2017 STATE CLASS AA BOYS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
Games played Thursday, March 9 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul
11:00: Lakeville South vs. St. Thomas Academy (Seed 2)
1:00: Hill-Murray vs. Moorhead (Seed 3)
6:00: Wayzata vs. Eden Prairie (Seed 1)
8:00: Grand Rapids (Seed 5) vs. Maple Grove (Seed 4)
Examining the Field: Big crowds and big hopes await the eight Class AA teams that get their turn in the Xcel Energy Center spotlight. First up is the Lakeville South Cougars and the second seeded St. Thomas Academy Cadets. The Cougars have won six of their last seven games and are making their third trip to the X. Their leading scoring Josh Ess will be playing against his former teammate, now a Minnesota Gopher Justin Kloos at Wisconsin next season. The Cadets are in their 10th state tournament and their second since the Brothers Vanelli, Tom and Greg moved them on up from Class A to Class AA. They have not lost a game since a January 14 overtime loss to the Mahtomedi Zephyrs 2-1. Could this be the year St. Thomas Academy finally gets their piece of the championship pie in Class AA?
The afternoon session concludes with a pair of perennial powers, the Hill-Murray Pioneers and the Moorhead Spuds. The two teams met on February 18 when the Pioneers headed up I-94 to Moorhead and lost to the Spuds 4-3. It's the 28th trip to state for Hill-Murray and there will probably be a lot of green clad fans in the X's green seats. Moorhead makes their 15th trip to St. Paul and they are still looking for their first state title. They have been the Minnesota Vikings of Class AA boys hockey, finishing second seven times. The Spuds have not lost a game since December 29 when they lost 1-0 to the Prior Lake Lakers at The Rec Center in St. Louis Park. Is an eighth state title game in the works for the Spuds as well as fans in the Fargo-Moorhead area?
Now to the evening session where a rematch of last year's Class AA final takes place between the defending Class AA champion Wayzata Trojans and the top seeded Eden Prairie Eagles. The Trojans have shaken off a 1-5 start and have beaten a couple of top teams to return to St. Paul. They beat the second seeded Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders in the Section 6 semifinals and beat the Edina Hornets in the section final. In three section games, Wayzata has outscored their opponents 11-1. As for the Eagles, they beat their Lake Conference rivals twice in the regular season 8-2 and 4-2. Eden Prairie is on a 17 game winning streak and advanced to their fifth consecutive state tournament with a 4-3 win over the Holy Family Catholic fire in the Section 2AA final. Nicky Leivermann got the game winning goal for the Eagles. His teammate, Casey Mittlestadt is a Mr. Hockey Hockey finalist and will be playing for the Gophers next season if he doesn't get drafted and sign an NHL contract. Eden Prairie is a favorite to win their first state Class AA title since 2011.
Concluding the Class AA quarterfinals will the the fifth seeded Grand Rapids Thunderhawks and the fourth seeded Maple Grove Crimson. The Thunderhawks make their 15th trip to St. Paul and clinched a state tournament berth in glorious fashion with a 3-2 double overtime win over the Duluth East Greyhounds. Last season, Grand Rapids took home the third place trophy and this year they're looking for their first state title since 1980. The Crimson head down I-94 to St. Paul for the first time since 2012 and hope to get their first tournament win. They have been on a roll, winning nine of their last ten games.
There's plenty of exciting high school hockey coming up in downtown St. Paul.
No comments:
Post a Comment