Mankato West ended their season winning 12 games in a row and posted a 23-2 record.  They had clinched the Big 9 title before Thursday’s game.  The Scarlets end their season with an unbeaten 18-0 record in the Big 9.  With that win, the Scarlets are most likely to be Section 1A’s #1 seed edging New Prague.  Century has struggled in the Big 9 since the holidays, posting a 5-6-1 record overall.  But Thursday’s loss could be a blessing for the Panthers.  It dropped Century to sixth in Section 1AA dominated by Lakeville North this year.  Century could end the season with a potential #6 seed in the 1AA Sectional and make a run to the 1AA finals putting off playing top ranked Lakeville North until the finals.  In one hockey game, any outcome is possible, especially when it is the Panthers vs the Panthers in 1AA.  

Pre-Game  

Mankato West has fourteen seniors on their team this year.  Those fourteen, combined with sophomores Tyler Loe and Tyler Jutting plus junior Austin Langworthy, form the basis of a veteran team bent on making the state tourney.  The team features a high scoring offense and a tough defense.  Offensively they are averaging over 6 goals a game.  Scarlet seniors Derek Frentz and Nick Campbell are the scoring leaders.  Frentz is the #8 scorer in the state this year with 67 points (including Thursday’s game).  Nick Campbell is the Scarlets’ second leading scorer posted 50 points (21 goals).  The West’s offensive firepower is deep with eleven players posting nearly 20 or more points this season.  Seven of Mankato West’s top ten scorers are seniors.  The Scarlet defense is outstanding and led by defenseman Jutting.  Junior goalie Conor Wollenzien and senior goalie Jake Spiess have split the games this season.  Spiess was in the nets last night.  The two goalies combined to hold the Scarlets’ opponents to an average of one goal a game while stopping 92% of the shots on net.   

Rochester Century, a Class AA team that plays in Section 1AA, ended their season with a 12-11-1 record and dropped to fourth place in the Big 9 behind the Scarlets, Rochester Mayo, and Owatonna.  Century has one game left with Mayo.  Nine of the Panthers top eleven scores are juniors.  One, Hayden Ashworth, is a senior and one, Johnny Schmitze, is a freshman.  Juniors Riese Zmolek (36 points/10 goals) and Jacob Roth (34 points/16 goals) and Ashworth (33 points/18 goals) lead Century offensively; but after those three the Panthers’ offense drops significantly.  The Panthers score an average of 4 goals a game.  Defensively they are giving up 3 goals a game and have been outshot by their opponents on the season (729-698 in 24 games).  Senior goalie Joseph Pundt started for Century last night.  Pundt has posted a 12-9-1 record this season, giving up an average of 3.5 goals a game while stopping 88% of the shots on net.   

Period One

The All Seasons North Rink was warm Thursday night even with blizzard like conditions on the surrounding plains.  For those close to the ice, it was warm enough that a jacket was not required.  From the opening minutes of the first period, Mankato pressured Century in the Rochester zone.  Mankato West’s forwards were quicker than the Rochester defenders.  The Scarlets spaced themselves well and were always one step ahead in the play.  In the Century zone, they were able to pinch along the boards and continuously were quicker at the blue line in turning the puck back into the Panther’s zone.  All the West’s forward lines played with confidence.  They trusted each other.

Four minutes into the opening period, Mankato West’s Max Mettler skating high right, took a pass inside Century’s center blue line and beat goalie Joseph Pundt left side high to put West up 1-0.  Galt Goettl and Austin Langworthy got the assists.  A minute later, Century’s Riese Zmolek beat the Scarlet defense on the left side and hit Erik Thorvilson breaking on the right side.  Thorvilson shot for the high slot right beat West’s goalie Jake Spiess high to tie the game 1-1.  Zmolek got the assist.

With just under eight minutes to go in the first, West sophomore Tyler Loe and senior Zach Erickson executed a neat crossover in the high slot with Loe taking the puck into the left faceoff circle.  As Erickson drew the goalie slight right, Loe put a hard shot from the left side scoring low right.  The goal put the Scarlets up 2-1 at the end of the first period.  Junior Christian Klemme and Senior Scott McKissick got the assists.

Mankato West drew two penalties in the last six minutes of the opening period and skated shorthanded four minutes.  They set their penalty kill with all four forwards in the neutral ice.  Century’s twp power plays never got organized.  The first period ended with the Scarlets in the lead 2-1 and outshooting Century 11-5.   

Period Two

The game was not physical and few penalties were called.  Two minutes into the second period, the Scarlets picked up a tripping penalty.  It led to the Panthers tying the game.  Thirty seconds into the power play, Rochester Century.  The Panthers gained control of the puck in West’s zone and moved the puck for a low right attack on the Scarlets’ goalie Spiess.  Defenseman Alex Ney dropped into the slot picked up the loose rebounding puck and slid the puck past Spiess’s left leg pad into the net.  The power play goal tied the game 2-2.  Zmolek and Jacob Roth got the assists.

For the rest of the period, Mankato West was on the attack.  They continually forced the play in the Panthers’ zone.  Century held them off the boards until late in the second period. 

With just under two minutes left, Zach Erickson beat the Century defense at the Rochester blue line.  Fending off the lone remaining Panther defenseman, Erickson had a shot at the goal under pressure.  He was being driven left and recognizing that he had a poor shot, he dropped a pass to the dead center slot (the puck stopped on the ice) and let the lone defender drive him and himself to the end boards.  The Scarlets’ Loe came down the slot and buried the “teed up” puck for the game winner.  It was a neat play and showed the experience in the Mankato West team.  Instead of Erickson taking the shot, he had faith his teammate would be coming down the slot.  Erickson and Christian Klemme got the assists.  West led 3-2 at the end of the second period outshooting the Panthers 15-5.  

Period Three

Mankato West started the third period dominating the play by controlling the puck in the Rochester half of the ice.  The Panthers could not move the puck out of their half of the ice.  It took three minutes for the Panthers to generate an attack.  It resulted in the tired Panthers trying to force the play to get the puck inside the Scarlets’ zone, but they just couldn’t beat West’s forwards overall quickness and team play.  At the 12 minute mark, West scored an insurance goal to make it a 4-2 game.

Halfway through the period, Derek Frentz and Nick Campbell put on a clinic controlling the puck in the Century zone for most of two minutes forcing Pundt to make some big stops.  Century could not relieve the pressure until they iced the puck.  The game ended 4-2.  West outshot Century 15-1 in the third period.

The Players

Mankato West has a core of players from the Mankato Association’s peewee A 2009-2010 team that lost to Orono 5-1, St. Michael/Albertville 8-2, and Osseo/Maple Grove 6-3 in the South Regional.  The Maverick peewees had a good team that year.  They posted a 28-13-2 record and were ranked #48 in the state that season.  That year’s Maverick team had six Scarlet players on its roster (Conor Willenzien, Tyler Loe, Christian Klemme, Tyler Jutting, Kyle Looft, and Austin Langworthy).  This season, Maple Grove high school’s top scorers are Sam Franta and Joe Norenberg.  The Crimson are 14-7-3 on the season and are battling Blaine for the Section 5AA seed to the Xcel in two weeks.  Osseo High School’s top scorers this season are Ben Christofferson and Rudy Alexander.  All four players were on the Osseo/Maple Grove Association peewees that beat Mankato in the 2010 South Regional.

Rochester Century have six players off the Rochester Association’s Red 2009-2010 peewees (Sam Batterson, Mitch Hoover, Alex Ney, Jacob Roth, Jace Berndt, and Riese Zmolek).  The Red finished with a 31-4-6 and were ranked #5 in the state in 2010.  They lost to Eden Prairie 5-0 in the game to go to the state peewee tourney after sweeping pool play.  The Mankato peewees and the Red did not play each other in 2009-2010.

Thursday, Scarlets soundly beat Rochester Century.  As Maverick peewees they would have struggled to beat the Red peewees.  The Scarlet seniors did not play on the 2009-2010 Maverick peewee A team.  They were the difference last night.  What a difference a year can make.

What is Next? 

In the Hilltopper Holiday Classic in December, Mankato West beat East Grand Forks 2-0 in the semifinals and lost to Notre Dame Academy (Green Bay WI) 3-2 in the championship game.  In that same tourney, Duluth Marshall lost to Appleton East WI 3-2; the next day the Scarlets beat Appleton East 8-2.  Then the Scarlets lost to New Prague 2-1 a week after that tourney.

Both Mankato West and New Prague have some claim to the #1 Section 1AA seed.  New Prague has a 7-0 record against Section 1A foes; the Trojans should go to 8-0.  Mankato West finishes the season with a 13-1 record against Section 1A foes.  New Prague lost twice after beating the Scarlets (lost to Hermantown and Farmington).  Both teams have finished well, but the nod will likely go to the Scarlets.  With Rochester Lourdes still struggling, the Section 1A title will likely be decided by a championship battle between West and New Prague February 26 at the Rochester Rec Center.

Century plays Rochester Mayo on the weekend to end their regular season.  The Panthers then have to wait for the seeds to be announced.  The guess here, is that the Panthers will travel to Hasse Arena to play Lakeville South in a game they can win.  If they do, they will return to the Rec in Rochester for a Sectional semifinal game against Farmington, another game they can win.  If the Panthers end up with the #5 seed, then their weekend game with Mayo will be a tune-up for their sectional opener.