This is the first of two meetings between these two teams as they try to push and shove their way to the top of the Section 5A top-seed contenders. Which club will take a step towards that goal?  

St. Cloud Cathedral is coming off a 7-0 rout of Rochester Lourdes. The Crusaders are led at forward by juniors Andrew Dwinnell (9-13-22) and Cole Hwang (9-11-20), as well as sophomores John Hirschfeld (10-14-24) and Joey Gillespie (13-8-21), carry most of St. Cloud Cathedral's offense. St. Cloud Cathedral's power play is rolling pretty well right now at 31.5%.  

On defense, juniors Vince Gebhardt (2-8-10) and Sam Hayward (0-4-4), as well as freshman Griffin Sturm (3-12-15), don't take a lot of risks offensively and instead focus on being responsible in their own end.  

Junior Nick Hansen (.929 save percentage, 3 shutouts) has carried most of St. Cloud Cathedral's goaltending duties this season.  

Little Falls is coming off an 8-0 rout of Mound Westonka. The Flyers' attack is led by senior Matt Filippi (15-25-40) and junior Carter Oothoudt (17-15-32). Sophomores Ryan Oothoudt (5-10-15) and Joey Welinski (8-6-14) also help carry most of the scoring load up front.

On defense, senior Coltin Johnson (4-17-21) and Matthew Cooper (2-7-9), as well as junior Aaron Marod (1-3-4) and sophomore Luke Avery (8-7-15), make up an active group that likes to make an impact at either end of the ice.  

Little Falls has rotated at goaltender between senior Richie Varriano (.900 save percentage, 2 shutouts) and freshman Izaak Kalis (.925 save percentage, 1 shutout) this season.