Conrad Fondrk buries a goal during White Bear Lake's 8-2 win over Hermantown on Saturday afternoon.
White Bear Lake continued its roll through the Blue Pool, easing past a young Hermantown town team 8-2 to give the Bears a perfect 3-0 record heading into Sunday. The Bears have outscored their opponents 25-7 through three games, the best goal total, and a goal differential of the entire field.
Moorhead will greet White Bear Lake in the semifinal round, as the Spuds out-dueled Rosemount on Saturday to emerge as the only unbeaten team in the Green Pool. The Spuds will roll their exception defense against the Bears, with the Spuds boasting the second-lowest amount of goals allowed in the field with four.
The only team that has allowed fewer goals this weekend in pool play has been Osseo-Maple Grove with three. The Leafbirds got another standout performance from goaltender Zach Price on Saturday in a 2-0 win over Eden Prairie to move to 3-0 thus far. The win over the Eagles was the second shutout posted by the Leafbirds in three games, and the team has allowed more than one goal in a game just once in the last five contests.
Duluth East may not have secured the sparkling 3-0 record the other three teams in the final four have, but the Hounds have proven gutsy over the past two days. Following a 3-3 tie with West Fargo, the Hounds beat Blaine 6-3 and then upended Edina 4-3 on Saturday morning to clinch their date with Osseo-Maple Grove. Duluth East is a team well-versed in close games, earning eight of their 11 wins by three goals or less on the season and dropping four of their seven losses by two goals or less.
Osseo-Maple Grove goaltender Zach Price posted a 2-0 shutout win over Eden Prairie on Saturday afternoon.
Despite not winning two of three games, Rogers finds itself in the final four with a 1-0-2 mark after pool play. The Royals edged Prior Lake in a tiebreaker for the Red Pool crown, besting the Lakers in goal differential after the teams tied 2-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Royals are unbeaten in their last nine games, posting a 7-0-2 record since a 6-2 loss to Hermantown on Nov. 9.
While Rogers eked its way into the tournament playoffs, Minnetonka has run roughshod over the competition. The Skippers have outscored their three opponents 27-2 this weekend, including running-time wins over Lakeville North (14-0) and Elk River (8-1). The "closest" game for Minnetonka so far has been its opening 5-1 win over Thunder Bay (ONT) on Friday. Like Rogers, the Skippers are also on a fabulous run, going 13-2 since a four-game winless stretch in early November.
Hermantown got its toughest game of pool play out of the way on Friday with a 4-2 win over Osseo-Maple Grove, and the Hawks parlayed that momentum into two more wins for a shot at the title on Sunday. The Hawks defeated Eden Prairie 5-3 on Saturday morning and Blaine 6-1 on Saturday night.
With a 6-2 win over St. Michael-Albertville, Moorhead joins Hermantown in the final four, where the Spuds will have a shot at redemption after falling to the Hawks 4-3 on Nov. 10. The Spuds are 5-1 since that loss and picked up a 3-0 win over Edina on Friday and a 5-3 win over Centennial on Saturday for their chance in the semifinal round.
Ian Ness and the Moorhead Spuds face Hermantown on Sunday morning in the BAA semifinals.
Date | Level | Matchup | Time | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 8 | Peewee AA | Duluth East vs. Osseo-Maple Grove | 7:00 A.M. | Duluth Heritage Center (Sill) |
Dec. 8 | Peewee AA | White Bear Lake vs. Moorhead | 7:00 A.M. | Duluth Heritage Center (Seitz) |
Dec. 8 | Bantam AA | TBD vs. TBD | 9:00 A.M. | Duluth Heritage Center (Sill) |
Dec. 8 | Bantam AA | TBD vs. TBD | 9:00 A.M. | Duluth Heritage Center (Seitz) |
Thomas Gunderson helped the Duluth East Bantam AA team to a 1-1-1 mark during pool play.