Bantams Hit the Ice
The Bantam season kicked off in earnest last weekend with several games being played all over the state. Centennial and White Bear Lake hosted AA Previews with several projected top teams from all over the state participating.
Top ranked Minnetonka, Cloquet and Blaine all faced off at the Centennial Preview - a very goo showcase of what is to come this year at the AA level.
Here is a peek into how a few of the top teams fared this weekend.
Brainerd Roars past Hastings
Mason Kruse netted a hat trick Brainerd's season opener to lead the Warriors to a 7-2 win over Hastings in Bantam AA action from Essentia Health Arena on Saturday. Josiah Klang put Brainerd on the scoreboard first as he netted the Warriors first goal of the season with the assist going to Riley Andres. After giving up the early lead Hastings settled in and created several scoring chances of its own but failed to light the lamp. Wyatt Andres put Brainerd up 2-0 midway through the first with a power play goal with assists going to his brothers Riley and Wes. Neither team could muster any more scoring during the remainder of the first and Brainerd would hold a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Riley Andres scores one of his two goals Saturday for Brainerd
Hastings hoped for a better start to the second and got that when Joey Siewert took advantage of a misplayed clearing attempt by Brainerd and scored to make the score 2-1. A Brainerd penalty presented Hastings with a great opportunity to even the score. However Mason Kruse would score two goals about a minute apart to put Brainerd back in control of this game. Kruse stepped in front of a cross ice pass in the Hastings zone and beat Parker Johnson with a wrist shot for his first goal of the game. Moments later Kruse took a William Lundstrom pass as the Hastings penalty expired and found the back of the net again for his second goal of the game putting Brainerd up by three. Riley Andres would net the first of his two goals to end the second period scoring giving Brainerd a 5-1 lead after two periods of play.
Mason Kruse started the third period scoring for Brainerd completing his hatty by scoring on an early power-play goal for the Warriors. Jayce Schauer tallied quickly for Hastings giving them hope however Riley Andres second goal of the game would seal this one and Brainerd would skate away with a 7-2 win to start the season.
Mason Kruse nets the Hatty Saturday for Brainerd
Tonka Skips Past Cloquet 4-1 Sunday
Owen Carlson makes a big save for Cloquet Sunday
The YHH Pre-Season number one and two teams collided Sunday at the Centennial Preview in Circle Pines. Minnetonka came in the consensus number one team and Cloquet just a shade behind the Skippers. Both teams have some big name returners to their team this year. Tonka has Jack Bayless, Josh Luedtke and Luke Loheit back from their team that won state. The Lumberjacks return Landon Langenbrunner, Gavin Rasmussen, and Dane Stoyanoff from a team that came a game away from state last year.
In the first, Tonka showed why they were so highly regarded, completely taking control of the game. The Skippers controlled the zone and by the end of the first started getting good opportunities off of Cloquet defensive zone lapses. Josh Luedtke got a loose puck in front and snuck one past Owen Carlson to make it 1-0 after 1.
Jack Bayless had two goals Sunday for Minnetonka. His second game was shorthanded when the Skippers were two men short!
After a resurface, Cloquet came out and showed why they are the #2 in Minnesota. They played Tonka much tougher and began to make plays and compete for pucks. In the second period the game was more even - despite that, the Skippers were the only team to score. Jack Bayless got the first of his two goals to make it 2-0 after two.
Bayless and Bobby Brink would add shorthanded goals in the third for Minnetonka and Dru Senich would get Cloquet's lone goal to make the final 4-1 in favor of Tonka.
Up Next
The Skippers will be busy playing two tournaments in early November. The first one is the Nike World Invite in Chicago where they will compete against the top Tier 1 teams in North America. The week following they will join the Lumberjacks and 14 other top AA teams in Minnesota at the Battle for the Blue Ox played this year in Maple Grove.
Josh Luedtke scores on Sunday for Tonka
Other Games around the State
Gavin Rasmussen had a big weekend for Cloquet this weekend in the Centennial Preview.
Rosemount > Eastview (4-2)
MAML > New Prague (4-2)
Blaine > Cloquet (3-2)
Mahtomedi > Woodbury (3-2)
Mankato > Forest Lake (5-3)
MPLS > Sibley (3-1)
Minnetonka vs. Blaine (2-2)
Prior Lake > Eagan (3-1)
Woodbury > Mounds View Irondale (4-2)
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