2020 State Class A Boys Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal Preview

     2020 STATE CLASS A BOYS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW
                   (Games played Wednesday, March 4 at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul)
 11:00: Mankato East/Loyola vs. St. Cloud Cathedral (Seed 2)
  1:00   Monticello Moose vs. Hermantown (Seed 3)
  6:00:  Hutchinson vs. Warroad (Seed 1)
  8:00:  Delano (Seed 5) vs. Mahtomedi (Seed 4)

Examining the field:  The 2020 edition of Minnesota's premier hockey event opens as the Mankato East/Loyola Cougars head down Highway 169 to St. Paul to face the defending Class A champion St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders.  The Cougars were the fourth seed in Section 1 and had a key victory in beating the top seeded Dodge County Wildcats.  But can they defeat another giant in St. Cloud Cathedral?  Last season, the Crusaders brought joy to the Granite City with their first state title, the first by any St. Cloud based team.  This season, the Crusaders played Warroad on November 29 and lost to the Warriors 5-2.  Is a rematch possibly in the Class A final?

The afternoon session concludes as the Monticello Moose makes it's third trip to the X and first in its current iteration.  They were also known as Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake and Monticello/Maple Lake.  They have a tough task ahead in the perennial Twin Ports power the third seeded Hermantown Hawks.  Pat Andrews, who took over for the retired Bruce Plante has brought Hermantown down I-35 to the X for the 13th time.  They got back on track after losing two straight games to Lakeville South and Grand Rapids.  A possible showdown with St. Cloud Cathedral could come in the semifinals.  The two teams met on January 3 and tied 5-5.  There could be overtime if the two teams meet Friday afternoon.

Opening the evening session are two teams that played a couple of weeks ago in the state girls hockey tournament, the Hutchinson Tigers and the top seeded Warroad Warriors.  The Tigers make their first trip to St. Paul for the first time in 20 years and go up against a Warrior team that went through the Section 8 playoffs without giving up a single goal.  Warroad outscored their three section opponents 19-0 and look to extend their unanswered goal streak beyond 20.  There will be plenty of black and gold in the X's green seats as Warroad looks to bring fans in Hockeytown USA a state title trophy.

Concluding Class A quarterfinal play is the fifth seeded Delano Tigers and the fourth seeded Mahtomedi Zephyrs.  The Tigers are the second team from the Wright County Conference in the field and head down Highway 12 for the third straight year to St. Paul.  Delano was the second seeded team and beat the fourth seeded Armstrong/Cooper Wings in the section title game.  The Zephyrs are playing in their fourth consecutive state tournament and 13th overall but they have never taken home the championship hardware.  Could it finally be the year?  First they have to get past the Tigers and survive a showdown with Warroad if they beat Hutchinson.

Next up.  The state Class AA preview.