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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 had been eight years since the last time a game had gone to triple overtime at the state tournament.

Despite blowing a two-goal lead, the Eden Prairie Eagles finished the job with 57 seconds to spare in the third overtime period when Jack Jensen netted the game winner sealing the 3-2 victory.

“We were all exhausted,” said Jensen. “And it was who’s going to get the bounce here? And I saw John in the corner and no one was really on me and I’m like he might pass it here. Just dish it and I got to bury this and luckily it went in far side. I didn’t know what to do at the moment and I was just in shock.”

Thank goodness the game finished too because due to MSHSL rules, if no one had scored in the third sudden-death overtime, the game would’ve been suspended and resumed at 8 AM the next day to accommodate the next session of games. 

Eagles Head coach Lee Smith threw together the line that scored the game-winning goal when the Eagles sealed it.

“Couple times this year, I’ve put together the line of Mittelstadt, Jack (Jensen) and Rudrud,” said Smith. “It was the right time to try it with a minute left. Because if we didn’t score there, it was going to be coming back tomorrow. I figured we had to use all the weapons we could right there.”

The Eagles poured on 66 shots on net and Lakeville South goaltender Henry Welsch stood on his head making 63 saves which was two off from a tournament record, set in 1996 by Apple Valley goalie Karl Goehring.

“Just taking one shot at a time,” said Welsch on his performance. “We each got our own and they ended up score.”

Lakeville head coach Janne Kivihalme was extremely proud of his team’s performance.

“I’m extremely proud of the entire team,” said Kivihalme “And how hard they competed. I think our team defended really well. There was a lot of shots that kept them outside. So our guys were coming back and defending well.”

With the win, Eden Prairie moves onto face theBlaine Bengals in the semifinal round.

Photo Gallery by Jonny Watkins for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Follow Jonny on Twitter at @jwatkinsphotog.

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When the Minnesota Wild selected the 19-year-old Nick Swaney in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Draft with the 209th overall pick last June, the former Lakeville South forward became the first player in school history to be drafted by an NHL team.

The long wait did not faze Swaney, who had been there before.

“It was my third year (of eligibility) so I was going in kind of just whatever happens, happens. If it wasn’t going to happen it wasn’t the end of the world and if it was it was pretty awesome. Obviously getting drafted by your hometown team is a pretty surreal moment for me and my family.”

Nick Swaney (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Although Swaney’s reign as the lone Cougar draft pick lasted just six picks, when fellow Lakeville South alum Joshua Ess was snatched up by the Chicago Blackhawks, no one can take No. 1 from him.

The humble Swaney, however, does not concern himself with those things. Instead, the now 20-year-old University of Minnesota Duluth freshman prefers to pay homage to those who came before him.

“I know I’m the first drafted but I think of guys that I looked up to like Justin Kloos, for instance, who didn’t get drafted but got a game with the Wild this year and is playing with the Iowa Wild,” Swaney said. “Growing up watching Justin and (former Bulldog) Kyle Osterberg play high school hockey really pushed me to where I am and hopefully I can do that for kids coming up right now too.”

This week, Swaney is once again following his fellow former Cougars once, this time to the Frozen Four, an event both Kloos (2014 with Minnesota) and Osterberg (2017) helped their teams reach.

“As a kid you dream of getting to the Frozen Four and, making it even better, playing at the ‘X’ in front of a big crowd is going to be something special,” Swaney said of playing for a national championship in the arena he one day hopes to call home.

Swaney grew up playing youth hockey in Lakeville and by the time he reached high school he was a player in high demand, especially after a strong showing in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League.

That’s where UMD coach Scott Sandelin took notice.

“I saw a kid that, obviously, could skate, he’s got good speed, but he could score,” Sandelin said. “Everybody’s looking for guys that can score.”

Shortly after the UMHSEL season concluded, Swaney announced his commitment to Sandelin and the Bulldogs.

I’m proud and excited to announce I’ve committed to play college hockey at the University of Minnesota Duluth! #Bulldogs

— Nick Swaney (@swaneshow) October 28, 2013

After finishing his sophomore season at Lakeville South, Swaney joined the United States Hockey League’s Waterloo Black Hawks and, in his junior hockey debut on March 15, 2014, scored his first USHL goal with 40 seconds left in a 7-3 win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints.

Swaney returned to the Cougars as a junior, scoring 25 goals and 57 points in just 25 games before rejoining the Black Hawks and contributing nine goals and 13 points their final 15 games.

Sandelin said the original plan when Swaney was recruited was for him to play two years of junior with the possibility of joining the Bulldogs sooner.

Swaney decided to forgo his senior season at Lakeville South and hone his game in Waterloo the next two seasons, scoring 115 points on 66 goals and 49 assists in 120 games, including 30 goals in his first full season.

“He had a really good first year in junior hockey but we felt he was a top-six forward for us,” Sandelin said. “I didn’t really want him playing maybe a third or fourth line role.

“There was some consideration of bringing him in after his first year of junior but we didn’t lose anybody that year and we were pretty much set.”

On one hand, that cost Swaney a chance to play in the Frozen Four with the Bulldogs a year earlier but, on the other, it gave NHL representatives more opportunity to watch him play consistently in a top-six role.

“For us, he’s your typical late bloomer,” Wild Assistant GM Brent Flahr said. “Last year,we spent a lot of time watching Waterloo and he’s guy that kind of caught everybody’s eye. At the same time, he’s not the biggest body so he needs to get stronger and gain a step and get quicker.”

Flahr added Swaney is a smart offensive player who can make plays and play in most situations. “Sandy does a great job with those kids up there, him and his staff,” Flahr said. “So we’re hopeful he continues to get better and so far, so good.”

Swaney wouldn’t disagree with that assessment, saying college hockey has been exactly as he expected and, overall, his rookie season has been a good one.

“I’ve had a couple injuries this year which kind of set me back a little bit and put some hiccups in the road,” Swaney said. “Just getting back that confidence here at the end of the season and knowing my linemates are going to be picking me up no matter what happens.”

Swaney comes to St. Paul playing on a line with seniors Jared Thomas and Karson Kuhlman, the team’s captain. The pair are the first players in school history to make four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

“Playing with them you get their best every single night and you feed off of it and makes you want to play up to their level,” Swaney said.

Swaney and Nick Deery celebrate a UMD goal. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

With its roster pillaged by graduation and the NHL,  2017 NCAA runner-up Minnesota Duluth was not expected to make another Frozen Four run this season. Yet the Bulldogs find themselves in St. Paul, site of the school’s first and only national championship and two wins away from another.

Swaney said resiliency has been key to the Bulldogs’ season, pointing to UMD’s poor showing in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff putting its NCAA tournament hopes in peril.

“We lost both of those games and kind of barely snuck into the NCAA tournament,” Swaney said. “We knew that’s all we needed; once we got in anything could happen.”

The Bulldogs bounced back in the West Regional in Sioux Falls, S.D., storming back from a two-goal deficit to eliminate Minnesota State in overtime and defeating Air Force 4-1 in the region final.

Swaney scored the tying goal against the Mavericks with 4:08 left in regulation and scored again 55 seconds into overtime but the goal was reversed when the officials ruled teammate Dylan Samberg had interfered with the MSU goaltender. Parker Mackay’s goal 1:33 later, however, officially sent UMD back to St. Paul.

While the Bulldogs are the underdogs among Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan, Swaney says UMD cannot be counted out this weekend.

“Obviously, it’s going to be kind of a different stage — more emotion and everything — but if we can just stick to what we know and just live in the moment and play period-by-period, things are going to go in our favor.”

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No. 2 Centennial vs. Lakeville South 

Class 2A began with a battle of two felines as the No. 2 Centennial Cougars took on the unseeded Lakeville South Cougars. Although Centennial averaged nearly five goals per game, it was their defense and timely play that lifted them to a 2-0 win and a birth to the semi-finals.

“I mean I was kind of expecting this,” said Centennial head coach Kristi King. “Their goalie’s incredibly good and hats off to her, she made a lot of good saves. I thought we did a great job of creating offense. Our first period wasn’t great but second period we doubled our time on attack and we did everything we needed to and outshot them. So kind of feeling it out in the first period and figure out what we do well and execute that in the second and third. We knew if we kept shooting and crashing the net hard, the goals will come.”

Centennial spent the majority of the first period on its heels. Lakeville South came out the gate with a solid forecheck and was able to put seven shots on net in first 10 minutes of play.

But the momentum began to swing Centennial’s way after they drew a power play. Shortly after the advantage expired, sophomore Allison Pitlick netted the game’s first goal, with assists to senior Anneke Linser and junior Maija Almich. Despite being outshot 11-6, Centennial led 1-0 heading into the first intermission.

“First period period I think for everyone but especially me, it was like, taking it all in and the atmosphere was incredible,” said Linser after the win. “You couldn’t even hear yourself think in the roaring of the fans and seeing your whole community out there, you wanted to do it for them and I think getting the nerves out of the first period and coming back and regrouping with the team was a huge part of our success in the second and third.”

Centennial got off to a much better showing in the second period firing 18 shots on net. However, Lakeville South goalie Lexi Baker didn’t skip a beat. She stopped all 18 shots that came her way and kept it a one-goal game.

Lakeville South came out for the final period of regulation the way they did in the first: with speed, an aggressive forecheck and plenty of rubber on net. Yet, they could not crack goalie Mackenna Storteau who was absorbing every opposing blast and pitched a 15-save shutout. In the closing the minutes, Centennial would get an insurance goal from Linser with assists from senior Gabbie Hughes and Almich.

“That’s a powerful team,” said Lakeville South head coach Mark Johnson. “They do a lot of misdirection and changing the puck around they control it very well. They’re a hard-working team. Those two girls: Linser and Hughes are backed with a couple good players also and they played well. I look forward to seeing them going far.”

No. 3 Hill-Murray vs. Eagan 

The Eagan Wildcats returned to the state tournament for the first time in six years but faced a tournament juggernaut in the Hill-Murray Pioneers. It was the seventh consecutive year Hill-Murray has made the Tourney, with the team capturing championships in 2014 and 2015.

But there won’t be any banner for the power house this season, as the Wildcats knocked off the Pioneers 2-1 and advanced to the semi-finals.

After a scoreless first period, Eagan was able to strike first with a pair of goals in the second period. While on the power play, sophomore Jenna Ruiz dangled through the slot and put a puck top shelf giving her team a 1-0 lead. As time winded down, the Pioneers tried to clear the zone but they threw it right on the tape of Eagan’s Taylor Anderson and the senior capitalized and scored, giving her team the 2-0 heading into the second intermission.

“I’m thinking first of all ‘shoot the puck, Taylor’ as I always am,” said Eagan head coach Dan Wilson “As she always wants to get a little bit closer to the net. Obviously it worked out in our favor at that point.”

However, Hill-Murray came out swinging in the final period of play and it appeared they cut the deficit to one goal. However, upon video review – which is only allowed in state tournament play – junior Katie Kaufman clearly kicked the puck in and the goal was waved off. But the Pioneers would get one shortly after when freshman Kennedy Morris blasted a puck from the top of the point.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to cling to that type of lead against a team like that,” said Wilson “Obviously going into the third period we just talked a lot about taking care of puck and get the puck down deep, don’t take any big time risks and chances. We obviously knew that they got some high-scoring power. So we really talked about kind of packing our house and packing in front of our net to keep everything to the outside. I actually think we did a pretty good job with that and it really obviously helped us.”

Eagan continued to weather the storm as Hill’s offense wouldn’t let up. At one point, the Pioneers were outshooting the Wildcats 11-0, with Eagan not registering their first shot of the period until the 11-minute mark. Despite being heavily outshot, the Wildcats prevailed with goaltender Maddie Nickel making 26 saves in the contest.

Meanwhile for Hill-Murray, they’re in unfamiliar territory.

“You know it’s tough to know what to say. For one, it’s never happened before so I never had to have that speech before,” said Pioneers head coach Bill Schafhauser. “If we could’ve played the first two periods like we played in the third, we might’ve had a different outcome.”

No 1 Edina vs. Brainerd

Defending Class 2A champion Edina with a large cast of returnees from 2017’s title run welcomed Brainerd to its first-ever state tournament in the opening game of Thursday night’s evening session. The welcome was short lived, however, as the Hornets treated the Warriors to 4-0 defeat to snap Brainerds seven-game winning streak.

Emily Oden led a balanced Edina attack featuring four different goal scorers as Tella Jungels, CC Bowlby and Olivia Swaim chipped in. With two assists, Edina’s Brooke Tucker was the only Hornet with more than one point.

Edina goaltender Megan Smith stopped all 10 shots she faced for the shutout while Brainerd’s Nicole Schulz stopped 28 of the Hornets’ 32 shots.

“To beat a team like that you have to play close to a perfect game because they’re going to capitalize on anything and everything,” Brainerd coach Jim Ernster said. “We weren’t able to do that but that’s a credit to them. The one thing that they were was consistent throughout, whether it was their first line, second line or third line. They were consistent in their skill, they were consistent in their patience and they were really good finding that player without the puck.”

Oden opened the scoring just 2:02 into the game with her 32nd of the year. Later in the period a pair of Brainerd penalties 28 seconds apart gave Edina a 1:32 5-on-3 advantage.

Even down two players, though, the Warriors threatened when Cheyenne Abear and Gabbie Smith nearly connected on a 2-on-1 with the puck just out of Smith’s reach at the right post. 

Shortly thereafter, Jungels scored her fifth of the year to make it 2-0 with just five seconds remaining in the two-player advantage. The Hornets picked up another power-play goal midway through the second when Bowlby notched her 28th of the season for a three-goal Edina cushion.

Swaim’s goal with 53 seconds left in the second, her ninth of the year, preceded a scoreless third period.

Edina coach Sami Reber expressed relief at advancing despite the heavy odds in her team’s favor entering the game.

“I think when you have quite a few players coming back to the state tournament who were here last year it definitely helps, there isn’t as many nerves throughout the entire team,” Edina coach Sami Reber said. “But you never know what your going to get at the state tournament … so the first game’s always a tough one and I’m proud of the way we came out of that.”

— By Brian Halverson

No. 4 Andover vs. No. 5 Eden Prairie

The Huskies and Eagles played up to their seeding in a tightly-contested game in the quarterfinal nightcap. 

The game was scoreless through two periods but Eden Prairie’s Crystalyn Hengler broke the tie just 1:15 into the final period, firing a wrist shot through traffic that Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo said she couldn’t see.

“I thought I was out far enough but maybe, because of my size, I should have been out a little further,” Stumo said.

“Pretty big goal for us at a time where I was thinking we might be here until one, two in the morning,”Eden Prairie coach Jaime Grossman said. “So it was nice to see that go through.”

Hengler scored her 19th goal of the season using a brand new limited edition stick which replaced an identical one she had recently broken.

“She had like three goals in eight games with it and it broke at practice the day after a game. The new one that they ordered came today. Looks like that stick’s a good stick for her.”

Eden Prairie’s Becca Kniss capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:22 to play. 

The story of the game was the stellar goaltending battle between Stumo and Eden Prairie’s Alexa Dobchuck who each finished with 29 saves.

“I think we could have done a little better job of getting on pucks a little bit harder,” Andover coach Melissa Volk said. “We did a good job the first 10 minutes of the game and, after that, kind of let off.”

The Huskies came out flying to start the game, applying intense pressure on Eden Prairie early on. But Dobchuk withstood the barrage and the Eagles weathered the storm.

“We’ve been a team that’s been a little slow out of the gates at times most of the year but it’s always nice knowing Alexa’s back there because we have confidence,” Grossman said. “Our kids have confidence that no matter they do those first few minutes, she’s got our back until we calm down.”

Eden Prairie (19-9-1) and top-seeded Edina (26-2-1) will play Friday night’s second Class 2A semifinal for the right to play for a state championship. Andover moves to the consolation bracket for a semifinal meeting with Brainerd.

— By Brian Halverson

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Moorhead returns to title game after eight-year hiatus 

This is not unfamiliar territory for the Moorhead hockey program, but it is territory untraveled by this group of Spuds.

The school has been to seven championship games, represented by a good chunk of the student body and half the town (unofficial number), most clad in orange only to make the trip back up I-94 with yet another runner-up trophy.

But the guys playing Saturday night hardly remember any of that.

“Obviously, they know the history but these are new kids,” said Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman, who played in two championship games.

“We, being the community, haven’t had the opportunity to win one yet, but these are new guys. When you keep giving yourself an opportunity, eventually it will happen.”

The Spuds defeated Lakeville South 3-2 in the first semifinal game Friday and will go for its first championship in its eighth title game appearance Saturday.

“We just want to be the first ones (win the title),” Randklev said. “It would bring us a lot of honor.”

It was South with a 1-0 lead and the advantage in play after the first period thanks to a late Zachary Bauer goal, but the Spuds buckled down and took the game over in the second period.

Kyle Kleven’s insurance goal turned out to be the game winner after Lakeville South scored late. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Jack Stetz tied the game for Moorhead 3:24 into the period and Carter Randklev snipeshot from the low right circle five minutes later on the power play gave the Spuds the lead for good.

“The first period was not how we normally play or how we want to start out,” Randklev said. It was Randklev’s 32nd goal of the season and second of the tournament.

Kyler Kleven added an insurance goal for the Spuds early in the third period, but player most deserving of praise in the final stanza was goalie Lance Leonard.

Leonard made 20 of his 39 total saves in the third period.

“Our defense did a great job of keeping (South’s shooters) to the outside,” Leonard said. “I didn’t have to make a ton of difficult, moving, out-of-position saves.”

Leonard’s only blemish in the third was a late goal by Joshua Ess with 1:27 left in the game.

As Ammerman, Leonard, Randklev and Carter Howell took questions after the game, they didn’t know who they’d face in the championship, but on the surface, that didn’t seem to matter.

“I don’t know that we really talk about the other team a whole lot or make adjustments,” Ammerman said as he looked at the three players sitting next to them. They shrugged and nodded in agreement.

Moorhead handled Grand Rapids 4-0 Feb. 11 and didn’t play Eden Prairie this season, but for history’s sake, the Eagles were the last team to beat the Spuds in a title game (2009).

But Ammerman was quick to point out, this group was most likely in the early stages of youth hockey in that game.

“Do the kids know the history of Moorhead hockey? Of course they do,” Ammerman said. “When I was playing, they were like three (years old) and in the 90s, they weren’t alive.

“They’re writing their own history right now and we’ll how that ends.”

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After a day of upsets and a near miss in Class 1A, another high seed fell to open the Class 2A tournament when unseeded Lakeville South stormed back from a one-goal deficit to knock off St. Thomas Academy. Moorhead, on the other hand, became the first seeded team to take care of business in regulation with its win over Hill-Murray.

No. 1 Eden Prairie survived a scare in the evening session from unseeded defending champion Wayzata with a late rally. Goals came in bunches in the late game in a Grand Rapids comeback win over Maple Grove. See below for more.

No. 2 St. Thomas Academy vs. Lakeville South

Emotions ran high, especially early on in the Class 2A tournament’s opening quarterfinal clash between the Cadets and the Cougars. Having last qualified for the state tournament in 2012, Lakeville South brought no tournament experience to the contest while St. Thomas Academy returned four players from its inaugural Class 2A entry in 2015.

Lakeville South’s William Moore celebrates his third period goal to put St. Thomas Academy away. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen/Breakdown Sports USA)

Whether that experience edge was a factor or not, the Cadets (23-5-1) jumped all over the Cougars in the opening moments, scored the game’s first goal and outhsot Lakeville South 17-4 in the first period. But the Cougars (19-9-1) rebounded for a 5-2 win, their first in the state tournament since Justin Kloos led them to a 2-1 third-place game win over Moorhead in 2012.

Lakeville South’s Cory Checco, William Moore and Bradley Golant each had a goal and an assist and goaltender Isaiah DiLaura weathered that first-period St. Thomas Academy barrage to finish with 31 saves.

 “We knew they were gonna come out strong and everyone was gonna have big emotions,” DiLaura said. “I just tried to channel my emotions and just stop every first shot and make every save that I could.”

Ray Christy, one of the Cadets’ four tournament returnees, got STA on the board first just past the halfway point of the opening period at a time when the Cougars were playing firmly on their heels.

“We started out nervous because none of us had been there before and it’s kind of a glorious experience, I want to say,” Checco said. “Once we kept getting the puck down deep and forechecking their forwards the way that we usually do when we play, I think we took over the game.”

Checco’s goal at the 12-minute mark of the first drew Lakeville South even on the scoreboard but, more importantly, it gave the Cougars a much-needed confidence boost.

“From there we just took it and ran with it because we just wanted it more,” Checco said. “I felt like after we got that first one, we got the first jitters out of the way.”

Despite the huge disadvantage in shots, Lakeville South coach A.J. Bucchino felt like his team was in good position tied 1-1 after the first period.

“It was a great situation, it was a two-period hockey game after that,” Bucchino said. “As a coach we just try to keep our composure and remind these guys to keep it simple and keep moving and, as you know, in sports anything can happen.”

What happened was Jack Olsen gave Lakeville South the lead 4:55 into the second and Checco set up Dawson Klein for the eventual game winner just 47 seconds later. It took STA’s Brenden McFadden only 26 seconds to pull the Cadets back within a goal at 3-2 but that’s as close as St. Thomas Academy would get.

Moore’s goal with 3:26 to play sealed it for the Cougars and Golant added an empty netter in the final minute.

No. 3 Moorhead vs. Hill-Murray

Moorhead’s Matt Herbranson celebrates what would be his game-winning goal in the Spuds’ 4-2 win over Hill-Murray. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen/Breakdown Sports USA)

Moorhead scored three times in the last half of the second period to create the separation it needed in a tight battle with the Hill-Murray as the Spuds advance to the state semifinals with a 4-2 Class 2A quarterfinal win over the Pioneers.

Moorhead (23-3-3) will face Lakeville South in the early game on Friday night in a rematch of the 2012 state tournament third place game, the last time each school played in a state semifinal.

Jacob Holtgrewe scored the game’s first goal and added an assist, Kyler Kleven notched a pair of assists and Matt Herbranson potted the eventual game winner at 10:31 of the second period. Moorhead goaltender Lance Leonard outdueled Frank Brimsek Award nominee Jake Begley to pick up the win with 24 saves.

The Spuds carried a 1-0 lead into the second period but Hill-Murray’s Joseph Quast knotted things up for the Pioneers 6:27 into the second period. But Carter Randklev and Herbranson scored 38 seconds apart surrounding the 10-minute mark to open up a two-goal Moorhead lead.

Back-to-back power plays late in the second breathed life into Hill-Murray (19-6-4) as Derrick Breezee scored on the first one to make it 3-2 Spuds. But after the Moorhead bench was penalized for too many players on the ice, the Spuds’ Jack Steeze sucked the wind out of the Pioneers with an unassisted shorthanded tally to make it 4-2.

Moorhead turned it up a notch in the third period, outshooting Hill-Murray 15-6 for a 38-26 advantage in the game. The teams combined for an astounding 32 blocked shots in the hard-fought contest.

No. 1 Eden Prairie vs. Wayzata

Eden Prairie’s Jack Jensen celebrates after teammate Nolan Sullivan’s empty net goal secured a 3-1 Class 2A quarterfinal victory for the Eagles over Wayzata. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Casey Mittelstadt’s championship dream survived on Thursday night. But just barely. 

Nicky Lievermann’s goal with 1:22 remaining capped off a third period comeback and lifted top-seeded Eden Prairie to a 3-1 Class 2A quarterfinal win over defending champion Wayzata.

Mittelstadt, who spurned offers from the Gophers and the USHL to return to the Eagles for his senior season, won a faceoff back to Lievermann at the left point who fired a shot through traffic that beat Wayzata goaltender Reid Waszczenko. 

Eden Prairie (22-4-2) was also the favorite a year ago when it lost 5-3 to Wayzata (10-18-1) in the 2016 state championship game. The expectations were even higher on Thursday facing a team that rallied in the section playoffs after posting a seven-win regular season.

Wayzata led 1-0 with less than seven minutes remaining when Eden Prairie defenseman Noah Deraney’s one-time blast from the right point deflected off Trojans’ forward Tyler Stevens and over Waszczenko to tie the game at 1-1 at 10:31 of the third period. The goal was Deraney’s first of the season.

“I had a chip on my shoulder from last year,” Deraney said. “I just wanted to go out there and just contribute to the team any way I could. It’s a good way to start.”

The goal celebration was a mixture of joy and relief.

“The biggest thing was to keep playing like we were,” Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith said. “We were having great opportunities, we just weren’t getting a lot of second chance opportunities because the goalie was doing such a good job and they were boxing out really well.”

Waszczenko was outstanding throughout and finished with 35 saves including a memorable pair in the opening period, stoning Mittelstadt on a nifty deflection seven minute in and Jensen with a quick left pad five minutes later.

The late-game rally may never have happened if not for Eden Prairie goaltender Nick Wiencek’s third-period heroics. Despite facing just 15 shots, Wiencek made perhaps the game’s biggest stop with under 10 minutes to play, thwarting Wayzata’s Griffin Ness after the Trojans forward stepped around both Mittelstadt and Sam Pajor in the slot. 

“As a coach, all you can do is rally and you’ve got to rally that, ‘This guy just made the save that saved our season,” Smith said. “And our guys became Warriors and played even harder down the stretch.”

After a scoreless first period, the Trojans struck first when Grant Anderson picked his corner with a laser of a wrist shot that beat Wiencek’s outstretched glove 55 seconds into the second. But that’s all the Wayzata offense could muster against the star-studded Eagles.

Wayzata coach Pat O’Leary fed Mittelstadt a steady diet of the Trojans’ top defensive pairing of Jack Carlson and Anderson and Wayzata frustrated Eden Prairie by blocking 20 Eagles shots.

“We teach our kids to play three zones so pucks are hitting us,” O’Leary said. “It’s one of those deals where we block 20, or whatever you said, but two hit us and went in our own net so it’s the nature of the beast.”

No. 4 Maple Grove vs. No. 5 Grand Rapids

Photo by Jonny Watkins

In stark contrast to Thursday night’s early game between Eden Prairie and Wayzata, goals were anything but hard to come by in the nightcap. 

Grand Rapids exploded for four second-period goals, including three within 2:41, to turn a one goal deficit into three-goal lead and the Thunderhawks rolled to a 6-4 Class 2A quarterfinal win over Maple Grove.

Trailing 2-1 after one period, Grand Rapids got goals from John Stampohar, Jack Burnson Drake Anderson and Blake McLaughlin, the final three in short order, to carry a 5-2 lead into the final period. 

“We like to play better when we’re down a couple goals, for whatever reason,” Grand Rapids coach Trent Klatt said. “We’re certainly not trying to put ourselves in a hole but we’re not worried when we get behind a couple goals because we can score.

“It would just keep me from having a heart attack on the bench if we would just start at the beginning of the game.”

McLaughlin scored twice to lead a quintet of Thunderhawks with two points including Gavin Hain and Burnson with a goal and an assist and Michael Heitkamp and Micah Miller with a pair of assist each. Goalie Zach Stejskal turned aside 25 Maple Grove shots for the win.

Sam Huff’s three-point night (1-2–3) led the way for Maple Grove while Justin Kelley added a goal and an assist. Crimson goaltender Ethan Haider made 30 saves in a losing cause.

Things looked dire early on for the Thunderhawks as Maple Grove’s Trevor Kukkonen scored just 20 seconds into the contest and the Crimson led 2-0 at the 4:26 mark on Huff’s goal. Maple Grove had nine of the game’s first 10 shots and appeared to be in control.

But Gavin Hain’s goal at 11:32 of the first gave Grand Rapids life as it headed to the first intermission down by just a goal.  

“Once we pumped that second one in, I mean the floodgates kind of opened up,” McLaughlin said. “We started finding twine and it was a fun comeback.”

Kelley’s goal closed the gap just 18 seconds into the third but McLaughlin’s second of the game restored the cushion. The Crimson wasn’t done yet, however, as Jayden Walsh made it 6-4 with just under eight minutes left in regulation. 

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