(3) Twin Cities Orthopedics vs. (6) TDS Transportation (5:30 PM - North Rink)

Twin Cities Orthopedics (11-5-4) enters the playoffs on a 6-2-2 run in its last 10 games, thanks primarily to a potent offense. 

TCO has three players that have eclipsed the 30-point threshold, representing nearly half of all 30-point scorers in the Elite League. 

Benilde-St. Margaret’s forward Adam Marshall leads the pack with 18 goals and 33 assists, followed by Maple Grove’s Josh Giuliani (11-19-30) and Blake’s Will Matzke (9-21-30). Matzke is tied for the league lead in assists, knotted with MSP Magazine defender Finn Loftus. 

TDS Transportation is led in scoring by Hill-Murray senior Dylan Godbout (7-14-21), Maple Grove’s Finn Brink (9-9-18), and Cretin-Derham Hall’s Attila Lippai (7-10-17). Eden Prairie sophomore Teddy Townsend has impressed as an underclassman, tying with Brink for the team lead in goals with nine. 

In addition to being the higher seed, TCO also has an advantage in recency bias, winning all three matchups against TDS Transportation (5-11-4) this fall. 

The latest victory was a 14-4 rout, led by five points from Giuliani and four points each from Marshall, Park Cottage Grove’s Sam Janski, and Blake Johnson of Elk River.

(4) Kowalski's vs. (5) Team Wisconsin (6:00 PM - South Rink)

One of two Elite League teams with players from northern Minnesota, Kowalski’s (8-8-4) features two Hermantown Hawks at the top of their scoring leaders, with junior defender Ty Hanson (2-15-17) and sophomore Max Plante (5-11-16) leading the way. 

Following Hanson and Plante are Grand Rapids forward Joey DelGreco (7-7-14) and Duluth Denfeld’s Connor McClure (6-7-13). Duluth East transfer Kaden Nelson will suit up for Grand Rapids this season and is tied with McClure with 13 total points in the Elite League. 

Goaltenders Jacob Walsh and Myles Gunderson, of Cloquet and Grand Rapids, respectively, are two of the four goaltenders from Minnesota-based Elite League teams with save percentages above .900. Walsh also has one of two shutouts posted by a goaltender during the Elite League season. 

Team Wisconsin’s lone player above the 20-point threshold in Madison Edgewood’s J.J. Wiebusch (10-11-21), while Josh Austin (9-7-16) of St. Mary’s Springs Academy and Eau Claire Memorial’s Peyton Platter (5-11-16) offer additional scoring options. 

Team Wisconsin (7-9-4) is 1-1-1 against Kowalski’s this season, winning the last matchup between the teams on Oct. 23. Cretin-Derham Hall’s Colton Jamieson scored two goals in the win for Team Wisconsin, and Wausau West’s Adam Prokop stopped 28 of 31 shots.

(2) MAP South Hockey vs. (7) MSP Magazine (8:00 PM - North Rink)

A pair of St. Thomas Academy standouts lead MAP South Hockey (10-4-6) in scoring, which seems fitting given that the Cadets and MAP South share a facility in Mendota Heights. 

Senior Max Nagel leads the team in goals and assists, recording 16 goals and 18 helpers on his way to 34 points. Junior Tommy Cronin follows with 13 goals and 27 points. After the Cadets, Cretin-Derham Hall’s Drew Fisher rounds out the high-flying trio with nine goals and 20 points. 

Junior goaltender Kyle Abrahamson of Cloquet is second in the Elite League in save percentage at .911 and has posted a 7-2-1 record this fall. 

MSP Magazine (6-13-1) features two defenders among its three highest-scoring skaters, with Hill-Murray’s Leo Gruba (9-17-26) and Blaine’s Finn Loftus (4-21-25) patrolling the blue line. Gruba and Loftus are two of the highest scorers on the team and are the points leaders among all Elite League defensemen. 

At forward, Andover’s Gavyn Thoreson is tied for seventh overall with 14 goals and 29 points. 

MSP Magazine owns the most recent victory in the season series, thumping MAP South 10-4 on Oct. 23. Loftus recorded a goal and three assists in the win, while Eden Prairie’s Phil Feinburg tallied a hat trick. 

(1) Sanford Power vs. (8) SIT Mutual Funds (8:30 PM - South Rink)

The final game of the evening pits top-seeded Sanford Power (12-5-3) against No. 8 seed SIT Mutual Funds (5-14-2). 

No. 1 vs. No. 8 should be a slam-dunk for Sanford Power, right? Not quite. 

Two of Sanford Power’s five losses have come against SIT, the only team to defeat Sanford Power multiple times. While both SIT wins came early in the Elite League season, and Sanford Power came out on top in the teams’ latest meeting, the matchup could still be more entertaining on the ice than the numbers would indicate. 

All four of Sanford Power’s leading scorers hail from Moorhead, headed by Harper Bentz and his 12 goals and 31 points. Senior Gavin Lindberg (15-14-29), junior Aaron Reierson (9-15-24), and senior Carson Triggs (7-17-24) are next in the offensive pecking order. 

In addition to the four-headed points monster, Sanford features the league’s top statistical goaltender in Warroad’s Hampton Slukynsky. “Hammer” is second in goals-against average at 2.81 and leads the league in save percentage at .923. 

Riding a five-game losing streak, SIT can take heart in knowing that it has two of the league’s top four scorers in Edina’s Trey Fechko (16-19-35) and Maple Grove’s Landen Gunderson (14-18-32).