Minnesota River is a co-op of five separate schools - St. Peter, Le Sueur-Henderson, Belle Plaine, Cleveland and Tri-City United - not exactly hockey hot beds in Minnesota. None of the schools had ever been to a section final and never had won 20 games. 

All of that changed Thursday, all of their nevers became first-time evers. Minnesota River beat Rochester Lourdes 5-3 in Rochester. to claim their first ever trip to St. Paul. Hunter Wilmes had a hat trick (not his first ever)...the first two got the Bulldogs off to a fast start. His last came on a key empty net goal with a narrow one goal lead. Senior Andrew Regner kicked away 41 Eagle shots to ice the win. 

The performance of a lifetime by Henry Welsch powered Lakeville South to a 4-0 win over last year’s Class 2A, Section 1 champion Lakeville North on Thursday night. Welsch made 46 saves to earn the shutout win over the Panthers, helping the Cougars avenge last season’s loss to Lakeville North in the section finals. 

Cameron Boche and Cade Ahrenholz scored in the first period for Lakeville South, chains Lakeville North starter Will Johnson from the nets after surrounding the two scores on 13 shots. 

After a scoreless second frame, Boche and Ahrenholz scored in tandem again, first extending and then icing the win for the Cougars with each goal coming on an empty Panther net. Caleb Mayer played the second and third periods for Lakeville North and stopped all 12 shots he faced. 

Delano is headed to back to St. Paul for the second time in three years after defeating Orono 2-0 Thursday night in St. Louis Park. The Tigers got a first period goal by Hogan Williams and played a strong 200-foot game to keep the defending state champs from scoring for only second time all season. 

Aaron Kruse turned away all 30 shots  he faced including nine big shots in the third period to clinch it for the Tigers. Adam Brown scored a late empty net goal to end any hope for Orono of a title repeat. 

Muzzy Donohue and Wes Gervais split goaltending duties as St. Thomas Academy rolled to a 4-1 win over Eagan to advance to its third Class 2A State Tournament in the final season of co-head coaches Tom and Greg Vanelli. Gervais stopped 10 of 11 shots in the first period for the Cadets before being relieved by Donohue, who went 24-for-24 in the saves column. 

Andrew Boemer and Nico Vega scored precisely three minutes apart in the first period to spot St. Thomas Academy a 2-0 lead, but Eagan’s Aidan Byrne cut the lead in half to conclude the first period at 2-1. Vega added his second of the game in the second period for the Cadets, and Ryan O’Neill potted an insurance goal at the 11:17 mark of the third period to clinch the win. Eagan goaltender Derek Manzella made 37 saves in the loss for the Wildcats.      

Despite losing one of the best players to junior hockey (Brady Meyer) and never having their own arena to skate in their entire youth career, North Branch overcame it all Thursday and won section 5A beating Chisago Lakes 3-2 in Elk River to earn their school's first ever berth to the state tournament. 

The Vikings picked up goals from Cody Croal, a big equalizer in the first period that stemmed the tide by the Wildcats who outshot the Vikings 20-9 in the final two frames. In the third, North Branch got go ahead and game winning goals from Matt Courtwright and Tucker Sachs to seal the win.

While the four goals and 40 shots are impressive, St. Cloud Cathedral’s ability to hold Alexandria to only seven shots in both the first and third periods paid dividends in the end, as the Crusaders breezed past the Cardinals 4-1 at the MAC in St. Cloud. 

Blake Perbix and Jackson Savoie scored for the Crusaders in the first period only 27 seconds apart, with Cullen Hiltner adding a third goal in the second period to push the St. Cloud Cathedral lead to 3-0 midway through the game. Alexandria got on the board late in the second on an unassisted goal from Zach Wosepka. Hiltner added his second of the contest in the third to cement the victory and the section title for the Crusaders, who fell to Alexandria in the section finals a year ago. Bailey Rosch finished with an impressive 36 saves for the Cardinals. 

With the victory, the Crusaders advance to their fourth state tournament in six seasons, and third in the last four years.       

Ryder Donovan has had a fantastic high school career. He played varsity hockey for Duluth East as an eighth grader, he's been to the state tournament now three times. His senior year has not been bad, but it didn't live up to everyone's expectations - even his own. Many of his critics question his scoring ability. In 23 regular season games the highest ranked NHL prospect in high school hockey in MInnesota had 12 goals.

On Thursday, he scored the biggest goal of his life. Thirty seven seconds into the second overtime, the senior forward scored on a pretty pass from Ricky Lyle sending his team back to the state tournament for a shot at Duluth East's first state title since 1998. 

Donovan told WDIO on Thursday, "winners know how to win, we found a way how to win again at this place." The Hounds used their physical play to keep the speedy Huskies from controlling play for long stretches - they found a way to win. Just as 21 other northern Minnesota teams have done before them in section 7AA. 

For 34 minutes, Thursday night’s game between Warroad and East Grand Forks felt like an untimed chess match, with neither team marking the scoresheet while making calculated moves against the other. 

Landon Parker must have tired of the strategy, scoring the game’s first goal just over a minute into the third period en route to a 3-1 win for the Green Wave. After Parker’s goal, Cooper Helm scored 14 minutes later, giving East Grand Forks a 2-0 lead that quickly shrank to 2-1 after Warroad’s Grant Slukynsky scored 63 seconds after Helm. 

A comeback attempt by the Warriors fell just short in the third, as Jake Hjelle put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal with only 46 seconds remaining in regulation. In a testament to East Grand Forks’ commitment to defense, Warroad totaled just 14 shots on goal, while the Green Wave pumped 31 shots on the Warroad net. Zach Foster finished the night with 28 saves on 30 shots for the Warriors.