Game Four: Delano (22-6) vs. Mahtomedi (20-8)

You can only play the team in front of you, so to assume that having perennial Class A power Orono knocked out by Armstrong/Cooper in the Section 5A semifinals gave Delano an easy road to the state tournament would ignore the balance, depth, and grit we’ve come to expect from the Tigers. 

Junior forward Adam Brown (21-19-40) spearheads an offense that outscored its opponents by a two-to-one margin this year. Gunnar Paulson, Jesse Peterson, Michael Weber, and Trevor Oja have all exclaimed the 25-point mark this season for the Tigers, who have four upperclassmen in their defensive ranks with experience on their side. 

Senior goaltender Cade Lommel stands at a robust 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, which means he covers most of the net simply by being the flexible athlete that he is. Lommel is committed to play baseball at Creighton University.

This year marks the fourth consecutive trip to the state tournament for Mahtomedi, who is once again riding the formula of outstanding goaltender and depth to the Xcel Energy Center. This version of the Zephyrs features offensive leaders in junior Adam Johnson (14-32-56) and senior Nikolai Dulak (26-24-50). This will be Dulak’s fourth state tournament in as many seasons. 

Sophomore Ben Dardis handles the goaltending duties for the Zephyrs, posting a 20-8 record, a save percentage of .932, and seven shutouts during the 2019-2020 campaign.