Mark Senden scores for Wayzata Wednesday
Three #1s fall in Class A
As a rule the class A section playoffs are more predictable than AA. Often times the sections are not as deep as their big brothers. On Wednesday, that rule was broken in spades. Three top seeds fell in dramatic fashion.
Game 1 - Litchfield > Luverne (7-6, OT) Litchfied scores with 35 seconds left to tie it (Jared Pedersen) and then wins it on a power play (Ben Haugo) in overtime to lift the Dragons to the 3A title in St. Peter. A crazy back and forth game that feature two hat tricks by Luverne stars Chaz Smedsrud and Jaxon Nelson.
Game 2 - Totino Grace > Mahtomedi (6-5) Totino Grace scored six goals in 17 minutes to over come a 3-0 hole to advance to the section 4A title game against #4 Mahtomedi Wednesday. The Eagles got a pair of goals and an assist by Ryan Johnson.
Game 3 - Mankato West > Northfield (1-0, OT) Freshman defenseman Nick Wieben scored the game's only goal in extra time to lift the Scarlets to their second ever state tournament appearance (2008). The win was the first for Mankato over the Raiders avenging two earlier regular wins.
Section 1A champs, Mankato West
EP and Wayzata Punch Ticket
At the end of the day (literally) the old guard won out at Mariucci. Eden Prairie winners of two state title and several trips in the last two decades beat up and comer Prior Lake 4-2 and Wayzata beat Cretin Derham Hall 4-1 to make their second appearance in 4 years out of the state's toughest section.
After two periods of chess, the Trojans finally wore down the Raiders with a relentless attack scoring two goals by seniors Mark Senden (GWG) and Billy Duma. Duma's came on a nice feed from Senden who flushed it home and gave a fitting gloveless salute after the goal. Not a bad move for the future Air Force Falcon. "This team is a lot like the team in 2013, we had great senior leadership then and it was on display here tonight," said Wayzata head coach Pat O'Leary.
Senior Billy Duma scores for Wayzata Wednesday
In the night cap, pre-season number one Eden Prairie got two goals 1:20 apart in the second period to break a 1-1 tie. The go ahead was pure magic by Casey Mittelstadt, who blew by a Prior Lake defenseman and whistled a shot past a helpless Drew Scites to give the Eagles the lead for good. "Casey has the best offensive skills of any player I've seen in the 20 years I've coached...wasn't that amazing?," said Eden Prairie head coach Lee Smith after the game.
A minute and change later the Eagle delivered a death blow, Nicky Leivermann tapped in a Michael Graham rebound to give the Eagles a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Late in the third, Prior Lake junior Jake Cohn made things interesting when one of his blasts beat Eden Prairie goalie Shawn Durocher top shelf, hoisting the water bottle to the ceiling. With just over two minutes to go, the Lakers had some life and a few juicy chances to tie it. One on a wrap around attempt by senior Connor Clemons that was thwarted by Durocher but got loose for two rebound chances that the Lakers couldn't convert.
Junior Hunter Johannes iced the game, much like he did against Holy Family Saturday, scoring on the empty sending his school to state for the ninth time.
Casey Mittelstadt was a magician in his previous life
Wednesday Scoreboard
| Team | Score | Team | Score | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cretin-Derham Hall | 1 | Wayzata | 4 | Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis |
| Totino-Grace | 6 | Mahtomedi | 5 | Roseville Arena, Roseville |
| Moorhead | 3 | Bemidji | 4 | Ralph Engelstad Arena |
| Hibbing/Chisholm | 0 | Hermantown | 8 | Amsoil Arena, Duluth |
| Mankato West | 1 | Northfield | 0 | Rochester Rec Center, Rochester |
| Woodbury | 2 | Hill-Murray | 5 | Aldrich Arena |
| Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato | 7 | Luverne | 6 | Lund Arena, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter |
| Prior Lake | 2 | Eden Prairie | 4 | Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis |
| South St. Paul | 1 | St. Paul Academy | 7 | Roseville Arena, Roseville |
Thoughts from the Glass
The Lumberjacks are front page news! Photo Credit to @BemidjiHockey
A quick thought or two about last night's games.
1A: What a great win for Mankato West over Northfied and an unforgettable moment for freshman Nick Wieben...the offensive minded defenseman has a great offensive side to his game.
2AA: Eden Prairie has found its groove the last two games, they are a team no one will want to play next week. They play a tough style of hockey and have the best player the state has seen since Kyle Rau.
3A: The most exciting game of the night...I couldn't take my eyes off Twitter. It featured seven lead changes, 72 shots on goal, 13 goals, a game tying goal in the last minute and an OT winner. The people in St. Peter got their money's worth.
4A: The biggest shocker of the night...what a finish by Totino. The game against SPA Friday will be a lot of fun.
6AA: Pat O'Leary is a great coach...every year, they play great defense and get good goaltending. Last night he met his match...Cretin played great defense and had a goalie that stopped everything. Finally O'Leary was able to re-engineer his team to be productive offensively when they needed it most and beat Cretin.
7A: Hermantown is really good.
8AA: Bemidji wins in OT....they head to state for the second straight year. Last night marked the ninth time the two teams have been to OT in the last 18 games.
Cretin's Mike Magnuson with one of his 41 saves Wednesday
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