(Games played Thursday, March 10 at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul)
11:00: Prior Lake vs. Cretin-Derham Hall (Seed 2)
1:00: Edina vs. Maple Grove (Seed 3)
6:00: Lakeville South vs. Hill-Murray (Seed 1)
8:00: Andover (Seed 5) vs. Moorhead (Seed 4)
Examining the field: After a day of Class A quarterfinal action, it's the Class AA teams turn before many fans populating the X's green seats. The only team in both classes to make its first trip to state is the Prior Lake Lakers. The Lakers, seeded fourth in Section 2, dethroned the defending Class AA champions in the semifinals and beat the Chaska Hawks in the title game. The Lakers are coached by a former Bloomington Jefferson Jaguar Joe Pankratz and face the top ranked team in Class AA, the second seeded Cretin Derham Hall Raiders. The Raiders head to downtown St. Paul for the first time since 2009. One of the favorites in Class AA, can they wrap up a state title in their home city?
Wrapping up the afternoon session is the Edina Hornets and the third seeded Maple Grove Crimson. Whether it's Edina-Morningside, Edina East or West or Edina, it will be the 42nd time a team from the Twin Cities suburb has qualified for the state tournament. Coming out of a touch Section 6 field, the Hornets shut out the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knight's 4-0 to take home the championship trophy. The Crimson, seeded second in Section 5, beat the top seeded Rogers Royals 4-2 to earn their fifth state tournament berth. This should be an interesting match up.
Heading into the evening session will be the Lakeville South Cougars and the top seeded Hill-Murray Pioneers. The Cougars head up I-35 for the seventh time and have won 16 straight games. They will face another hot team in the Pioneers, entering the tournament with seven straight wins. It's the 32nd trip to state for the Maplewood based school. They have bounced back from a 1-2 start to go 22-2-1. One of the losses was to the Andover Huskies in the Bloomington Tournament December 29. Is a rematch possible in the semifinals?
Concluding Quarterfinal Thursday is the fifth seeded Andover Huskies and the fourth seeded Moorhead Spuds. What a winter for Andover hockey fans. The girls team went unbeaten to win the Class AA state title and now the boys are in St. Paul for the third straight year. The Huskies are 3-1 against state tournament teams, including wins over Cretin-Derham Hall and Hill-Murray. The Spuds are in their 19th state tournament and still looking for their first state title trophy. They ended the regular season with a 5-4 loss to Hill-Murray on February 19. Will they get a rematch in the semifinals or will Andover continue their quest for a second championship trophy in two weeks?
Lots of great high school hockey action coming up.
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