Fargo kicked off the 2018 Battle for the Blue Ox with a 1-0 victory over Eden Prairie, highlighted by a 20-save shutout by Trent Wiemken, who was named Player of the Game for his efforts. Cameron Bullinger scored the lone goal (and game-winner) for Fargo with 8:15 left in the first period. 

Meeting Fargo in the quarterfinals will be Osseo-Maple Grove, which breezed past Elk River 4-1 behind two-point performances from Bennett Glad and Sawyer Skanson. Both players recorded a goal and assist in the win, with Finn Brink and A.J. Tollas each adding a goal for the Leafbirds. Matthew Ferry was the goal-scorer for Elk River, which will face Eden Prairie in the Black Bracket. 

Overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the third period allowed Lakeville South to edge Minnetonka 4-3 in a thrilling shootout, with Tanner Ludtke and Ethan Dahlmeir’s heroics providing the backdrop of the win. Ludtke and Joe Guentzel scored for the Cougars during the shootout round, while Dahlmeir stopped two of three Minnetonka shooters. Ludtke also scored during regulation for the Cougars, as did Hunter Webster and Tommy Boisjolie. John Novak totaled two assists in the win. 

While Lakeville South and Minnetonka battled through overtime and into a shootout, Chaska/Chanhassen put Minot (ND) into running time en route to a 10-2 victory. Zach Seltun led the scoring barrage with four goals and six points, followed by Max Burkholder and Jack Seaverson with four points each. 

A double-dose of Sondreal propelled St. Paul to a 2-0 win over Centennial, as Jake Sondreal scored in the second period and Zach Sondreal added an insurance goal in the third to help the Capitals into the quarterfinals. Marko Belak earned the shutout between the pipes for St. Paul. 

Alex Bump scored a goal and added two assists as Prior Lake pulled away from Blaine for a 5-1 victory. Jackson Anderson, Justin Kingery, Riley Dueber, and Dalton Spratt all tallied single goals in the win for the Lakers, while the Bengals’ lone score came from Bryce Laager. 

Andover slogged to a 3-1 win over Stillwater in one of the final games of the evening, paced by Davis Swensen's goal and assist. Weston Knox and Kyle Law also scored in the win for the Huskies, who got a quality start in the crease from Bobby Hendricks. 

Osseo-Maple Grove “A” pulled one of the best and most significant upsets in Blue Ox history with a 2-1 win over the Grand Forks Aviators in the Friday night finale, with Carter Winkleman scoring the game-winning goal. Wyatt LeDuc scored for Grand Forks to open the game before OMG’s Kiers Brevik tied the game late in the first period. Winkelman’s goal came with 10:58 to play in the second period, and the Leafbirds held off a late charge by the Aviators for the victory.