MONTICELLO VS. #2 WARROAD

A Moose team that is becoming a bit of a Tourney regular makes its fourth trip in six years faces one of the Class A powers in a game that is a very, very long shot for an upset.

Monticello (13-14-1, Unranked, 4-seed in 5A)

State appearances: 4 (last in 2020)

Key section wins: 4-3 over 1-seed Little Falls, 3-2 over 3-seed St. Cloud Cathedral

The Moose are among the bigger surprises this year as they made the Tourney as a 4-seed out of a thin section. They do have one elite scorer, Wilson Dahlheimer (22); Gavin Simon (8), a defenseman, is their number two scorer. Brooks Wilson (19), Tyler Bitz (13), and Tyler Miller (11) round out their offensive juice. Michael Biller (1) put together a respectable season in net.

This program did once pull a great upset in this 11:00 A.M. Wednesday time slot when they took down Delano in 2017, but this looks to be an even taller order.

Warroad (24-3-1, #2, 1-seed in 8A)

State appearances: 22 (8 one-class, 14 in Class A; last in 2020)

Championships: 4 (1994, 1996, 2003, 2005)

Key section win: 4-1 over #9 Thief River Falls

The Warriors are back at State after falling short a season ago and have perhaps their most talented team since the days of T.J. Oshie.

The top line is a combination of thunder and lightning: prodigal son Daimon Gardner (13) has shown his power in becoming a Mr. Hockey finalist, while the artistry of UMD commit Jayson Shaugabay (17) is a pleasure on the eyes. Matt Hard (9) rounds out the trio. A couple of elite sophomores, Carson Pilgrim (18) and the speedy Murray Marvin-Cordes (22) give them secondary scoring. On defense, Eric Comstock (2) adds some firepower, Carson Reed (37) is the veteran source of stability, and Ryan Lund (25) rounds out the star sophomore trio. Hampton Slukynsky (1) might be the best goaltender in the Class A field.

While they’ve had more close calls than top-seeded Hermantown, they are right there with the Hawks and are on a collision course for a date at noon on Saturday—as long, of course, as they don’t overlook Ben Dardis and Mahtomedi