Hopkins wins, MPLS is real
Hopkins pep band was a blast with five tubas blowing
Hopkins and Minneapolis played Thursday night in a MSHSL Boys Hockey game at the Hopkins Pavillion. Both teams were looking to do something positive in the early season. Hopkins needed a win to move up in the Section 6AA rankings. Though Minneapolis is a Class A team, the Novas got off to a good start. A Royal win would help in next February Section 6AA playoffs. For Minneapolis, they have for years had an association, the Minneapolis Storm, that has developed talent only to see it go to private schools. This season, they have held on to some of that talent and are on the verge of moving up in Minnesota hockey. A win over a top Class AA team would improve their chances for a higher seed in the Class 2A playoffs next February. Both teams came to play and both played hard and had good games. The bounces in the end went to Hopkins. The Royals won 4-1 and should improve their standing in Section 6AA, but Minneapolis played well also. The MPLS team is real.
This shot by Garrett Lieb (#9) just missed the upper left corner. A goal would have cut Hopkins lead to 3-2 with five minutes to play.
Minneapolis are the Novas this season, next season ?
Six years ago, the Minneapolis Storm Association was formed from the Minneapolis Washburn and Minneapolis Southwest Associations. St. Louis Park had been involved with Southwest in the four years prior to the Storm Association being formed, but opted out. Since then the Minneapolis Storm program has struggled until the last four seasons. What really triggered the two associations combining was the demise of the Twin City District (or District 1). There were not enough associations fielding A level teams in Minneapolis and St. Paul in 2005. It forced the remaining stronger programs into other districts. Irondale, North St. Paul, and St. Paul Highland went District 2. Johnson/Como went District 8. St. Louis Park and the new Minneapolis Storm Association teams went District 3. The Minneapolis Storm program has become stronger since the association was formed. Now in its sixth year of existence, the Storm Association faces a new challenge. It started last night when the only Minneapolis public high school hockey team, the Novas or the "?", played Hopkins. The Novas are in their fourth season playing Class A hockey after getting beat up at the Class AA level in prior years. They have struggled those four years but now appear to be ready to move up in Class A Section 2. Last night they played Hopkins, a school with a Lake Conference Class AA Section 6 pedigree. With a bumper crop of top bantam players coming next year, a good season this year should help keep that crop at home. A win over Hopkins would be a key indicator that the Novas and the Storm Association are on the move.
Minneapolis is a veteran team that returns six of their top ten scorers from last season including five seniors, #1 scorer Connor Fulco, #5 scorer Max Kjome, #9 scorer Gavin Taleen, and #10 scorer Garrett Lieb. Ninth grader Jake Erickson returns. Erickson was Minneapolis’s #4 scorer last season and leads the team in scoring this season. Minneapolis goalies seniors Ryan Martin and Preston Holt return. Martin has been the mainstay so far this season posting a 4-1 record giving up an average of 1.8 goals a game while stopping 92% of the shots on net. The Novas defensive corps is led by senior Max Kjome and junior Dayne Schweiger. Sophomores Campbell Goff, Gavin Miller,Garrett Schueller, and Will Stevens all moved up from the 2014-2015 Storm bantam AA team to play defense for Minneapolis. The Storm Association produced three players on last season’s varsity. This season they added seven more. Besides Erickson, Ben Neal and Dayne Schweiger made the Nova’s varsity in 2014. This season the Storm Association sent Isaac Sorock, Jake Hale, and Jack Warnet to the Novas’ varsity in addition to the four sophomore defensemen. Hale is tied with Erickson for the Novas scoring lead. In the past two seasons, 10 players from the Storm bantams made the Minneapolis varsity, but that is only part of the story. At the same time, the Storm Association sent 9 bantam players to private schools (Holy Angels, Breck, Blake, Minneapolis Academy, and Benilde-St. Margaret’s). All nine are playing varsity hockey this year. That is the Minneapolis dilemma, but that dilemma maybe history especially if this year’s Nova’s can challenge in Section 2A. A winning team could be enough to keep players on the Storm Association’s 2015-2016 Bantam AA team at home. This year that bantam team is loaded with talent.
The last time Hopkins and Minneapolis played each other was in 2005-2006 season. Then the Royals played the Minneapolis Southwest version of Minneapolis. There were three teams playing in the Minneapolis City Conference that season (Southwest Lakers, Minneapolis Novas, and the Minneapolis West Mustangs). The Royals beat Southwest 5-3 in regular season play and 6-3 in the Section 6AA playoffs.
Hopkins always seems like the weak sister in the Lake Conference surrounded by Edina, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Wayzata. The Royals return four of their top ten scorers, #2 Riley Martin, #4 Nate Nelsen, #8 Peyton Bolstad, and #10 Hunter Staack from a team that had a great first half of the season (10-2-0) and struggled in the second half posting a 2-9-2 record. They lost nine through graduation from that team including goalie Josh Kuehmichel. Defensively, seniors Ryan Greeley and Hunter Staack return with junior Alex Hoffman. Senior Connor Quinn and junior Parker Swanson have split the net minding duties in the early season. Nelsen has been the scorer for the Royals in their first four games (10 points/8 goals). He scored a hat trick in Hopkins 3-3 tie with Hermantown as the Royals pounded the Hawks net with 56 shots. On paper, the Hopkins offensive should overwhelm the Novas’ defense.
Pep band was a blast and they played the whole game
The two teams line up in the Hopkins' zone for a face off in last night's game at the Pavillion in front of a big garage door. Arena has multiple doors that are opened for summer events
Period 1: Royals Attack; MPLS Counters
Period 1: Royals attack, MPLS counters
Hopkins offense is focused around two lines, one centered by senior Riley Martin and the second centered by senior Nate Nelsen. Nelsen has scored eight goals in the first four Royals games. His line with wings Jack Sweeney and Carter Johnson combines the top three Royal scorers on the Hopkins team. Martin is the #4 scorer. His line with #5 scorer senior Peyton Bolstad and junior Ryan St. Clair alternated play most of the first period. The Hopkins third line got only spot duty. Minneapolis went with three lines last night, one centered by sophomore Jacob Erickson with seniors Garrett Lieb and Gavin Taleen at wings; one centered by junior Carter Wendlandt with junior Ben Neal and Sebastian Gholl at wings; and one centered by senior Connor Fulco (last season's scoring leader) with senior Luke Peterson and ninth grader Jacob Hale at wings. After a three minute slow start with multiple line changes, the game turned defensive for the Novas. Gradually the Royals built pressure on the Minneapolis defense starting to force the puck low around the Novas’ goal until the Minneapolis bench managed to create a line mis-match getting one of their top lines on the ice against the Royals’ #3 line. That resulted in the play moving into the Royals’ zone. Halfway through the period, it changed the game momentum. Minneapolis started to beat the Hopkins defense on the breakout, but still could not beat the Royals at the Royals blue line. They slowed approaching the blue line and missed neutral ice passing opportunities that would have beat the Hopkins defense and have established puck control inside the Royals’ zone. The game tempo picked up as a result. The first period ended in a 0-0 tie. Hopkins held the edge in shots on goal 13-6. A late Minneapolis penalty put Hopkins on the power play for ninety seconds to open the second period.
Hopkins Jack Sweeney (#18) turns to look back after scoring the Royals first goal to put Hopkins up 1-0 in the second period.
Period 2: Nate Nelsen Strikes
It wasn’t a hop, a skip, and a jump that resulted in three Hopkins second period scores, but it felt like that. One goal came from a shot off a 360 degree spin in the slot, another on a shot from the left point that was deflected downward just under the crossbar, and a third score on rebounding puck that ended at the feet of a Hopkins forward at the top of the crease resulted in a 3-0 Royals lead. Even though his presence on the ice is on the stealthy side, Hopkins’ leading scorer Nate Nelsen was involved in all three goals.
The period started with Minneapolis killing the penalty to open the second period easily. Hopkins failed to mount a serious threat in the opening 90 seconds of the period with the man advantage. The game returned to a high up tempo play after the penalty with Minneapolis still struggling to beat the Royals at the Hopkins blue line and the Hopkins offense struggling to get the good shot after moving the puck low in the Novas’ zone. The game changed with six minutes gone in the period. It started when Hopkins got called for a high stick. One minute into the Minneapolis power play, the Novas’ bench penalty was called for too many men on the ice setting up one minute of 4-on-4 followed by a minute of Hopkins power play. The bench penalty led to a Hopkins power play and the first Royals goal. Hopkins broke the ice scoring with 30 seconds left in the penalty. A shot on Minneapolis goalie Ryan Martin ended up with the puck rolling off Martin’s pads and dropping into the crease in front of Jack Sweeney. Sweeney beat Martin to the loose puck batting under Martin’s attempted glove save to put Hopkins up 1-0. Carter Johnson and Nelsen got the assists. Thirty seconds later, Hopkins was back on the attack in the Minneapolis zone. This time the puck ended up at the right point. Defenseman Howard Staack fired a high shot that was tipped slightly downward in the right slot area with the puck ending up in the net just under the crossbar. Staack’s goal put Hopkins up 2-0. Nate Nelsen got his second assist.
Hopkins' Nate Nelsen (#28) battles in the corner for the puck. Nelsen was involved in all four Royal scores (two goals and two assists).
With a minute left to play in the second period, Nelsen scored. A pass off the end boards to the right of the Minneapolis goal ended with the puck on Nelsen’s stick in the lower right slot area. Nelsen did a 360 turn shooting a backhander from the right slot. The puck caught the lower left side of the net for the score. Johnson and Sweeney got the assists. Hopkins led 3-0 going into the third period. The Royals outshot Minneapolis 11-3 in the second period, but were not dominating the game. The first Hopkins goal was earned, beating the Minneapolis defense. The second two goals needed some luck to find the back of the net. The question going into the third period was would the Minneapolis team fold.
Nate Nelsen (#28) watches his shot sliding in the net on this 360 degree backhand shot to put Hopkins up 3-0 at the end of the second period.
Period 3: MPLS did not fold, nor were they spindled or mutilated
To fold, spindle or mutilate a punch card in business some years ago, meant to throw away. Minneapolis could have easily played the third period just getting by. The Novas were up against a good team and down three goals. But they came out determined to get back in the game. And they did. At one point in halfway through the third they had the Royals defense on ropes threatening to cut the lead to 3-2. But where the Royals caught the breaks on two second period goals, MPLS didn’t. The Novas earned their first score less than a minute into the final period. Max Kjome hit Jake Hale with a pass at the Hopkins blue line. Hale beat the Royal defender along the left boards, cut to the left faceoff circle and blistered a shot past Hopkins’ goalie Parker Swenson to cut the Royals lead to 3-1. Kjome got the assist. Then Minneapolis forwards started to use the short pass as they rushed the puck at the Hopkins blue line. They started to beat the Hopkins defense, but their shots were being blocked or not on target. Minneapolis defensemen at the Hopkins blue line started to play more aggressive attempting to hold the puck in the Royal’s zone. That opened up the Hopkins offense and resulted in a number of 2-on-1 or solo rushes on the Minneapolis goalie Martin. Martin made the stops. Late in the game, MPLS pulled the goalie and Nelsen scored an empty netter on a long shot to end the scoring 4-1.
What is Next?
Minneapolis didn’t lose much in Section 2A rankings. As a result of the loss to Hopkins, the Novas are still behind Breck and even with Orono and Delano. Their early season 2-0 loss to Waconia hurts them but with four sectional games still to play (Mound Westonka, New Prague, Providence Academy, and Kennedy) wins will keep the MPLS in the running for a top 2A playoff seed. They play Mound Westonka this weekend at Thaler Ice Arena. Minneapolis is favored to win that game. They should beat St. Cloud Tech at Parade next week before playing St. Paul Johnson. Johnson (5-1) is an unknown at this point and will be coming off playing a tough Detroit Lakes team at Detroit Lakes. Minneapolis should do all right until they hit the Schwan Cup in two weeks. They will be favored to win their bracket (Chisago Lakes and winner of Simley/Marshall), but will likely have a tough championship game against Spring Lake Park or Princeton. Hopkins needed the win. It will most likely help them move past Armstrong and Cretin/Derham Hall in the Section 6AA rankings. The Royals take the week off before playing at Orono, one of Minneapolis’s principle contenders in Secction 2A, and before hosting unbeaten Benilde-St. Margaret’s just before Christmas.
Minneapolis has to get by Breck to get to the Class A state tourney. Both Minneapolis and Breck will be in the Section 2A playoffs. Hopkins has to get by Wayzata in the Section 6AA playoffs to get to the Class AA state tourney. Last night, Wayzata edged Breck 2-1 in overtime to hand the Mustangs their first loss of the season. It will be interesting to watch the MPLS team this season and what happens next year with the Minneapolis Storm bantam team. Minneapolis could make a run this season for the Section 2A championship.
Jake Hale's (out of picture left) shot beats Hopkins goalie for the lone MPLS score in the first minute of the third period. The puck is a blurr heading into the nets.