2021 Girls Hockey Section Preview

Blogger's Note:  Due to section tournaments all starting the same week in hockey and basketball, HSGN will cut it's section previews  from single classes to a sport.  The exception is girls and boys basketball which will be in two parts per sport.  Classes A & AA and Classes AAA & AAAA.

It's a big week in Minnesota high school sports as section play begins in hockey and basketball.  First up, the eight Class A girls hockey sections.  

In Section 1, the top seeded Albert Lea Tigers are the team's with the section's only winning record.  Section 2 could be a three team race with the top seeded Mound-Westonka Whitehawks, the New Ulm Eagles and the Minnesota River Bulldogs   

Another three team race could take place in Section 3 with the top seeded Luverne Cardinals, the second seeded Mankato East/Loyola Cougars and the third seeded Marshall Tigers.  

In Section 4, it could be another state tournament trip for veteran head coach Dave Palmquist and the top seeded South St. Paul Packers.  

Over in Section 5, there could be a changing of the guard in Section 5 as the Chisago Lakes Wildcats have the number one seed and Breck has the second seed.  Get ready for a caravan down Highway 8 Wildcat fans, this could be the year they unseat the Breck Mustangs.  

Who will come out of Section 6?  Will it be the top seeded Willmar Cardinals or the second seeded River Lakes Stars?

Up north in Section 7, the unbeaten Proctor/Hermantown Mirage will have to get past the second seeded Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers.  

And in Section 8, the top seeded Warroad Warriors are on a 12 game winning streak but they have to get past the second seeded Thief River Falls Prowlers.  

Now to Class AA and Section 1 where the unbeaten Northfield Raiders are not the top seed.  The Farmington Tigers have the top spot.  Also in contention is the Lakeville South Cougars. 

In Section 2, the top seeded Minnetonka Skippers are on a quest back to St. Paul but they have to contend with the hot Holy Family Catholic Fire and Lake Conference rival Eden Prairie.  

Over in Section 3,, the top seeded Burnsville Blaze is on a 10 game winning streak but can they hold off the second seeded Eastview Lightning?

Things look interesting in Section 4 as five teams via for the section title trophy.  They are the Stillwater Ponies, the Roseville Raiders, the Hill-Murray Pioneers, the East Ridge Raptors and the Mounds View Mustangs.  Who will come out of this section?  Take your pick. 

Now to Section 5, the top seeded Maple Grove Crimson has to contend with the Centennial Cougars and the Blaine Bengals.  

The unbeaten Edina Hornets, with several Dvision I recruits are the top seed in Section 6.  But standing in their way is the second seeded Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights and the third seeded Wayzata Trojans.  

In Section 7, the defending Class AA champion Andover Huskies are the top seed and haven't missed a beat with 17 straight wins.  The Forest Lake Rangers and Grand Rapids/Greenway could keep the buses in the garage.  

It could be a three team race in Section 8 with the top seeded Roseau Rams, Brainerd/Little Falls and the Alexandia Cardinals.  

HSGN To Sit Out State Tournaments

 In an earlier post, HSGN posted a story that mentioned that this blog will not be covering any games outside of St. Louis Park games where the blogger is doing the public address announcing due to fan limitations and no general public ticket sales.  

The moratorium carries over to the state tournaments.  

In an article published in the March 4 StarTribune, seating capacity at state tournaments will be limited to 250 and primarily parents of the athletes and limited media.  Also, no tickets will be sold to the general public.  With that criteria in mind, it's the decision of HSGN to continue its position on not covering any games this season.  

It doesn't mean HSGN will go away at tournament time.  There will be section previews as well as state tournament previews.  KSTC-TV will once again broadcast the girls and boys hockey and basketball tournaments.  The Hubbard owned station will carry the semifinals and championship games of the girls hockey and boys and girls basketball tournaments and all championship bracket games in the state boys hockey tournament.  

Also, quarterfinal games in girls hockey and boys and girls basketball will be carried on a pay-per-view basis on prepspotlight.tv.  Fans who don't want to pay to watch their team in action can scout around for radio stations carrying the state tournaments.  No worries for boys basketball since KDHL from Faribault has been carrying "Baseline to baseline coverage" since 1948.  The station also covers games area teams are playing in hockey and girls basketball.  As for hockey and girls basketball.  Live game coverage can be found on stations in the area carrying the game online.  For those unable to watch the boys hockey tournament because they are at work or in the car, check your local paper for stations carrying the tournament.  

There's plenty of action coming up in late March and if you can't get a ticket, there are other ways to follow the state tournament action.  

COVID 19 Concerns Cancel SLP Sports Final Regular Season Week

 Though many Minnesotans (including the author of this blog) have been getting vaccinated for the coronavirus, it has still put a damper on the winter high school sports season at St. Louis Park.

The week of March 8 would have been the final week of the regular season for the boys hockey and girls basketball teams but those games have been cancelled and not rescheduled.  The Orioles boys were to host the Blake Bears on the 8th and the Wayzata Trojans on the 12th.  The girls basketball team was scheduled to face the unbeaten Hopkins Royals on the 10th.  

However, the gymnastics team's meet in Bloomington against the Jefferson Jaguars is still scheduled for the 9th.  The boys basketball team, who hosted the Eden Prairie Eagles on Saturday the 6th, will battle another Lake Conference foe, the Hopkins Royals, also on the 9th at Hopkins.  

Also in action is the combined Hopkins/SLP girls hockey team as they have back to back home games this weekend.  They will host the Waconia Wildcats on the 12th and head to The Rec Center on the 13th to play an outdoor game against Moose Lake/Willow River.  

However, there is some good news from all of this.  St. Louis Park will begin section play in both girls basketball and boys hockey the week of March 15.  It's very likely that the Orioles will play a home section game in both sports that week.  

As the saying goes, there is light at the end of the tunnel and it will shine in St. Louis Park the week of the 15th.  

Is Nebraska the State of Volleyball?

 Since HSGN was launched in 2016, the blog has focused primarily on Minnesota sports.  But today, with the University of Minnesota volleyball team wrapping up a weekend series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, it's intriguing to find out that volleyball is very popular in Nebraska.  

So here's why Nebraska can be known as The State of Volleyball.  

On the high school level, Minnesota has three classes and will expand to four in the next school year.  Nebraska has six classes, including a class that has the smallest enrollments, such as the Giltner Hornets, with an enrollment of 19.  Their state tournament is played in the capitol city of Lincoln, including the Pinnacle Bank Arena and the Devaney Sports Center.  Five Lincoln high schools also serve as sites in quarterfinal play.  They are Northeast, East, North Star, Southeast and Southeast.  Friday and Saturday have six matches, beginning at 9 AM.  

Unlike Minnesota, the Nebraska state tournament's six championship games are televised live on Nebraska Educational Television.  Fans from outside the Cornhusker State can watch the games on the network's website.  

As for the collegiate level, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers are extremely popular and successful.  Since 2001, all home matches at the Devaney Sports Center have been sold out.  But it doesn't mean fans who don't have a ticket aren't shut out.  Every Husker match is aired on a statewide radio network consisting of 29 affiliates.  The Big Ten Network and ESPN also carry their matches.  On the court, Nebraska has been a frequent visitor to the NCAA tournament, continuing a streak that has lasted since 1981.  

But wait, there's more.  Omaha will be the site of this season's NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament, which will be played April 13-24.  Due to COVID 19, the entire tournament will be played in Nebraska's largest city with possible other venues yet to be determined.  The primary site is the CHI Health Center Arena.  The tournament will also return to Omaha in 2022.  In 2015, 17,561 fans packed the downtown venue for the NCAA final between Nebraska and Texas.  

So there's HSGN's claim that Nebraska is the State of Volleyball.  It also shows in comparison to Minnesota and hockey.  There's plenty of action left to come in both states.  

Strong Third Period Key to BSM Red Knights Win Over SLP Orioles

 It was "The Battle of St. Louis Park" Saturday afternoon at The Rec Center as Adam Marshall scored two goals to lead the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights to a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Park Orioles.  

If you missed the early part of the game due to car trouble in this frigid weather, there was plenty of scoring in the first period.  The Orioles took the early lead :36 into the game when Drew Boyum rebounded Lucas Hand's shot.  The Red Knights, ranked second in Class AA according to Let's Play Hockey, would score three consecutive goals.  Marshall would score his first goal on the power play and he would pick up an assist on Ben Thompson's goal a minute later.  Drew Stewart would tally for BSM off a pass from Jonah Mortenson to put them ahead 3-1.  St. Louis Park would cut the lead to one on Jack Wandmacher's left slot goal and the Red Knights would wrap up the first period scoring on Stewart's second goal.  

The Orioles would score the lone second period goal.  McCabe Dvorak got a pass from Ben Olson and he fired it past the goal line to decrease the BSM margin to 4-3.  

Now to the third period.  Both teams skated four on four for :48 but the red digits on The Rec Center scoreboard did not budge.  They would tie the game while Brady Yakesh was serving a holding penalty.  Sam Berry passed to Hand in the left slot and he lined the puck into the net.  Could the Orioles pull off the upset?  The answer would be no when Jackson Bisson scored a power play with 6:25 left in regulation time.  St. Louis Park head coach Andy Sackirson pulled goalie Josh Middleto twice.  The first was with 1:32 left and the second with :44 to play.  But the second stint with a sixth attacker fell short on Marshall's shot that crossed both blue lines and landed in the net.  

BSM outshot St. Louis Park 25-16.  

The Red Knights remained unbeaten at 10-0 and return to action on Tuesday, February 16 against the Eden Prairie Eagles at 7 PM at the Eden Prairie Community Center.  The Orioles fell to 7-2-1, ending a four game winning streak and head up Highway 7 on Thursday, February 18 to face the Minnetonka Skippers at 7 PM at the Pagel Activity Center.  

Get Ready for Late March, Early April Madness

 Good news for athletes and fans.  There will be state tournaments for Minnesota high school sports to wrap up the winter season.  

The Minnesota State High School League gave the green light to conduct state tournaments in winter sports at its February 4 Board of Directors meeting. 

Most of the tournaments will be in late March and early April due to the late start of the winter sports season.  

Alpine Skiing leads off the tournament season March 10 followed by Nordic Skiing on the 12th.  The site will be the same, Giants Ridge in Biwabik.  

March 12 and 13 will also be the dates for the State Dance Team Tournament.  The site will be different this year.  Instead of Target Center, the event will be held at Edina High School.  

Two other state tournaments will undergo site changes this season.  The girls gymnastics meet will be held at Champlin Park High School, March 26 & 27.    That same weekend, the state wrestling tournament will also take place.  Site TBD.  

As for the state hockey and basketball tournaments, they also have new dates as well as a format change.  

First up will be the state girls hockey quarterfinals March 26 & 27.  Then the state boys hockey quarterfinals March 30 & 31.  On April 1, it's girls semifinal play followed by the boys on April 2.  The tournament wraps up with Championship Saturday April 3 with one session of two girls finals followed by a boys championship session.  

All games will be played at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.  It will be a one and done format meaning that there will be no consolation or third place games.  Games will be televised on KSTC-TV.

The state tournament season wraps up in March and extends into April with the state girls and boys basketball tournaments.  Quarterfinal play will go back to the early days of the four class format since they will be played at various sites throughout Minnesota March 30 & 31.  No word yet on where the games will be played.  There will be plenty of basketball action at Target Center April 6-10 since those will be the dates for the girls and boys semifinals and championship games.  Semifinal games take place April 6-8 and two days of championship action April 9 & 10.  Those games will be televised on KSTC-TV.  

Will fans be allowed to attend the tournaments or what will the cap on attendance be due to the continuing COVID 19 pandemic.  Will HSGN cover any of the basketball or hockey tournament games?  In a previous post, HSGN mentioned that they won't be covering any regular season games due to restrictions except the games that the blogger is announcing.  

Further developments on the state high school tournaments will be coming up when they are available.  

A Monumental Comeback for SLP Orioles

 Just when you thought the St. Louis Park Orioles were about to get blown out, they would come back with five unanswered goals, including the game winner from Sam Berry with :21.5 left in overtime to beat the Chaska Hawks 6-5 Tuesday night at The Rec Center.  

It looked like the first period would be scoreless but the Hawks took the early lead on a line drive goal from Sully Scholle with :00.3 left in the period.  Early in the period, Chaska had a five on three advantage for :51 but the St. Louis Park penalty killing unit kept a purple, gold and white jersey from putting the puck into the net.  

Chaska would increase the margin to four in the second period with three consecutive goals.  Bennett Jax would jack one into the net, followed by Sam Rinzel's power play goal from the left slot.  The lead would increase to four on an unassisted goal by Jack Severson.  But there would no shutout for the Hawks when Lucas Hand made a nifty pass to Jack Wandmacher and he would go top shelf to enter the Oriole history books with his 100th career point.  Scholle would wrap the second half scoring with :49 left in the period while Rinzel was serving a holding penalty.  He drove down the ice like the team bus heading down Highway 100, stickhandled the puck through the center slot and put it past St. Louis Park goalie Josh Middleton to give Chaska a 5-1 lead.  

The best was yet to come for the small throng of Oriole fans in the third period when St. Louis Park would even the score with four goals.  First, McCabe Dvorak would score a rebound goal to cut the lead to three.  Then came Drew Boyum, who lined a shot from the left slot into the net.  Down 5-3, Oriole head coach Andy Sackrison pulled Middleton with 1:24 to go for a sixth attacker and it paid dividends for St. Louis Park.  Lucas hand scored on a rebound to cut the lead to one and Dvorak would tie the game with :31 remaining to send the game into overtime.  

Could the Orioles continue their goal run in overtime?  The answer would be yes as Berry rebounded Dvorak's shot and sent it across the goal line to complete an improbable comeback win.  

The Orioles out shot the Hawks 39-24.  

St. Louis Park improved their record to 5-1-1 and will head down Highway 5 to the Victoria Recreation Center to take on the Chanhassen Storm Saturday, February 6 at 3 PM.  Chaska fell to 4-3 and returns to The Rec Center on the 6th for a 2:30 game with the Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights.