The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament kicked off on Wednesday with a lot of good goaltending performances and some funny antics throughout the day.
Game 1
Hermantown 6 Luverne 0 Box Score:
Standout Performances:
Dane Calloway, Hermantown, Goalie: Wasn’t tested much but stood tall when asked, including a beautiful leg pad stop on a breakaway. Calloway was the only goalie to post a shutout on day one.
Brock Behrend, Luverne, Forward: Was Luverne’s best skater all day. Behrend flashed some speed and had a couple of great chances.
River Freeman, Hermantown, Forward: Was involved in the play all day, racked up a goal, an assist, and 5 shots.
George Peterson, Hermantown, Defenseman: Was rock solid on the backend for Hermantown, not allowing any penetration of the zone and tracking the opposing forwards with ease.
Game 2
Mahtomedi 6 Alexandria 3 Box Score:
Standout Performances:
Corey Bohmert, Mahtomedi, Forward: Scored the hatty and added a couple of assists. On one play Bohmert took out two Alex players with a hit, proceeding to the net, and then knocking home a one-timer.
Charlie Drage, Mahtomedi, Forward: Processes the game quickly and sets up his linemates with crisp and accurate passing. Charlie had a goal and 3 assists in the contest.
Tyler Kludt, Alexandria, Forward: Showed great speed and played the body effectively. He left it all on the ice, showing a lot of guts and determination in this one.
Game 3
Warroad 4 St. Cloud 1 Box Score:
Standout Performances:
Carson Pilgrim, Forward, Warroad: Probably the best performance of the day as he showcased his speed and quickness. Pilgrim scored the hat-trick and showed that the combination of him and Shaugabay is unstoppable. Pilgrim also overdosed the net with 11 shots on goal.
Jayson Shaugabay, Forward, Warroad: Showed why he will be named Minnesota Mr. Hockey as he’s so hard to track and cover over the course of a full game. Such great awareness and uses his linemates better than anyone in the state. His goal and 3 assists puts him at 300 points for his career.
Ryan Lund, Defense, Warroad: The big forward played a lot of minutes, playing spotless defense and making nice breaks out of his own zone.
Griffin Sturm, Defense, St. Cloud: Played well against the state’s top players, despite being just a freshman. Sturm has great puck control and tracks opposing forwards well.
Nick Hansen, Goalie, St. Cloud: A stellar performance, making tough stop after tough stop. Kept St. Cloud in the game while looking confident and in control. Hansen will be one of the top goalies in the state next year, if he returns for his senior season.
Game 4
Orono 2 Northfield 1, OT Box Score:
Standout Performances:
Brody Finnegan, Defenseman, Orono: The junior defender played tight defense and delivered the shot that was defelected to win the game. Finnegan has upped his game in the past couple weeks, putting up 5 points in his last 3 games.
Bradley Walker, Forward, Orono: The captain supplied constant pressure, scoring a goal and would have scored many others if not for the stellar play by the Northfield goaltender.
Brock Peyton, Goalie, Orono: As always for Orono, Peyton was the backbone for them in this game, playing big and on point with his angles. He’ll be tested more in the Warroad game on Friday.
Kamden Kaiser, Forward, Northfield: Strong, power forward type that creates space with his body positioning and good hands. Had some great scoring chances and assisted on Northfield’s goal.
Keaton Walock, Goalie, Northfield: An amazing effort for the senior goalie, making 48 saves in the ot loss. Confident, technically sound, and quick. Walock is a gamer that doesn’t give up on a play.