(via mshsl) In the sixth year of seeding the qualified teams, Hermantown was chosen No. 1 in Class A and Duluth East was chosen No. 1 in Class AA for the 2012 State Boys’ Hockey Tournament.
The Hawks of Hermantown qualified for the ninth time and are seeking their second state title. The Greyhounds of Duluth East are making their 19th trip to the tournament and are seeking their fourth state title.
All but one qualifying team has past tournament experience. Maple Grove is making its inaugural appearance. Hill-Murray of Maplewood leads all teams by making its 25th appearance this year.
Class A teams will play their quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 7, and Class AA teams will follow suit on Thursday, March 8. Both classes will continue with championship semifinals on Friday, March 9, and then third-place and championship games on Saturday, March 10. Consolation semifinals for Class A are scheduled Thursday, March 8, with Class AA following suit on Friday, March 9, and both consolation championship games on Saturday, March 10. All 2012 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 the 16 coaches of the section champions log onto a special page of the League Web site. Each coach then ranked the other teams one through seven. The highest and lowest rankings for each team were discarded, leaving five rankings for each team. From those rankings, the top four seeds were selected. In conference calls with all eight head coaches of each class, League Associate Director Craig Perry announced the top four seeds. An impartial participant then blindly drew the four remaining teams from a hat to establish the opponent for each seeded team.
Detailed statistics provided by qualified teams are available on the League’s Web site — www.MSHSL.org — as a Media Guide link under Tournaments, then Winter, then Boys’ Hockey.
Class A Preview
(No. 2 Seed) St. Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights (23-5-0) vs. Little Falls (19-9-0): The Cadets of St. Thomas Academy are making their seventh appearance and will attempt to defend their 2011 championship. They also won titles in 2006 and 2008. St. Thomas Academy finished the regular season at No. 2 in the final Let’s Play Hockey poll. This year the Cadets defeated three other tournament qualifiers: 3-2 in overtime over No. 3-seeded Breck School of Golden Valley, 4-3 in overtime over unseeded Marshall School of Duluth, and 8-1 over unseeded Rochester Lourdes. Four of their losses were against Class AA qualifiers: 5-4 to Duluth East, 3-2 to Edina, and 2-1 and 5-2 to Hill-Murray. The Cadets have given up one less goal per game (40 total) than last year’s title team and have equaled the number of goals scored (153). Seventeen players have points on the season, led by senior forward Peter Krieger with 46 (14 goals, 32 assists). Junior forward Alex Johnson has 20 goals and 23 assists, and senior defenseman Eric Schurhamer has 14 goals and 27 assists. Senior Ian West and junior David Zevnik have combined for seven shutouts in the Cadets’ last 12 games while giving up only five goals. West has a .932 save percentage and Zevnik has a .909 save percentage. The Flyers of Little Falls, ranked 16th in the final LPH poll, are making their sixth appearance and seek their first title. The only team of either tournament-qualifying class they played was top-seeded Hermantown in their last regular season game that ended with a 2-0 loss. Little Falls has been very successful killing penalties (87.9 percent). Senior Joey Hanowski leads the Flyers with 57 points (31 goals, 26 assists) and is complemented by juniors Ben Newman with 21 goals and 24 assists and Luke Majerle with 14 goals and 29 assists. Junior goaltender Michael Stumpf has 609 saves and a .913 save percentage and held a scoreless streak of over 180 minutes from Jan. 13 through Jan. 27.
(No. 3 Seed) Breck School, Golden Valley (24-3-1) vs. Marshall School, Duluth (21-7-0): The Mustangs of Breck School, consolation champions last year, are making their fourth consecutive and ninth overall appearance. They earned previous titles in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2010. This year they were ranked No. 3 in the final LPH poll. The Mustangs scored 218 goals this year while their opponents scored 70 against them. The team may break the school’s single season goals-scored record of 218 set by its 2010 title team. Two of their losses were against tournament qualifiers: 3-2 to St. Thomas Academy and 5-3 to Class AA qualifier Moorhead. They defeated Marshall School 7-5 early in the season and beat unseeded Rochester Lourdes 6-3 later. They also defeated Class AA qualifier Lakeville South 6-4. Senior forward Conor Andrle led Breck School with 27 goals and 49 assists. Junior forward Thomas Lindstrom and senior forward Grant Opperman each have a team-high 31 goals, with Opperman adding 42 assists and Lindstrom adding 37 assists. Senior Jack Kenney is the primary goaltender and has a save percentage of .900 on 524 saves. Marshall School is making its sixth appearance and seeks its first title. Four of its losses came against Class A tournament qualifiers: besides Breck School, the Hilltoppers lost 4-3 in overtime to St. Thomas Academy, 5-1 to Hermantown and 4-2 to fourth-seeded Thief River Falls. They beat Rochester Lourdes 4-0 and dropped a 5-2 game against Class AA qualifier Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Nearly one-third (37) of the Hilltoppers’ goals came on the power play. Senior forward Judd Peterson, a Mr. Hockey finalist, broke the school’s single season scoring record held by current University of Minnesota-Duluth and Hobey Baker Award finalist Jack Connolly. Peterson has 79 points on 44 goals and 35 assists. Junior Kris McKinzie added 43 points and senior Jake Bushey added 33 points among 18 players who have points on the season. Senior Christian Coffman and junior Cadem Flahery share goaltending duties. Coffman has a .921 save percentage and Flaherty has a .894 save percentage.
(No. 1 Seed) Hermantown (28-0-0) vs. Rochester Lourdes (20-8-0): The Hawks of Hermantown are making their third consecutive and ninth overall appearance in the school’s first undefeated, untied season. They finished as runners-up to Breck School in 2010 and to St. Thomas Academy last year and were ranked No. 1 in this year’s final LPH poll. Hermantown won the 2007 title going 29-0-1. During the regular season Hermantown defeated Thief River Falls 3-1, defeated Marshall School 5-1, and beat Little Falls 2-0. The Hawks scored 168 goals this year to their opponents’ 35 which established a new school record for fewest goals given up. Senior wing Jared Thomas led the Hawks with 71 points on 26 goals and 45 assists. Seniors Andrew Mattson and Jared Kolquist added 42 and 39 points, respectively. Senior Matt Mensinger compiled a 22-0 record in the net and his save percentage is .938. The Hawks return with 11 players from their 2011 squad. The Eagles of Rochester Lourdes, a co-op with Stewartville, returns for the third consecutive year and eighth overall appearance with various other co-op arrangements or singly. Last year Rochester Lourdes went two and out. The Eagles were ranked No. 9 in this year’s final LPH poll. Four of their losses and one of their wins came against tournament qualifiers: they defeated New Ulm 8-4, but lost 5-2 to Little Falls, lost 8-1 to St. Thomas Academy, lost 4-0 to Marshall School, and lost 6-3 to Breck School. This year the Eagles netted 142 goals, including 32 on power plays, to their opponents’ 74. Junior forward Jason Samuelson led Rochester Lourdes with 30 goals and 33 assists. Junior Alex Funk has a team-high 32 goals plus 30 assists, and senior Landon Farrell has 16 goals and 35 assists. Senior Jesse Neumann and junior Andrew Ellingson share the goaltending duties with save percentages of .862 and .869, respectively.
(No. 4 Seed) Thief River Falls (22-4-2) vs. New Ulm (17-11-0): The Prowlers of Thief River Falls, a co-op with Goodridge and Warren-Alvarado-Oslo that finished third last year, were ranked No. 4 in this year’s final LPH poll. This is the third appearance for the Prowlers as a co-op, and Thief River Falls made nine singular appearances dating back to the inaugural 1945 tournament through 1965. If the Prowlers win it would be their third title, having won in 1954 and 1956. Thief River Falls lost 3-1 to Hermantown this season, defeated Marshall School 4-2, and also lost 7-0 to Class AA qualifier Moorhead. The team scored 110 goals to its opponents’ 51. Senior forward Riley Soderstrom led the Prowlers with 27 goals and 25 assists this season. Senior wings Evan Ose and Austin Odberg have 38 and 34 points, respectively. Senior Jon Narverud is the primary goaltender and has a save percentage of .846. Unranked New Ulm, which includes students from New Ulm Cathedral and Minnesota Valley Lutheran of New Ulm, is making its third consecutive appearance as that pairing and fourth overall. The Eagles bowed out in both the 2010 and 2011 consolation semifinals, and lost to Rochester Lourdes 8-4 this season. They have never won a state championship. They outscored opponents 141 to 99 this season, including 34 power-play goals. Senior Brody Peterson tallied 41 goals and 27 assists this year, with seniors Dylan Schreckenberg and Jeff Banal adding 55 and 53 points, respectively. Sophomore Brach Kraus has the bulk of the minutes in the net and has a .902 save percentage.
Class AA Preview
(No. 2 Seed) Maple Grove (24-2-2) vs. Hill-Murray, Maplewood (22-6-0): The Crimson of Maple Grove earned the second seed and third ranking in the final LPH poll making their inaugural state tournament appearance. Four of their wins and one of their losses came against tournament qualifiers: a 4-1 loss to top-seeded Duluth East, plus 5-4 and 5-3 wins against unseeded Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and 3-0 and 5-3 wins against No. 4-seeded Edina. Maple Grove has 166 goals on the season, 32 of which came on the power play and 12 of which were earned short-handed. Senior forward Dylan Steman, with his team-leading 65 points on 27 goals and 38 assists, set school marks for single-season points and single-season assists. Senior forward Tony Paulson added 25 goals with 30 assists, and senior Shane Wolden has 50 points on 21 goals and 29 assists. Senior Kyle Koop has 627 saves on the season. Hill-Murray, ranked ninth in the final LPH poll, is making its 25th appearance and seeks to add a fourth title, having won in 1983, 1991 and 2008. The Pioneers defeated two qualifiers and lost to two: they beat unseeded Lakeville South 5-3 and beat unseeded Moorhead 6-1, but lost 3-2 in their season opener to unseeded Benidle-St. Margaret’s of St. Louis Park and 4-2 to No. 3-seeded Eagan. They also beat Class A qualifier St. Thomas Academy 2-1 and 5-2. Hill-Murray scored 35 of its 156 goals on the power play and another nine short-handed. Junior Jake Guentzel leads the team with 76 points on 23 goals and 53 assists, followed by junior Zach LaValle with 61 points (25 goals, 36 assists) and senior Charlie Sampair with 49 points (29 goals, 20 assists). Junior John Dugas has the most minutes in net and a .900 save percentage.
(No. 3 Seed) Eagan (24-3-1) vs. Moorhead (21-6-0): The Wildcats, fifth-ranked by LPH, seek their first title in their third appearance. During the regular season they defeated Lakeville south twice, 4-3 and 5-4, and also defeated Hill-Murray 4-2. Eagan has 177 goals on the season, 32 of which were power-play scores, and have given up 46. The team’s season record, plus the number of goals scored and allowed are all school records. Eighteen different players have points on the season, led by senior Nick Kuchera with 54 (17 goals, 37 assists), senior Michael Zajac with 51 points (25 goals, 26 assists), and senior Will Merchant with 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists). Senior Christian Butler is the No. 1 goalie and has a .910 save percentage. The Spuds of Moorhead, who bowed two and out last year, earned the No. 10 ranking in the LPH poll. They are making their 13th appearance and have won no titles yet. They split a series, losing the first 5-3 and winning the second 6-2, to Benilde-St. Margaret’s, lost 6-1 to Hill-Murray and lost 6-3 to top-seeded Duluth East. They also defeated Class A qualifier Breck School 5-3. Twenty-one percent of their 100 goals came on the power play. Junior Tony Uglem has a team-high 23 goals with 13 assists. Three other players have 30 points: senior Bryant Christian (8 goals, 22 assists), and juniors Nicholas Uglem (11 goals, 19 assists) and Thomas carey (8 goals, 22 assists). Senior goaltender Michael Bitzer, a finalist for the Frank Brimsek Award, has a .929 save percentage on 670 saves.
(No. 1 Seed) Duluth East (27-1-0) vs. Lakeville South (20-8-0): The Greyhounds of Duluth East, the 2011 runners-up, are making their fourth consecutive and 19th overall appearance. They were top-ranked in this year’s final LPH poll and seek a fourth title, having previously won in 1960, 1995 and 1998. Duluth East defeated Maple Grove 4-1 and Moorhead 6-3 in back-to-back regular season contests, and also defeated Class A qualifier St. Thomas Academy 5-4. Duluth East outscored opponents 161 to 48, including 41 power-play goals. Senior forward and son of Head Coach Mike Randolph, Jake Randolph, has 70 points on 33 goals and 37 assists. Senior forward Dom Toninato has 65 points (28 goals, 37 assists), and junior forward Ryan Lundgren added 15 goals and 34 assists. Junior goaltender Dylan Parker went 16-0 this year and has a save percentage of 0.933. Lakeville South, ranked 10th in the final LPH poll, is making its second appearance and is seeking its first title. Five of the Cougars’ eight losses came against tournament qualifiers: 5-1 against Eagan, 5-3 against Hill-Murray, and twice, 4-3 and 5-4, against Eagan, plus a 6-4 loss to Class A qualifier Breck School. Lakeville South has scored 174 goals, including 45 power-play goals, and has given up 72. Mr. Hockey senior finalist Justin Kloos leads the team in points (99), goals (39), and assists (41). Senior Alex Harvey added 77 points (36 goals, 41 assists) and senior Joe Freemark has 43 points on 13 goals and 30 assists. Senior goaltender Hunter Ziniel, who was cut from the team as a junior, has the most minutes in net and has a .891 save percentage on 387 saves.
(No. 4 Seed) Edina (23-5-0) vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, St. Louis Park (22-6-0): The Edina Hornets are returning for their 23rd appearance. They were ranked No. 4 in the final LPH poll and are in the hunt for their 11th title. They won previously in 1969, 1971, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1997, and 2010, plus 1974, 1978 and 1979 as Edina East. During the regular season the Hornets lost twice, 3-0 and 5-3, to Maple Grove and defeated Lakeville South 5-1, plus lost 3-2 to Class A qualifier St. Thomas Academy. Sophomore Connor Hurley paced this year’s squad with 55 points on 24 goals and 31 assists. Ninth-grader Dylan Malmquist added 25 goals and 23 assists, while junior Andy Jordahl contributed 10 goals and 22 assists. Junior Willie Benjamin (.886 save percentage) went 18-5 in the net for Edina and senior Connor Beaupre (.857 save percentage) went 5-0. The Red Knights of Benilde-St. Margaret’s are making their fourth appearance, scoring 195 goals this season, 46 of them on the power play, while giving up just 58. Junior Grant Besse, with his 44 goals this season, has the school career record of 107. He also provided 39 assists. Both senior Christian Horn and junior T.J. Moore have 65 points; Horn on 25 goals and 40 assists, and Moore on 28 goals and 37 assists. Junior Dan Labosky has a team-high 47 assists, plus added 16 goals. Both junior Justin Quale and senior Anders Jecha are 11-3 in the net, with Quale having a .923 save percentage and Jecha a .889 save percentage.
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 www.KSTC45.com. All of the televised games will also be streamed live and free on the Web at Prep45.com. The consolation games of both classes will be recorded for delayed playback on Prep45.com. Fans may also follow all games live statistically by clicking on links at the League Web site — www.MSHSL.org.
