritch Menne.

“Even if it had gotten to 3-0 I don’t think our guys were panicked,” Menne said. “We’ve got some firepower, we’ve got some great goaltending, we’ve got great defensemen and it’s an extremely tight group of players that truly love one another.”

Cougar Comeback

After Carter Wagner got the Cougars on the board in the second, Jack Menne’s shorthanded goal midway through the third tied the game at 2-2. Then with just 3:32 left in regulation, Hayden Brickner pounced on a rebound and fired a shot past Kelly for Centennial’s first lead.

“I think it got down to almost what goalie was going to make the last big save,” St. Thomas Academy co-coach Greg Vannelli said. “When they made that save on the first shift of the third period, on a 2-on-1, that was huge and then for us to give up a shorthanded goal … those two things, I think, decided that third period.”

Centennial goalie Travis Allen makes one of his 33 saves in the Cougars 3-2 Class AA quarterfinal win over St. Thomas Academy. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

The Big Save

The save Vannelli referred to was Centennial goalie Travis Allen’s tremendous stop on STA’s Ray Christy just 30 seconds into the third period.

“Just saw white [jerseys] and did a quick prayer,” Allen said when asked what he remembers of the play.

Allen, who split time with Bryce Crowley in the Cougar crease this season, stopped the final 24 shots he faced and 33 overall to give his team a chance. “We’re not sitting here this season if he hasn’t been as great as he’s been,” Jack Menne said of Allen.

Signature Win

Centennial came to St. Paul with an 0-3-1 record against tournament participants, losing to Duluth East and twice to Edina while tying Hill-Murray. That changed on Thursday and the Cougars have a chance to add to that win total against Minnetonka on Friday night.

“Our guys are battle-tested, they’re resilient, they’re positive, they support one another,” Ritch Menne said. “It’s a terrific group that’s had success all the way up and maybe they’ll get a little recognition after tonight.”

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Prior draft experience inspires Jack Sadek to happy return

When 15-year-old Jack Sadek attended the 2012 NHL Draft with his cousin, top prospect Brady Skjei, he experienced the life of an NHL draftee.

From sitting with Skjei in Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center waiting to hear Skjej’s name called to watching him don the New York Rangers sweater and meet the team’s executives, the Lakeville, Minn. native  experienced much of what Skjei did that night.

While Sadek returned to Minnesota with a Rangers hat as a souvenir, the former Lakeville North defenseman also brought back something else: a dream.

“He was taken away by the draft,” Skjei said. “He really enjoyed (the draft) process and it was his goal to one day get there.”

Following a high school career that included both a state championship and a University of Minnesota commitment, Sadek did indeed return to the NHL Draft last month at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. This time, however, Sadek brought home the sweater and hat of the Minnesota Wild—the team which drafted him in the seventh round (No. 204 overall).

“It meant a lot,” Sadek said of getting drafted by the Wild. “It’s fun how I played Minnesota high school (hockey) then will play for the University of Minnesota, then hopefully onto the Wild.

“I’m living the Minnesota dream.”

Another Sadek Division I defenseman, Jack’s sister Dani, couldn’t help but notice how elated her brother was when he realized his hockey career would continue in his home state for the foreseeable future.

“I haven’t seen him that happy in a long time,” said Dani, who will begin her sophomore season on the Ohio State University blue line in September.

Dani is just one member of Sadek’s intermediate and extended families which epitomize the word ‘athletic.’ Dani and Jack’s father, Brett Sadek, played football for the University of Minnesota after his father, Bob Sadek, played quarterback for the Golden Gophers in the early 1960’s.

The Sadek family also made an appearance in professional baseball from 1973-1981 when Mike Sadek, Jack and Dani’s great uncle, played catcher for the San Francisco Giants.

Heading into the draft process, the Wild were well aware of Jack Sadek’s lineage.

“That obviously helps when you know how athletic the family is,” Wild assistant General Manager Brent Flahr said. “We don’t obviously totally rely on genetics in our business, but it is certainly something that makes sense and is certainly not a strike against him.”

From Sadek’s athletic roots to his strong defensive play that made him a Mr. Hockey finalist in 2015, Flahr and the Wild saw it as a “no-brainer” taking Sadek in South Florida.

The 6 foot 3, 185-pound defenseman’s career is headed in the right direction, but he still has a ways to go before fans might see him play at the Xcel Energy Center in a green sweater.

“He’s a good size kid already, but he clearly needs to get stronger and put on weight, which most young kids do,” Flahr said.

Sadek will likely grow in strength and size at the University of Minnesota. But his mastery of the defenseman position will also need to continue to improve since he hasn’t played the position for that long.

“When I got my hands on him, he had just kind of made the decision to move from forward to defense, so he was really an infant in the position of defense,” Lakeville North coach Trent Eigner said. “That’s why there is a ton of potential with him because he’s not a kid who played the position for seven to eight years.”

Luckily for Sadek, he has two very knowledgable and talented relatives who know the position well: his cousin and sister.

Living just two minutes away from Sadek, Skjei played a mentor-type role to his younger cousin throughout their time growing up together.

“He always gives me tips on what I need to improve on,” Sadek said. “Brady has always been a role model of mine.”

And the future Gopher defenseman will need these tips from his cousin with what is to come.

“It’s a big adjustment for a number of these guys and it takes time and repetition, learning the game,” Flahr said. “There will be certain nights that it is going to be a big challenge for him, but at the same time, it’s a healthy learning curve.”

Even with the growing pains that will ensue, Sadek can’t help but smile knowing that he continues to live his dream, a dream that gained momentum the night he watched his cousin get drafted in Pittsburgh three years ago.

“I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Sadek said of the 2012 draft. “I did not picture myself being drafted [back then] but I’m glad it happened.”

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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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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.”

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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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Lakeville North topples Hill-Murray 4-1

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