Andover goes to extra innings…again 

Mere weeks after the Peewee AA Huskies turned Rochester on its head during the Big Pumpkin Invitational with scores like 8-7 (twice), 14-3, and 10-4, the association’s Bantam AA’s took its turn on the Chaos Carousel. 

The Huskies first took Fargo to overtime and emerged with a 5-4 win in overtime, thanks to Jack Rykelli’s hat trick. Then, the scrappy Huskies took White Bear Lake through an extra session and into a shootout. Under the warming lamps of the Sanford Rink, the Huskies came within inches of edging the Bears before Owen Ryan and Co. escaped with a 2-1 win. 

Despite moving into the Blue Bracket, Andover will be appointment viewing for the rest of the weekend.

Moorhead is as good as advertised 

Roll the first line. Roll the second. Roll the third. Roll every defensive pairing. Put the goalies at center. It doesn’t matter. 

Moorhead scored early and often en route to a 13-1 win over Prior Lake, led by Will Cullen’s two goals and five points. Cam Coulter and Owen Kraft each tallied four points in the win, while three-point outings were produced by Gage Kallhoff, Joey Cullen, and Beck Thoreson. 

Upset Specials 

One of the hallmarks of a great tournament are upsets, and Blue Ox fans were treated to a trio of them on Friday. 

First, Rogers scored four times in the third period to eke out a 5-4 win over Woodbury, earning a date with top-seeded Moorhead in the process. Jackson Ringdahl scored twice and added an assist, while defenseman Jake Burmis registered a goal and two helpers in the win over the Predators. After two wins on Friday, Landon Medin leads the Royals in scoring with seven total points. 

Next, Blaine lived up to its pre-tournament hype as a darkhorse champion candidate, pulling away from Stillwater with three third-period goals in a 6-2 win. Porter Bayer continued his hot start with two goals and three assists in game two, while Tristan Budzynski and Sean Gallagher chipped in two goals apiece. Bayer leads all skaters through two games with four goals and 11 points. The Bengals will take on Warroad in the quarterfinal round. 

Finally, Rosemount picked up its second win on the Scheels Rink, scoring with 1:54 remaining in regulation to tie Hermantown and then netting the game-winner 63 seconds later. Jack Lonke scored the game-tying goal on a beautiful one-timer, and Bauer Sullivan finished the job with the game-winner. 

The Irish are not to be trifled with as they enter the quarterfinals. 

Moorhead’s revenge tour continues 

After finishing second in last year’s tournament, the Moorhead Bantam A’s are back and hungry for a title. The Spuds downed Blaine 4-1 on Friday morning, then thumped St. Paul 6-2 in the evening to earn a spot in Saturday’s semifinals. 

So far, Brennen Vannett leads the Spuds in scoring with two goals and five points, followed by Peyton Spaulding, Zacharias Bertie, and Isaac Leiseth with three points each. 

Lake Conference rivals on crash course 

Edina and Minnetonka both boast high-quality Bantam AA teams and also manage to field talented Bantam A squads. The Hornets and Skippers also trekked more than 250 miles to Moorhead and could very well end up playing each other in the Blue Ox finals. 

The Skippers shut out West Fargo White 4-0 in their opening game, then slipped past Stillwater 3-1 in their second contest. Lucas Borah leads the Skippers with two goals and an assist so far.

Edina’s defense was on full display Friday, allowing just two goals in wins over Fargo (3-1) and White Bear Lake (4-1). Like Minnetonka, Edina’s leading scorer (Elliott Trottier) also has three points. 

Grand Forks tops West Fargo in Battle of the Blues 

Contrary to popular belief, tournament consolation brackets are often the perfect place to find an exciting game. Teams are more evenly matched after facing a top squad in the previous round. The tourney settles into a more balanced state. 

And sometimes you get a battle between rivals, which is what Grand Forks Blue and West Fargo Blue may have become on Friday night after a game that featured multiple misconducts and major penalties. 

Grand Forks Blue scored four goals in the second period to pull away for a 7-3 victory over West Fargo Blue, powered by two goals from Sawyer Nord and Brock Philpot. Kole Martens stopped 34 of 41 shots for West Fargo Blue in the loss.

Noah Kurth plays the hero 

Noah Kurth doesn’t just start things for his team. He finishes them. 

Down 1-0 to Wayzata Friday morning, the Prior Lake forward opened the scoring for the Lakers midway through the second period, one of three goals the Lakers would score in the second frame. Kurth then put an exclamation point on his day with the game-winning goal during the final minute of overtime to send the Lakers to the tournament’s quarterfinal round. 

Burned out scoreboard bulbs 

Two of three games at the Cullen Hockey Center went into running time on Friday morning, with Blaine launching an all-out assault on the East Grand Forks net with six goals in the first period. Porter Bayer led the charge with two goals and six points for the Bengals, followed by a three-point outing from Owen Stemwedel. 

Tucked away on the Sanford Rink, Landon Medin tallied a hat trick and added a pair of assists to lead Rogers to an 8-0 win over Brainerd. Connor Hood scored twice and added an assist for the Royals, who are riding a three-game winning streak since the start of November.

Fargo gets raw end of the seesaw 

Watching the Fargo Freeze take on Andover on Friday afternoon was a bit like watching a rapid-fire quiz show. For every answer, another question, each query resoundingly answered. 

Until Jack Rykelli had the final say. 

Rykelli polished off his hat trick less than a minute into overtime, knocking in a rebound on the power play to send the Huskies to the Round of 16 with a 5-4 win. 

The Freeze and the Huskies traded goals in the first and second periods, with each team scoring twice in each period. With the score knotted at 4-4 entering overtime, the Huskies killed the remaining few second of an overlapping penalty before drawing a hooking call prior to Rykelli’s goal. 

In addition Rykelli’s hat trick, Jordan Rodgers and Chase Berlin also scored for the Huskies. Leighton Luchau, Jack Bartsch, Mason Kirchner, and Joseph Linstaedt each scored once for the Freeze in the loss.

Minnesota’s capital city off to fast start 

St. Paul tucked five in the first period en route to a 7-2 win over Grand Forks Aviators Red, proving once and for all the might of the Mississippi in a battle of river towns. 

Charlie Sandvik’s hat trick led the Capitals, while Desmond Bustos recorded two goals and two assists. Tyler Hayden and Jake Long notched one goal apiece in the win. Brian Wiese and Keegan Brenno scored the goals for Aviators Red. 

Spuds play rude hosts early on 

A pair of goals in the first period propelled host Moorhead to a solid 4-1 win over Blaine on Friday morning, paced by two goals from Landen Gurskis. Brennen Vannett and Isaac Leiseth also scored in the win for the Spuds, who are itching for another shot at the Blue Ox Bantam A title after falling just short against Osseo-Maple Grove last year. 

The Spuds will face St. Paul in Friday evening’s quarterfinal round.

White Bear Lake presses ‘HAWES’ against Rogers 

White Bear Lake’s Gavin Hawes wasted no time introducing himself to the Red River Valley, scoring eight minutes into the first period and then adding two more goals to spot the Bears a 3-0 lead in an eventual 6-1 win over Rogers. Croix Wanka, Jack Orthaus, and Cooper King also scored goals for the Bears.