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AAA State: Semifinal Saturday

By Peter Odney, 08/19/17, 11:45PM CDT

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Will Zellers scored two goals en route to being named Player of the Game for the '06 MN Blades.


Miracle Gold will suit up next in the 2004 Division finals.

Semifinal Night Fever

Hollywood’s version of a rollicking Saturday night features John Travolta, white bell-bottomed polyester trousers, and a heavy emphasis on the Bee Gees. 

Put the disco ball and the bad perms on ice, please.

Minnesota is the new home of Saturday Night Fever, as long the moniker entails a summer evening in August highlighted by spirited semifinal matchups at the famed Bloomington Ice Garden.  

Take the 2007 Division, for example, perhaps the most feverish of the four age-groups. 

High-flying forwards Conrad Fondrk of the Bakken Oilers and Dylan Otten of Tommy Chicago Green will square off in Sunday’s championship as the highest point-totals through Saturday. 

Otten currently has 12 goals and 13 points, while Fondrk boasts totals of seven goals and nine points. 

Fondrk’s Oilers cruised past the Steeldogs 6-1 in Saturday’s semifinals, with Fondrk netting a hat-trick and Andrew O’Neill earning Player of the Game honors with two goals and an assist. Cole Braunshausen also scored in the win for the Oilers. 

Otten tallied a goal in Tommy Chicago Green’s semifinal victory, with Gavin McNeil, Cade Sherman, and Carter Ganser chipping in single goals. 

Machine Black snuck past the Northern Wings 3-2 in one of the 2006 Division semifinals, powered by three unanswered goals from Michael Risteau, Kaden Feltmann, and Will Weidemann. Machine managed those three goals in a comeback effort, as Gavin Forrest gave the Northern Wings a 2-0 lead entering the second period. 

If Machine Black had a Saturday Night Fever hit equivalent, it would be those pesky Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.”

A 6-1 win for the Minnesota Blades sends them to the finals on Sunday, paced by Player of the Game Will Zellers’ two goals. Blaik Bork, Alex Doshan, Jacob Mattson and Logan Hesselman all scored once each in the Blades’ winning effort.

The 2005 Division’s semifinals have yet to be played, so that group has no disco equivalent.

Nick Pierre guided the 2004 Steeldogs to the tournament championship final with his own hat-trick, while Gabe Rasmussen added an insurance goal to ensure the Steeldogs’ advance past Tommy Chicago Green by a score of 4-2. 

Miracle Gold did not need its namesake to thump Rapid Fire 7-3 in the Saturday finale, propelled by William Whitelaw’s hat-trick and the impeccable two-way play of Finn Loftus. 

August Falloon, Dylan Dodson, Logan Seward and Jack Kritzek all added single tallies, as Miracle Gold finds itself pitted against the Steeldogs for Sunday’s 2004 Division crown. 

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