Despite pumping nearly 40 shots on net, No. 2 seed Mahtomedi only narrowly escaped the first round of the Class A State Tournament with a 4-2 win over Mankato East/Loyola.

Senior forward Charlie Bartholomew scored the game-winner with just 1:51 remaining in regulation, one of three goals by the Zephyrs in the third stanza. Joe Paradise and Kory Pilarski also scored in the third period for the Zephyrs (22-6-1), with Paradise’s tally his second of the game. Defensively, the Zephyrs killed off all five Mankato East/Loyola powerplay opportunities. 

Mankato East/Loyola (16-11-2) took a 2-1 lead into the third period on goals from Adam Megard and Sam Schulz, who scored in the first two minutes and last two minutes of the second period. Cougar goaltender Jack Cusey finished the game with 33 saves.  

After a scoreless first period, Orono rattled off four goals in the second en route to a 6-1 win over Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato to earn a date with Mahtomedi in the Class A semifinals. 

Sophomore Lucas Jorgenson was the primary catalyst for the third-seeded Spartans, scoring two goals in his state tournament debut. Jack Kubitz, Davey Burns, Zack Simon, and Daniel Eckerline all chipped in single goals for the Spartans (21-7-1), who got 29 saves from goaltender Evan Babekuhl. 

Orrin Grangroth scored the lone goal in the loss for the Dragons (16-12-1), who will meet Mankato East/Loyola in the consolation semifinals at Mariucci Arena. 

Wednesday evening’s rematch of last season’s Class A state title game did not disappoint, as Hermantown eked out a 4-2 win over Monticello in the Hawks’ ninth consecutive trip to the Xcel Energy Center. 

Early on, it appeared Hermantown (21-6-2) would cruise to victory, with the forward combination of Tyler Watkins, Blake Biondi, and Jacob Herter hounding Monticello goaltender Tyler Klatt for much of the first period. The pressure led to goals by Minnesota-Duluth commit Biondi and Herter, and a 2-0 lead for the Hawks after the first period. 

Biondi would score again to open the second period, extending the Hawks’ lead to 3-0 before Monticello (19-8-2) stormed back with a pair of goals by Matt Miller, sending the game into the third period with a razor-thin 3-2 margin of separation. 

Hermantown netted an insurance goal with just over two minutes to play in regulation, with Biondi tipping in a shot from the point by Darian Gotz to give the game its final score of 4-2. 

Jack Westlund scored at the 3:07 mark of the second period, and Alexandria refused to allow Thief River Falls an opportunity to pull their goaltender game's waning moments to send the Cardinals to the Class A State Tournament semifinals. 

Defenseman Jack Powell did not register a point in Wednesday's win but was named Player of the Game after executing a stick-lift on a Prowler forward crashing the Alexandria (18-10-1) net with under 10 seconds to play in regulation.

Jackson Bline finished with 19 saves to earn the shutout for the Cardinals, while Nick Corneliusen stopped 20 shots for the Prowlers (16-11-2) in the loss.