In the ninth year of seeding the qualified teams, Hermantown was chosen No. 1 in Class A and Lakeville North was chosen No. 1 in Class AA for the 2015 State Boys' Hockey Tournament.
The Hermantown Hawks qualified for the sixth consecutive and 12th overall time. They are seeking their second state title. The Panthers of Lakeville North are making their second consecutive and sixth overall trip to the tournament and are still looking for their first state championship.
Both defending champions also return to this year's qualifying fields. The Green Wave of East Grand Forks are looking for their second title in Class A, while the Edina Hornets are seeking their 10th
championship in Class AA. East Grand Forks is the No. 3 seed in the Class A field and Edina is the No. 2 seed in the Class AA tournament. Spring Lake Park is the only school making its debut appearance. The Panthers compete in Class A.
Class A teams will play their quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 4, and Class AA teams will follow suit on Thursday, March 5. Both classes will continue with championship semifinals on Friday, March 6, and then third-place and championship games on Saturday, March 7. Consolation
semifinals for Class A are scheduled Thursday, March 5, with Class AA following suit on Friday, March 6, and both consolation championship games on Saturday, March 7. All 2015 State Boys' Hockey Tournament championship-round and third-place games in both classes will be played at
Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. All consolation rounds for both classes will be played at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota Minneapolis campus.
The seeding process had all 16 coaches of the section champions log onto a special page of the League website. Each coach then ranked the other teams in their class one through seven. The highest and lowest rankings for each team were discarded, leaving five rankings for each team. From those
rankings, the top five teams were seeded. In conference calls with all eight head coaches of each class, League Associate Director Craig Perry announced the top five seeds. An impartial participant then blindly drew the three remaining teams from a hat to establish the opponent for the top three
seeded teams. Numbers four and five automatically play each other.
Detailed statistics provided by qualified teams are available on the
League's website - http://www.MSHSL.org - as a Media Guide link under Tournaments,
then Winter, then Boys' Hockey.
Class A Preview
Section 3 New Ulm (18-8-2) vs. (No. 2 Seed) Section 4 Mahtomedi (24-2-2): New Ulm, which includes students from New Ulm Cathedral, Minnesota Valley Lutheran, Sleepy Eye, and Sleepy Eye St. Mary's, is making its debut appearance under this formation. New Ulm and New Ulm Cathedral made one additional appearance in 1992, and the co-op of New Ulm, New Ulm Cathedral, and Minnesota Valley Lutheran made three consecutive appearances between 2010 and 2012. The Eagles were not ranked in the final Let's Play Hockey poll and are still looking for their elusive first title. New Ulm did not face any other Class A qualifiers during the regular season. The Zephyrs of
Mahtomedi return for their eighth appearance but first since 2010. The Zephyrs were ranked No. 2 in this year's final Let's Play Hockey poll and are looking for their first championship. In regular-season play, Mahtomedi defeated Breck School 3-1.
Section 1 New Prague (20-8-0) vs. (No. 3 Seed) Section 8 East Grand Forks (23-4-0): The Trojans of New Prague are making their second consecutive and overall appearance. They were ranked No. 17 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll and are looking to improve on last year's third-place showing. During the regular season the Trojans fell to Hermantown 6-1. The defending champions from East Grand Forks were ranked No. 3 in this year's final Let's Play Hockey poll. This is the third consecutive and 10th overall appearance for the Green Wave. Last year's title was the first for East
Grand Forks. The Green Wave faced two other Class A qualifiers during regular-season play; they defeated Breck School 4-1 and lost to Hermantown 3-0.
Section 5 Spring Lake Park (16-11-1) vs. (No. 1 Seed) Section 7 Hermantown (25-2-1): The Panthers of Spring Lake Park are making their debut tournament appearance. They were not ranked in the final Let's Play Hockey poll and did not face any other tournament qualifiers during the regular season. The Hawks of Hermantown are making their sixth consecutive and 12th overall appearance. They finished as runners-up the past five years. Hermantown won one previous title in 2007. The Hawks were ranked No. 1 in this year's final Let's Play Hockey poll. Hermantown defeated East Grand
Forks 3-0 during regular-season play.
(No. 5 Seed) Section 6 St. Cloud Apollo (22-4-2) vs. (No. 4 Seed) Section 2 Breck School, Golden Valley (21-7-0): The Eagles of St. Cloud Apollo were ranked No. 7 in this year's final Let's Play Hockey poll. This is the third appearance for the Eagles whose last was in 2013. St. Cloud
Apollo, which has never won a state championship, did not play any other qualifiers during the regular season. Breck School returns to tournament action after a one-year absence to make its 11th appearance. The Mustangs were ranked No. 4 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll and are looking for
their fifth title. They won previously in 2000, 2004, 2009, and 2010. Breck School defeated two qualifiers during the regular season: East Grand Forks 4-1 and Mahtomedi 3-1.
Class AA Preview
Section 8 Bemidji (23-3-2) vs. (No. 2 Seed) Section 2 Edina (24-1-2): The Lumberjacks of Bemidji, who were ranked No. 10 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll, are making their seventh appearance but first since 1986. Bemidji did not face any other qualifiers this year and is still looking for its first state title. The two-time defending champions from Edina are returning for their ninth consecutive and 26th overall appearance. They were ranked No. 2 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll and are in the
hunt for their 10th title. In addition to the past two years, they also won in 1969, 1971, 1982, 1984, 1988, and 1997. Edina East also won titles in 1974, 1978 and 1979. During the regular season the Hornets defeated Eden Prairie three times, 4-3 in overtime, 5-0, and 3-0. They also defeated Hill-Murray twice, 3-1 and 6-3, and Duluth East once 7-1. The only qualifying team the Hornets fell to was Lakeville North, 3-1.
Section 7 Duluth East (14-10-4) vs. (No. 3 Seed) Section 4 St. Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights (24-4-0): These teams met in late December with St. Thomas Academy winning 4-1. The Greyhounds of Duluth East, who placed sixth last year, are making their seventh consecutive and 22nd overall appearance. They were ranked No. 18 in this year's final Let's Play Hockey poll and seek a fourth title, having previously won in 1960, 1995 and 1998. In addition to St. Thomas Academy, Duluth East fell to four additional tournament qualifiers this year: Edina 7-1, Eden Prairie 4-2, Lakeville North 2-1, and Blaine 7-6 in overtime. The Cadets of St. Thomas Academy were
ranked fourth in the final Let's Play Hockey poll. They are making their ninth appearance and return to tournament play after a one-year absence. St. Thomas Academy is looking for its sixth title, having won previously in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2013. In addition to facing Duluth East, the Cadets also split a series with Hill-Murray this year. They lost 3-2 in overtime in January and won 4-2 in early February.
Section 4 Hill-Murray, Maplewood (21-7-0) vs. (No. 1 Seed) Section 1 Lakeville North (28-0-0): This is a rematch of a game that Lakeville North won 4-3. The Pioneers of Hill-Murray, who were ranked No. 3 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll, return to the tournament after a one-year absence.
This is their 27th appearance and they are looking for their third championship. They won previously in 1983, 1991, and 2008. In addition to Lakeville North, Hill-Murray also fell to Blaine 4-3, Eden Prairie 3-2 in overtime, and Edina twice, 3-1 and 6-3, this season. The Pioneers also split a series with St. Thomas Academy, winning 3-2 in overtime and then falling 4-2. The Panthers of Lakeville North, ranked No. 1 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll, seek their first title in their second consecutive and sixth overall appearance. They claimed runner-up honors in 2014. The Panthers went
3-0 against tournament qualifiers during the regular season; they defeated Edina 3-1, Hill-Murray 4-3, and Duluth East 2-1.
(No. 5 Seed) Section 6 Eden Prairie (18-9-0) vs. (No. 4 Seed) Section 5 Blaine (22-5-1): These two teams met in late December with Blaine winning 8-3. The Eagles of Eden Prairie are making their second consecutive and seventh overall tournament appearance. They placed fourth last year and
won previous titles in 2009 and 2011. Eden Prairie was ranked fifth in the final Let's Play Hockey poll. In addition to Blaine, Eden Prairie lost three times to Edina during the regular season: 4-3 in overtime, 5-0, and 3-0. The Eagles also defeated both Hill-Murray, 3-2 in overtime, and Duluth East 4-2. The Bengals of Blaine return for their 11th appearance but their first since 2011. They were ranked No. 7 in the final Let's Play Hockey poll and are in the hunt for their second title. They won their first in 2000. Blaine defeated three fellow tournament qualifiers this season: Hill-Murray 4-3,
Eden Prairie 8-3, and Duluth East 7-6 in overtime.
Tickets and Special Promotions
All Class AA championship sessions are reserved seating only. Any unsold tickets allocated to participating schools go on sale one hour before each two-game session. All Class A sessions and consolation games for both classes are general admission seating. Adult tickets are $17.00 for
championship sessions and $12.00 for consolation sessions. Student tickets are $11.00 for championship sessions and $8.00 for consolation sessions. A visit to any participating Wells Fargo metro location can yield you a $2 discount coupon for students 13 and younger for Class A games. The discount coupons are also available for the Girls' and Boys' Basketball Tournaments.
Television and Web Streaming
KSTC-TV, Channel 45 will televise all championship-round games live. For specific cable channel coverage, visit http://www.KSTC45.com. All of the televised games will also be streamed live at Prep45.com for a fee of $4.97 per day. Fans may also follow all games live statistically by clicking on
links at the League website - http://www.MSHSL.org.
(Info courtesy of MSHSL)
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