Nic Henry an Co. won not just a game, but a battle between community-based and import hockey.
The game may have been played in Faribault, a town of less than twenty-five thousand residents, in front of a few dozen parents and several scouts, but the ramifications should be felt border-to-border in the Land of 10,000 Rinks.
In an outstanding victory for community and association hockey, Minnetonka upended the Bantam Major Chicago Mission, a AAA program that draws its players from all over North America, 5-3 on Friday night at Shattuck-St. Mary's.
Five players scored for the Skippers, with Teddy Lagerback, Jack Anderson, Nic Henry, Dylan Zitzloff and Braedon Lacomy all marking the scoresheet.
Minnetonka coach Brian Murphy said that the formula for building extraordinary hockey teams and players in Minnesota is not something to take of granted. "Our model in Minnesota is really special," Murphy said. "Kids from the same community play together from Squirts to high school at a very, very high level."
With so much talent departing after back-to-back Minnesota Bantam AA state championships, the Skipper win is even more impressive, This season, stud forward Bobby Brink jumped to the Minnetonka high school team as a freshman.
The win also marks the second time in two years that the Skippers have knocked off the No. 1 rated Tier 1 team in the country in Faribault. The Skippers defeated the host Sabres last January.
Above all, the victory proves the YHH staff wrong in this week's version of Talking Tier I. If you need to hear it all over again, click the link here and fast-forward to the 3:26 mark of the video.
#BoomRoasted
Blake Mesenburg scores for Shattukc-St. Mary's U14 in Friday's win over Rink Hockey Academy.
Both the Under-14 and Under-16 teams from Shattuck-St. Mary's earned wins on Friday night in the first round of is Shattuck Showcase, as the U14's edged Rink Hockey Academy (Winnipeg, MB) 2-1 on the frigid Old Rink.
The Sabres got goals from Hunter Rossi and Orono native Blake Mesenburg in the win, with Mesenburg's goal proving to be the game-winner scored with just 5:22 remaining in regulation. RHA's sliced the Sabres lead to one after Noah Wagner scored with two minutes to play, but were stonewalled in thr game's waning moments by Shattuck-St. Mary's goaltender and former Minneapolis netminder Kiron Morioka.
In the U16 games, Omaha cruised to a victory over the Chicago Young Americans, a game that was followed by a contest between the No. 1 ranked host Sabres and No. 2 Chicago Mission.
The Sabres came out on top over the Mission, again by one goal in a 4-3 victory. Robert Mastrosimone scored two goals to lead the Sabres, while McKade Webster and Ryan Drkulec tallied single goals.
Mathieu De St. Phalle, Tyler Carpenter and Zachary Dubinksy all scored once for the Mission.
Shattuck-St. Mary's U16 forward McKade Webster (15) nets a goal on Friday.