Fish took on the head coaching job for the St. Michael-Albertville boys’ hockey team this year, and he has the Knights off to a 4-1 start after a victory Dec. 14. That’s almost to the win total for each of the past two seasons for the Knights, which play in the stacked Lake Conference.

“I don’t think there’s a better conference in the entire country, right, like Edina and Wayzata and Eden Prairie and all these really good teams that you have to play every night,” Fish said. “So I said, ‘hey, I’m gonna give this one a shot.’ They’re obviously struggling, and I want to get that program back up to where it should be, because it’s a great community, like that community over there is growing.

“It’s a lot of younger families. The youth program is strong, and everything is looking good. But for whatever reason, we’re losing kids at the high school level, whether it be to Rogers or (St. Cloud) Cathedral or Benilde (St. Margaret’s) or wherever else. And so for me, it was wanting to get that program back to where it should be, which is to be in a state, state-contending team, right? Like, we (St. Michael-Albertville) beat Moorhead that year in 2018, and it was unbelievable, like it was one of the coolest things ever to watch that group and how hard they worked.”

Fish returns after leading Orono programs to state
STMA went to state in 2018, but after that section-final win over Moorhead, the Knights haven’t enjoyed the same level of success. An assistant with the Knights from 2014 to 2018, Fish left for Orono where he turned the girls’ program into a state power, though it took time, and then led the boys’ program to state the past two seasons.

“And for me, coaching girls’ hockey was maybe, probably, the best thing in my coaching career, even with all the stuff that I’ve already done early in my coaching career, but teaching the why behind the game is huge, and the girls just wanted to know why I was telling him to do that,” Fish said.

“So I obviously knew my stuff wasn’t one of those things where they didn’t trust that, but they didn’t trust why I was teaching it. So … after we figured that part out, it was just like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ So, then we just turned that thing into an absolute powerhouse, like, they’re still really good.”

Now, he’s taking those lessons back to STMA, where the Knights opened the season in style — a wild 6-5 overtime win over Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids on Nov. 26 where the Knights blew a 5-1 lead at one point, allowing four third-period goals.

“The first game was full of ups and downs and many firsts for a lot of our team, not only the players but also a couple of our coaches’ first games also,” said Knights senior defenseman Jack Johnson said. “We showed how skilled we can be and how hard we can play in the first two periods. But in the third we also showed we have a young team that is learning everyday. In the end we pulled out the win with a couple of those younger players’ help but the biggest swing in our play came with the speech Fish gave us before the overtime period.”

New coach, raised expectations
Johnson and junior forward Tanner Esterberg see the Knights program turning already with a team that has only four seniors. Esterberg noted that the expectations are different now, too, as a team and individuals.

“The rest of the season expect many more wins to come, but not every game is gonna be our best and obviously we play hard teams, but we aren’t focused on winning every game, we are focused on the section games that matter as long as we play the best we can the other games that’s all that matters,” Esterberg said. “Fish has made me much better as a player because right away he got to know me and realized that yelling at me isn’t going to help, and he just lets me be me while still teaching me things, and it’s given me a lot of confidence to go out and put the puck in the net the way I like to play.”

Besides Fish teaching the game, he backs up his experience from his playing days, which included time at Anoka between 2001-03 where he won a state title in 2003. He followed that up with a two-season stint in the NAHL with the Minnesota Blizzard where he put up 64 points between 2003 and 2005. Fish then played Division III hockey at Wisconsin-Stevens Point where he tallied 90 points in four seasons from 2005 to 2009.

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Notes and quotes from Day 2 of the Class A state tournament

No. 2 Mahtomedi vs. No. 3 Orono

Orono advances to the Class A Championship Game in a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over Mahtomedi.

The Orono Spartans looked as if they had this game wrapped up. After senior Thomas Walker secured a hat trick with four minutes to play in the second period, the Spartans seemed to set their speedometer to cruise control.

Yet the Mahtomedi Zephyrs did not quit and made one of the most memorable comebacks in tourney history, before coming up just short on Dane Korsi’s game winner for Orono just 2:26 into overtime.

Orono’s Thomas Walker scored three times in the Spartans’ 5-4 OT Class A semifinal win over Mahtomedi. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Epic Comeback

Trailing by four goals, the hope of playing in a championship game appeared slim-to-none for Mahtomedi. After failing to score on their first two power plays, the Zephyrs finally capitalized. Five-seconds into the man advantage, senior Sam Ayd rifled a shot from the point to finally get Mahtomedi on the board. Then in the final minute of play in the second period, Kory Pilarksi made it a two-goal game heading into the second intermission. You could feel the tide start to turn Mahtomedi’s way.

“The coaches were great about keeping our spirits up,” Ayd said. “We knew we were going to pop one and we eventually did and it felt great. We all know what we got to do if we wanted to stay in the game, and we showed that we all came together.”

Despite a layover between periods, the Zephyrs came out with the same fire and seniors Aidan Pearson and Jeff Kneale scored two goals over a 2:05 span and, just like that, a four-goal Orono lead had evaporated.

A Home Run Overtime Winner

After neither team could capture the go-ahead goal in regulation, things had to be settled in overtime. Despite skating on their heels for the majority of the third period, Orono woke up and possessed the puck for the majority of overtime. Two minutes into the overtime, there was a scramble behind the net and defenseman Davey Burns threw a puck towards the crease where Korsi, channeled his inner baseball ability, and knocked the puck out of the air and into the back of the net for the winner.

“I played baseball with Dane,” Walker said of Korsi. “I’ll tell you, he’s a natural athlete; he’s got hand-eye. I mean puck in the air? I’d say he knocks it 10 out of 10 times. I’ve watched him crush baseballs. There’s no reason that he can’t crush a puck into the net.”

Nothing to be Ashamed Of

Although it wasn’t the result they were looking for, Zephrys coach Jeff Poeschel had nothing but positives to say about how his team played.

“Don’t know if there’s many other teams in the state and would’ve been down by four and [not] folded up their tents and packed it in,” Poeschl said. “There’s no way to describe how proud I am.”

No. 1 Hermantown vs. No. 4 Alexandria

Alexandria upsets No. 1 Hermantown to advance to the Class A championship game

For the first time since 2009, the Hermantown Hawks will not be playing in a state championship game, as the Alexandria Cardinals spoiled the improbable streak with a 6-1 victory in the semifinal round.

The Cardinals’ timely goals, including a hat trick by Jack Powell, and goaltender Jackson Boline’s 33 save effort have Alexandria in the state championship game for the first time in school history.

Cardinals senior Jack Powell celebrates after scoring one of his three goals that helped Alexandria advance to the championship game. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Grounding the Hawks

Quieting a team like Hermantown is not an easy task but Alexandria made it look easy. Both teams lit the lamp in the first period but the Hawks had just five shots on goal heading into the first intermission. Considering Hermantown averages nearly five goals per game, that’s very impressive.

“We knew we couldn’t turn pucks over in neutral (zone),” Alexandria coach Ian Resch said of trying to slow down Hermantown’s offense. “They’re a quick transition team so we thought if we could get pucks deep, get our forecheck going, stress their D, make their D play in their own zone. They’re a high offensive team, so teams like that typically don’t like to play a lot in their own zone.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ice, Hawks coach Patrick Edwards was a bit dumbfounded on why his team couldn’t find the offense that they’re so accustomed to seeing.

“The second period I thought we took the game over,” Edwards proclaimed. “Totally took the game over, they only had like 4-5 shots the whole period, we had like 17 and we couldn’t have played any better. Couldn’t buy a goal tonight I guess.”

Strong’s goal:

With under three minutes to play in the second period, the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead when sophomore forward Caleb Strong took a pass in the slot and fired a puck just about the glove hand of opposing  goaltender Cole Manahan.

“I just heard Caleb yelling,”Powell said who assisted on the goal. “Threw it to an area and Caleb’s so good he could stick handle in a phone booth. He’s got the best hands and he’s so accurate. I knew he’d find the back of the net.”

Strong’s game-winning goal set the table for a third period where Alexandria would net four goals – two of them empty netters – to secure their win.

The community deserves it

When you have players who are about to play in their first state championship game, it’s not just a joy for them, but for the community as a whole. Which is why win or lose the fact of just being in such a big game means so much for the city of Alexandria.

“I love Alexandria,“ Powell added. “born there, raised there. My parents taught me how to play hockey and they’ve been through so much and I really appreciate them. Without them we wouldn’t be here right now and it’s just good for the community. They’ve been behind us, supporting us, the school, the red line club, parents, friends, family. To give this to them, to the community, is awesome.

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

No. 2 Mahtomedi vs. Mankato East

A descendant of Herb Brooks leaves his mark at The Tourney

Mahtomedi junior Joe Paradise’s trip to the state tournament is likely a self-fulfilling prophecy.

His grandfather, Herb Brooks – you may have heard of him before – helped St. Paul Johnson to a state championship in 1955. And just like grandfather, he left a lasting impression in the Zephyrs’ 4-2 quarterfinal win over the Mankato East/Loyola Cougars.

Paradise knew from a young age that hockey was going to be the sport he excelled at.

“Since, he was like, a big part of my family, so [I] kind of just got right into it right away,” Paradise said.

Paradise scored two goals in the victory and drew attention with his first-period goal celebration in which he and his teammates posed for a mock selfie with Paradise holding the virtual cell phone.

When asked if it was planned, a big grin drew across the junior’s face and replied, “Yeah, we did.” Both he and teammate Charlie Bartholomew couldn’t help but laugh about the celebration.

Mankato East’s Sam Schulz celebrates his second period goal to lift the Cougars to a 2-1 over Mahtomedi after two periods. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

Paradise opened the game’s scoring with a slick wrist shot that beat Mankato East goaltender Jack Cusey and he later tied the game for Mahtomedi just 31 seconds into the third period after the Cougars had taken a 2-1 lead into the second intermission on goals by Adam Megard and Sam Schulz.

Furious Finish

The final 10 minutes of play in regulation was quite chaotic, the referees handed out a barrage of penalties, with the highlight being a five-minute major on Layten Liffrig, giving Mahtomedi a five-minute power play. Eventually, Charlie Bartholomew netted the game-winning power-play goal to give Mahtomedi a 3-2 lead. Fifty-eight second later, Kory Pilarski scored another goal, securing the win for the Zephyrs.

Mahtomedi had had only come back once in the regular season when trailing after two.

“This team has shown grit all season, from day one,” Zephyrs coach Jeff Poeschl said. “And as a coach, it’s just a pleasure to be part of. Because on the bench, there’s no quit, there’s no panic. It’s, ok let’s get to work and let’s get this taken care of.”

No. 3 Orono vs. Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato

Orono continues to have Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato’s number

Both teams are very familiar with one another but it’s been a one-sided rivalry as Orono has not lost to Litchfield since 2001 and that streak continued in the Spartans 6-1 win over the Dragons.

“It came out that we’d beaten them 30-some times in a row and 2001 (I think) it was the last time they beat us,” Orono coach Will Scholz said. “So it’s always going to be in their heads but we just to try preach it’s not who we play it’s how play.”

Orono defenseman Zach Adams fights off a check from LDC’s Blake Johnson in the Spartans 6-1 Class A state quarterfinal win over the Dragons. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen Breakdown Sports USA)

Flood gates open:

After a scoreless first, the Spartans caught fire in the second netting two goals that were 27-second apart. First, it was sophomore Lucas Jorgenson scoring, with senior Davey Burns making it a two-goal lead shortly after. Then the Spartans really poured it on, receiving goals from Daniel Eckerline and Jack Kubitz and just like that it was 4-0 after two.

“It was a fun a game,” Kubitz said. “It was definitely nerve racking in the first period but after we put one in, I think we knew we could beat them. Because the past games, we just had to get past the first one and then the floodgates would open.”

Senior mentality

As regulation winded down, the Dragons would finally get on the board via the power play when senior Orrin Grangroth scored his team’s only goal deficit to 5-1.

Grangroth, a senior who played in his last high school game took pride in making sure his team wouldn’t get blanked at the State Tournament.

“To have our team get on the board was big and not get shutout and it feels good to score on the big stage,” said Grangroth.

No. 1 Hermantown vs. Monticello

Moose give Hawks all they can handle

In a rematch from last year’s Class A championship game, the Monticello Moose faced the defending champions, the No. 1 Hermantown Hawks.

Hermantown jumped out to an early lead but Monticello would not go quietly and thanks to the heroic play of an underclassman, Hermantown will be moving on to the semi-finals.

Hermantown sophomore Blake Biondi (27) led the Hawks to a 4-2 Class A state quarterfinal win over Monticello with a hat trick. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

A Sophomore as the MVP?

Hermantown is no stranger to the state tournament but for a sophomore to register a hat-trick and earn game MVP honors? Now that’s something incredibly. His impressive play this season – and in the quarterfinal win – was something a powerhouse like Hermantown was surprised by.

“The other day, we were looking at old stats and we don’t remember a sophomore with the impact in points that Blake’s had,” Hawks’ first-year coach Blake Andrews said of Biondi. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a sophomore with the hockey IQ in a total package of a game. So Blake has a lot of attributes to his game that most seniors would love to have.”

A humbled underclassman replied, “Thank you, coach.” after receiving such high praise from his coach.

Knock, knock, knock, guess who?

The Hawks are anchored by their top line of Tyler Watkins, Jacob Herter and Biondi as the trio has combined for 163 points this season. So it’s only natural, that they scored the first three goals. First Biondi snuck a past right under the glove of goaltender Tyler Klatt, with assists going to Watkins and Herter. After Hermantown drew a power play, Herter made it 2-0 with assists going to (guess who?) Biondi and Watkins.

Even when Monticello draped all over Biondi, he somehow outmuscles the opposition and pushed another puck to the back of the net, which gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead.

Miller Time

Monticello’s Matt Miller celebrates one of his two goals against Hermantown in the Moose’s 4-2 Class A state quarterfinal loss to the Hawks. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

It looked grim for Monticello after Hermantown took a 3-0 lead. Yet 28 seconds later, sophomore forward Matt Miller put on his Superman cape, skated into the offensive zone and blasted a puck from the point and Monticello was on the board. Miller continued to play hero just 2:17 later when the forward streaked in on a breakaway, beating goaltender Cole Manahan for a second time and all of the sudden it was a one-goal game.

“They never said quit,” Monticello coach Eric Nelson said. “They kept going, they kept battling and you know testament to Matt and his shot. He’s got a great shot and a great heart. Just kept getting pucks on net and he was fortunate to get a couple in.”

No. 4 Alexandria vs. No. 5 Thief River Falls

The Cardinals achieved a program first with their victory.

The Alexandria Cardinals and Thief River Falls Prowlers finished off quarter-final play.

In a low scoring affair, the Cardinals pulled through for a 1-0 win; giving the program its first ever state tournament victory.

Alexandria’s Jack Westlund celebrates his game-winning goal in the Cardinals’ 1-0 Class A state quarterfinal win over Thief River Falls. (Photo by Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

Tic-tac-toe

Alexandria’s top line of Ben Dohert, Caleb Strong and Jack Westlund we’re creating plenty of chances early on. After nearly lighting the lamp on multiple opportunities, Westlund received a beauty of a pass from defenseman Andrew Revering and Westlund buried the puck in the back of net.

“I got to give some credit to where credit is due to the people who assists me,” Westlune said. “Because without them I never score but it just feels great to be the one who scores, but I mean obviously it’s not just me it’s everyone.”

Westlund came into the tournament with 14 goals, which was tied for second on the team.

Prowlers can’t convert

Thief River Falls drew back-to-back power plays but weren’t able to convert either of them. They had a 5-on-4 for 1:43, followed by a 5-on-3 for 17 seconds, and then another 5-on-4 for 1:43. Yet the Prowlers were not able to convert as Alexandria’s penalty kill stood tall.

“The second period is the period I thought we just didn’t show up,” Thief River Falls coach Tim Bergland said. “Credit them for executing and we didn’t.”

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 BOXSCORE | GAME LIVE

SAINT PAUL— After a slow start, the Orono Spartans entered the third period of Wednesday night’s Class A state tournament quarterfinal believing they were primed to make a run at No. 1 East Grand Forks. Trailing 3-1 after outscoring the Green Wave in the second period, the Spartans sought to be the team to score the all-important next goal.

But Nick Ranten picked off an ill-advised Orono outlet pass and buried his fifth goal of the season to extend the East Grand Forks lead on its way to a 5-1 win over the Spartans.

“It was good to make a game out of it,” Orono coach Kasey Yoder said. “That fourth goal was pretty much a back-breaker. We thought if we could pop a second on there and, who knows, maybe try and steal a game from them.”

But it was not to be as Tanner Tweten scored twice for the Green Wave and Colton Poolman chipped in three assists as East Grand Forks moves on to the state semifinals for the second consecutive season.

The Green Wave came out of the gate flying and cashed in just 2:18 into the contest as Reed Corbid banged in a rebound of a Jace Pesch shot. Just over four minutes later, Tweten score the first of his two goals in the period when Dixon Bowen’s shot from in tight squeezed past Orono goalie Jon Flakne into crease where Tweten pounced on it.

“Our guys tried but it’s a good hockey team we played,” Yoder said. “They outmuscled us, won nearly every battle and they know how to play the game. It’s a good eye opener as to where we hope to get to at some point.”

East Grand Forks coach Tyler Palmiscino was mostly satisfied with his team’s play and its three-goal lead after one.

“Four would have been better,” he said. “We made some good plays in that first period to score, we made good plays that we didn’t score on, and I thought we came out of that first period with good energy. It changed after that a little bit.”

Having been outshot 15-6 by East Grand Forks in the opening period, Orono made a push to begin the second and held the Green Wave mostly in check while scoring its only goal at 9:59. The Spartans’ Joey Luedtke forced a Tye Ausmus turnover deep in the East Grand Forks zone and Sam Challgren slid the loose puck to David McCluskey for his 12th goal of the year.

“You knew they were coming … and they did,” Palmascino said. “It wasn’t until about that five-minute mark, the T.V. timeout, where we calmed down and finished the second period the right way and I think that carried over into the third.”

The win advances the Green Wave into Friday’s 1 pm semifinal against the winner of St. Cloud Cathedral and Totino-Grace.

“We worked hard for the start of the second, most of the second really, but just tried to give what we could,” Yoder said. “Welcome to the state tournament for this group; we had a little surge there but, give them credit, that was their hockey game.”

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Road to State:
Red Wing 2-0
Northfield 3-0
Mankato West 3-2

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                         GP    G    A    Pts

Augie Isaacson        28    23    29    52
Seth Kriha                28    11    35    46
Alex Gregor             28    19    22    41
Austin Kilian           28    21    13    33
Casey Busch            28    11    16    27

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                         W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Conner Wagner              18    4    3    2.47        .895            3

What to expect:  
The Trojans make their state tournament debut this year and are the first team other than Rochester Lourdes to represent Section 1A in five seasons.  But it wasn’t easy, as they had to earn their berth by topping a solid Mankato West team in the section final, 3-2.  A three-pronged offensive attack in Augie Isaacson, Seth Kriha, and Alex Gregor leads the way for New Prague. The Trojans enter the tournament on an eight-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 38-13 in those games.  As the No. 3 seed, the Trojans have a tough first round opponent in Chisago Lakes.

Orono Spartans  (19-8-1, 8-4-0)
Head Coach:  Kasey Yoder (1st season, 19-8-1)
Section:  2A
Conference:  Wright County Conference, 2nd place
State Tournament appearances:  (7) 1992, 93, 2002, 03, 04, 06, 07
State Titles: None

Road to State:
Chaska 6-2
Bloomington Kennedy 2-1 (ot)
Breck 2-1

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                        GP    G    A    Pts

Joey Luedtke            28    12    22    34
Jake Flemmer           28    14    17    31
Sam Challgren           28    6    18    24
David McCuskey       28    11    9    20
Tripp Renard             28    9    10    19

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                           W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Jonathon Flakne             15    7    1       2.03        .911          6
Grant Mathiason              1    1    0       2.50        .898        0

What to expect:  
The Orono Spartans snapped Breck’s stronghold of five straight seasons as Section 2A champions by knocking the Mustangs out in the final game — much to the delight of a rabid student section.  This is the Spartans’ first trip back to the state tournament since 2009, and in Kasey Yoder’s first year as coach, they are playing the necessary game to succeed in the post season by winning a pair of 2-1 tight checking games for the section title.  The Spartans are 3-4-0 against Class AA teams and have a schedule that benefits them for the stretch run.  Their first round opponent could challenge for the Class AA title in East Grand Forks, who is tough to score on. The Spartans will have to be in full shutdown mode to advance.

Luverne Cardinals  (27-0-1, 10-0-0)
Head Coach:  Derrick Brown (5th season, 98-29-5)
Section:  3A
Conference:  Southwest Conference, 1st place
State Tournament appearances:  (1) 2014
State Titles: None

Road to State:
Morris Benson 13-2
Hutchinson 4-0
New Ulm 6-1

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                           GP    G    A    Pts

Chaz Smedsrud              28    38    49    87
Logan Norman               28    22    48    70
Jaxon Nelson                 28    30    40    70
Gunnar Olson                26    38    28    66
Toby Sengvongxay       28    20    32    50

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                       W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Kendall Meyer            18    0    1    1.16           .949            6
Connor Crabtree        6    0    0    1.26           .896             2

What to expect:  
The Cardinals are the only unbeaten team in high school hockey.  Naysayers suggest that the Cardinals’ schedule is not tough enough.  Those that look closer will first note that this team is 49-4-2 over the last two seasons — beating the teams they are “supposed to” beat.  This year, they won the Schwan Cup Open division and are 4-0-1 against teams from the Metro area.  They outscored their opponents 206-32 on the season and as evidenced, weren’t squeaking by the competition.  Their offensive balance includes senior players such as Gunnar Olson and Logan Norman all the way to eighth-grade sensation Jaxon Nelson.  Coach Derrick Brown has depth to rely on yet their biggest challenge and toughest opponent of the season is on deck with the Hermantown Hawks who are state tournament tested.

Totino-Grace Eagles (17-10-1, 8-0-0)
Head Coach:  Mark Loahr (33rd season, 508-286-26)
Section:  4A
Conference:  North Suburban Conference, 1st place
State Tournament appearances:  (5) 1993, 95, 2002, 05, 14
State Titles: (1) 2002

Road to State:
St. Paul Como Park 7-1
South St. Paul 1-0
Mahtomedi 5-4 (ot)

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                GP    G    A    Pts

Kai Barber            28    19    12    31
Nick Tandeski            28    15    14    29
Ben Henderson         28    10    13    23
Bandon Hilliard        28    7    15    22
Blake Vagle            28    5    16    21

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                         W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Dominic Wippler        12    8    1    2.70        .903                 2
Jack Lux                         2    2    0    3.38        .862                0

What to expect:
The Eagles return to the state tournament after a nine-year absence by squeaking out a pair of one-goal sectional games, including a classic 5-4 overtime win against Mahtomedi.  Coach Mark Loahr won his 500th game earlier this year and recently won the Bruce Johnson award for outstanding contributions in promoting the Minnesota Coaches Association and the sport of hockey. He knows his way around state tournament hockey and the Eagles will be prepared.  After starting the season 4-6-1, the Eagles finished the season 13-4-0.  Totino-Grace challenges itself with a difficult schedule and was 3-4-1 in seven games against Class AA teams.  As the No. 5 seed, the Eagles will have a rematch with St. Cloud Cathedral. Back on Jan. 25, Cathedral won 5-4.  Another close game can be expected by these two teams when they open the tournament on Wednesday.

Chisago Lakes Area Wildcats (20-8-0)
Head Coach:  Paul Gibson (2nd season, 38-17-1)
Section:  5A
Conference:  Mississippi 8 Conference, 3rd place
State Tournament appearances:  (2) 1995, 2014
State Titles: None

Road to State:
North Branch 13-0
Proctor 5-2
Princeton 5-4

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                             GP    G    A    Pts

Brandon Gillespie            28    25    26    51
Blake Lizotte                     28    14    34    48
Trevor Lushanko             28    23    24    47
Ryan Chambers               28    13    15    28
Landon Lushanko          28    10    18    28

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                       W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Jake Dubose               10    6    0    1.94          .920            5
Bryce Thompson        6    2    0    2.34          .906             2

What to expect:  
With the four-time defending section champions from Hermantown moved to Section 7A this winter, the Wildcats seized the opportunity and captured their first section title since 1995.  They put together an impressive 20-win season and accomplished that in the Mississippi 8 Conference where a number of Class AA teams reside.  Since  the Stadstad Tournament over the holiday season, the Wildcats went on a 12-3-0 run including seven wins in their last eight games.  A one-two punch of Brandon Gillespie and Blake Lizotte will be formidable in the Class A tournament.  The Wildcats open with New Prague in the quarterfinals.

St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (20-7-1, 3-0-0)
Head Coach:  Eric Johnson (10th season, 185-61-9)
Section:  6A
Conference:  Granite Ridge Conference, 1st place
State Tournament appearances:  (6) 1993, 94, 2004, 08, 09, 14
State Titles: None

Road to State:
Little Falls 8-1
Sartell-St. Stephen 3-1
Alexandria 2-1

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                       GP    G    A    Pts

Will Hammer             28    24    27    51
Matt Fritz                    28    15    24    39
Dan Bailey                   28    7    31     38
Logan Neu                   27    18    16    34
Trevor Cornelius        28    7    9    16

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                   W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Zach Fritz                16    7    1    2.32           .911           2
Camren Dehler        1    0    0    0.71           .957           1

What to expect:  
The St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders are back in the state tournament for the first time since 2009.  Formerly in Section 5AA, they are now in with the other St. Cloud area schools and proved to be the bet of the lot this winter.  The Crusaders lost a few top level players early and are relying on several underclassmen to get the job done along with Will Hammer, who is now the all time leading scorer in team history.  The Crusaders open the tournament with a mirror image in themselves in the Totino-Grace Eagles which could prove to be the most entertaining first round match-up in the quarterfinals.

Hermantown Hawks (22-4-2, 5-0-2)
Head Coach:  Bruce Plante (25th season, 462-190-20 )
Section:  7A
Conference:  Lake Superior Conference, 1st place
State Tournament appearances:  (11) 1994, 98, 99, 2001, 06, 07, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
State Titles:  (1)  2007

Road to State:
International Falls 9-0
Duluth Denfeld 6-1
Marshall School, Duluth 6-2

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                 GP    G    A    Pts

Ryan Kero             28    21    27    48
Nate Pionk            28    20    28    48
Scott Wasbotten    28    21    21    42
Kori Ochs                26    15    16    31
Cole Koepke            28    17    13    30

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                    W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Adam Smith            10    3    0    2.66          .895            0
Jace Thomas            9    1    1    1.67             .923            3

What to expect:  
A regular state tournament participant, the Hawks have been to the big dance five straight years. They advanced to the finals each of the last four years only to lose the championship game each time.  This year may be different for the Hawks as they have championship credentials.  However, a deep field presents itself this year and could present a tough run for the Hawks.  Ryan Kero and Nate Pionk were regular contributors from last year’s team and understand the tournament and its environment.  Coach Bruce Plante has two high level goaltenders to turn to in Adam Smith and Jace Thomas.

East Grand Forks Green Wave (25-2-1, 8-0-1)
Head Coach: Tyler Palmiscno (5th season, 77-47-6)
Section:  8A
Conference:  Mariucci Conference, 1st place
State Tournament appearances:  (9) 1971, 80, 82, 98, 99, 2001, 13, 14
State Titles:  None

Road to State:
Lake of the Woods 10-0
Detroit Lakes 8-1
Warroad 3-2 (ot)

Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player                      GP    G    A    Pts

Dixon Bowen            18    17    20    37
Reed Corbid             28    14    21    35
Grant Loven             28    14    21    35
Tanner Tweten        28    15    13    28
Brandon Loven        28    14    11    25

Goaltending Leaders:
Player                   W    L    T    GAA        Sv%        Sho

Josh Weber            18    1    1    1.22             .922           4
Garrett Lieberg        5    1    0    1.00           .898           3

What to expect:
Dixon Bowen blew up for 10 points in three playoff games (4g-6a-10p) and took over the team lead in points — despite appearing in only 18 games this year.  But it’s on defense where East Grand Forks is a championship contender. The Green Wave are a defensive juggernaut and play the game in all three zones as well as any team in high school hockey.  They only allow 1.20 goals against per game.  They have a power play over 24 percent and a penalty kill that registers over 90 percent efficiency.  Goals against and special teams equal success and the Green Wave could experience plenty of it this state tournament.

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