The MNHockeyMag takes a look at the State Class AA Tournament field that kicks off with quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 6th.
Lakeville North Panthers (23-4-1, 15-2-1)
Head Coach: Trent Eigner (2nd season, 48-36-2)
Section: 1AA
Conference: South Suburban, 1st place
State Tournament appearances: (8) 2002, 03, 04, as North: 06, 10, 11, 13, 14
State Titles: None
Road to State:
Dodge County 11-1
Owantonna 7-1
Lakeville North 6-0
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Jack Poehling 28 28 23 51
Nick Poehling 28 12 29 41
Tristen Hazlett 28 12 26 38
Ryan Poehling 27 11 22 33
Max Johnson 27 12 19 31
Jack McNeely 28 4 26 30
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Will Dupont 14 1 0 1.87 .904 2
Jake Oettinger 9 2 1 1.62 .937 3
What to expect:
The Panthers head to the state tournament for the second straight year, but this year as the No. 2 seed — and the Panthers are a legitimate contender for the title. There is plenty of offensive balance on this team and they keep the puck out of the net as well with one of the best goaltending tandems in the league. Senior Tristen Hazlett erupted for 9 points (3g-6a-9pts) as they decimated their Section 1AA opponents by a 24-2 margin in three games. After starting the season 2-3-0, the Panthers are 21-1-1 in the past 23 games and have a solid chance to build on their performance of two losses in last year’s tournament.
Edina Hornets (22-4-1, 7-0-1)
Head Coach: Curt Giles (14th season, 301-102-15)
Section: 2AA
Conference: Lake Conference, 1st place
State Tournament appearances: (36) as Edina 1955, 56, 57, 60, 62, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, as Edina East 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, as Edina West 81, as Edina 82, 83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 95, 96, 97, 98, 2000, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
State Titles: (11) 1969, 71, 74, 78, 79, 82, 84, 88, 97, 2010, 13
Road to State:
Prior Lake 8-2
Bloomington Jefferson 5-1
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Miguel Fidler 27 18 27 45
Dylan Malmquist 25 14 25 39
Cullen Munson 27 18 19 37
Tyler Nanne 27 8 22 30
Kieffer Bellows 25 11 18 29
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Andrew Rohkohl 20 4 1 1.90 .920 3
Kobi Boe 2 0 0 1.00 .944 0
What to expect:
This season is the eighth straight trip to the state tournament for the Edina Hornets and 36th overall. Head coach Curt Giles quietly picked up win No. 300 with Edina’s 8-2 section semifinal win over Prior Lake. It is the work of the Hornets’ skipper that positions his team for success each year. The Hornets are 10-0-0 in their last 10 games and have been defensively solid, allowing less than two goals against per game this year. Goaltender Andrew Rohkohl is seldom talked about yet has put up a stellar season for the Hornets. His team is the No. 1 overall seed and is the favorite to capture back-to-back championships, which would be the first time a team has done that in Class AA since Bloomington Jefferson’s three-peat from 1992-94.
Eagan Wildcats (18-9-1, 9-8-0)
Head Coach: Mike Taylor (11th season, 202-95-11)
Section: 3AA
Conference: South Suburban Conference, 5th place
State Tournament appearances: (4) 2006, 11, 12, 14
State Titles: None
Road to State:
East Ridge 5-1
Cretin-Derham Hall 2-1
St. Thomas Academy 4-2
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Jack Jenson 28 20 36 56
Kyle Stebbing 26 18 18 36
Tommy Muck 28 9 21 30
Nick Wolff 26 10 15 25
Max Elsenheimer 28 9 12 21
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Andrew Lindgren 18 9 1 1.73 .934 5
What to expect:
The Wildcats experienced pockets of struggles this year, especially early in the season. At one point they sported an ordinary 9-7-1 record. Since then, the Wildcats are 8-2-0 and have won five straight. Mike Taylor’s Wildcats have been to the tournament three of the last four seasons and looked the part taking out top seeded Cretin-Derham Hall and highly regarded St. Thomas Academy in the Section 3AA tournament. The Wildcats’ power play is tough and they have the goaltending to shut anyone down in Andrew Lindgren. Eagan defeated the Edina Hornets earlier in the year and are capable of putting together three more wins to earn a potential first state tournament championship.
Stillwater Area Ponies (16-10-2 , 11-5-2)
Head Coach: Matt Doman (1st season, 16-10-2)
Section: 4AA
Conference: Suburban East Conference, 4th place
State Tournament appearances: (1) 2014
State Titles: None
Road to State:
Tartan 6-3
White Bear Lake 2-1
Hill-Murray 2-1
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player Gp G A Pts
John Heddle 26 17 17 34
Devin Cates 25 9 14 23
Sam Sagissor 28 12 11 23
Brandon Jungmann 25 9 12 21
Mitch Reinke 26 5 14 19
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Josh Benson 11 8 1 2.59 .892 1
Scotty Finberg 2 0 0 2.50 .844 0
Daniel Ahrendt 3 2 1 3.79 .809 1
What to expect:
For the first time since 2004 — and just the second since 1981 — a team other than Hill-Murray and White Bear Lake will be representing their section. The Ponies knocked off White Bear Lake and Hill-Murray with back-to-back 2-1 wins in the Section 4AA semifinals and finals. They adhered to coach Matt Doman’s plan and shut down a pair of teams that were prolific offensive teams. The Ponies believe in their game plan, and goalie Josh Benson was lights out in back-to-back efforts. The Ponies have a tall order in the tournament-tested and top-seeded Edina Hornets in the quarterfinals. If they execute like they did in the section playoffs and convert on their scoring chances like they can, the Ponies can be a potential bracket buster.
Centennial Cougars (16-10-2 , 8-7-2)
Head Coach: Ritch Menne (3rd season, 51-26-4)
Section: 5AA
Conference: Northwest Suburban Conference, 5th place
State Tournament appearances: (3) 2004, 2013, 2014
State Titles: (1) 2004
Road to State:
Champlin Park 5-1
Maple Grove 4-0
Blaine 2-1
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Ryner Gorowsky 27 25 16 41
Connor Lovick 28 18 16 34
Adam Anderson 28 7 21 28
Collin Hughes 28 11 12 23
Colton Berg 27 7 13 20
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Blake Miller 12 10 1 2.49 .897 4
Jon Albers 4 0 1 2.13 .892 1
What to expect:
The Centennial Cougars make their second straight appearance to the tournament this year and third overall. A spirited section final win over the Blaine Bengals illustrated that the Cougars can beat any team in this field. They bring a solid blend of skill and grit led by Ryner Gorowsky, the cousin of Tom who led the 2004 team to the title that year. Last year, the Cougars lost a heart-breaking overtime quarterfinal round game to the Wayzata Trojans and will look to build from that experience as they open with the Eden Prairie Eagles. The Cougars are 5-0-1 in their last six games.
Eden Prairie Eagles (17-8-3, 3-4-1)
Head Coach: Lee Smith (21st season, 394-143-30)
Section: 6AA
Conference: Lake Conference, 3rd place
State Tournament appearances: (7) 1992, 99, 2001, 03, 09, 11, 14
State Titles: (2) 2009, 11
Road to State:
Robbinsdale Armstrong 8-0
Holy Family Catholic 6-2
Benilde-St. Margaret’s 3-2 (ot)
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Steven Spinner 28 20 27 47
Luc Snuggerud 28 9 37 46
Michael Graham 28 18 20 38
Colton Schmidt 17 12 11 23
Riley Argetsinger 28 10 10 20
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Jake Gerdes 11 7 2 2.75 .897 1
Erik Evers 3 1 1 2.35 .898 0
What to expect:
Lee Smith’s team has two Mr. Hockey finalists on the roster in Steven Spinner and Luc Snuggerud. They rank No. 1 and 2, respectively, in scoring on the team and lead the Eagles in more than just points with veteran leadership and a thirst to win. After stumbling through the difficult Lake Conference (3-4-1), the Eagles turned up their game in the section playoffs and defeated the highly regarded Holy Family Catholic Fire by a score of 6-2. The Eagles followed that up with a well played defensive tussle, a 3-2 overtime win over Benilde-St. Margaret’s, to advance to the state tournament. Smith is just six wins shy of 400 in his 21-year coaching career and his teams have been productive in recent years. When in St. Paul, the Eagles earned state titles in each of their last two appearances. Eden Prairie opens the tournament against Centennial in what should prove to be a defensive chess match from the opening face-off.
Duluth East Greyhounds (21-6-1)
Head Coach: Mike Randolph (26th season, 544-149-20)
Section: 7AA
Conference: Independent
State Tournament appearances: (21) 1958, 60, 61, 64, 75, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 2000, 03, 04, 05, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
State Titles: (3) 1960, 95, 98
Road to State:
St. Francis 6-0
Grand Rapids 5-2
Elk River 3-2 (ot)
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Nick Altmann 28 20 26 46
Phil Beaulieu 28 18 24 42
Alex Trapp 28 7 26 33
Jack Kolar 26 19 9 28
Brian Bunten 28 8 17 25
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Gunnar Howg 16 5 1 1.85 .912 4
Lucas Hedin 2 1 0 2.29 .879 0
What to expect:
The ‘Hounds have become regulars at the state tournament as they make their sixth straight appearance this season. A state title has been elusive in that span, though, as East has suffered its share of heartbreak over the years with the last championship coming in 1998. Since that time, the ‘Hounds have come up empty nine times in the new millennium. They own a Mr. Hockey finalist in Phil Beaulieu who has the ability to control a game and will play significant minutes. The key to the ‘Hounds over the years has been a puck possession flowing style that is fun to watch with a devastating power play — this year at 43 percent. The ‘Hounds are on a seven game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 36-10 in those games.
Roseau Rams (20-7-1, 5-5-1)
Head Coach: Andy Lundbohm (5th season, 88-47-3)
Section: 8AA
Conference: Mariucci Conference, 3rd place
State Tournament appearances: (34) 1946, 47, 53, 55, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 75, 77, 78, 79, 81, 83, 84, 90, 91, 98, 99, 2000, 06, 07, 08, 10, 14
State Titles: (7) 1946, 58, 59, 61, 90, 99, 07
Road to State:
River Lakes 4-3
Bemidji 4-1
Moorhead 7-4
Top 5 Scoring Leaders:
Player GP G A Pts
Zach Yon 28 39 41 80
Alex Strand 28 29 48 77
Cole Bjugson 22 9 36 45
Alex Halstengard 28 19 23 42
Brady Castle 28 11 10 21
Goaltending Leaders:
Player W L T GAA Sv% Sho
Ryan Anderson 20 7 1 2.25 .901 8
What to expect:
The No. 1 seed in Section 8AA, the Roseau Rams mustered a .500 record and third place finish in the Mariucci Conference behind Class A clubs East Grand Forks and Warroad. That is nothing to be ashamed of as all three teams could have made a claim for a Class AA title. There is some major high end talent on the Rams led by Mr. Hockey finalist Zach Yon. Alex Strand is not far behind for consideration and Cole Bjugson is a Reed Larson award finalist for the top senior defenseman this year. Roseau averages about five goals scored per game and will bring its high flying offensive game to the tournament and have to ability to go deep in the field with its talent. The Rams have a difficult task in the Lakeville North Panthers, but as usual, the Rams effort will be unquestioned and they always have a chance to win.
Pete Waggoner has covered hockey since 1989 and his work includes play-by-play and studio hosting. Currently, he is the play-by-play voice of high school hockey on Sports Radio 105 The Ticket and hosts a weekly hockey talk show called "On the Ice with Chad Graff every Saturday morning at 9am. His past work appeared on KFAN FM 100.3, 1500 ESPN, MyFoxHockey.com, Fox Sports North Prep Zone, MNHockeyCenter.com, and prep45.com.Prior to that, Waggoner developed MyFoxHockey.com along with Fox9 Twin Cities and was one of the original architects of the MNHockeyhub.com from concept to delivery. He has covered the Minnesota Wild and NHL hockey for the MNHockeyNews.com since 2005 and hosts the Minnnesota Hockey Magazine Radio show that can be heard on this site.
