It didn't take long for the first goal of the 2019 Boys HP 16 Spring Festival to find the net. Nate Stone (Edina) opened the scoring for Section 6 in the first game of the day just two minutes into the game, capitalizing on a feed from Blake teammates Nate Hiethoff and William Matzke. The rest of the game was a tight, back-and-forth battle. Cooper Smith (Cretin-Derham Hall) added an insurance goal late in the second half, and then Adam Marshall (Benilde-St. Margaret's) tallied an empty net goal to seal the opening round win for Section 6. Croix Kochendorfer (Cretin-Derham Hall) and Matt Syverson (Holy Angel combined for the shutout, making 16 and 12 saves respectively. 

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Section 1 overcame an early 1-0 deficit with goals from four different players to earn a 4-1 win in their early game. Aidan Emerson (Prior Lake) gave Section 2 an early lead, but it was all Section 1 after that. Connor Mahony (Shattuck-St. Mary's) evened the score at 1-1, and Mario Gasparini (Lakeville North) put Section 1 ahead 2-1 late in the first half. Isaiah VanRyswyk (Albert Lea) expanded their lead to 3-1 just 51 seconds into the second half and Jax Schauer (Hastings) added the final tally as Section 1 moves on to the semifinals where they will face Section 6. 

Box Score

Section 5 flexed its muscle early and often in its opening match-up against Section 7. Brandon Reller (Maple Grove) scored 29 seconds into the game and added his second of the game less than five minutes later and Section 5 never looked back. Connor Thompson (Centennial) and Cody Croal (North Branch) also potted two goals for Section 5 as they cruised to an 8-1 win. 

Box Score

Section 8 rode an seven-goal second half to a 9-2 win over Section 3 in the final game of the day. Gavin Gunderson (Roseau) gave Section 8 an early lead. It looked like a goal by Cottage Grove's Samuel Janski with less than a minute remaining would send the game into intermission tied 1-1, but Haden Kruse (Brainerd) responded 26 seconds later to regain the lead for Section 8. Will Norris (Sibley) evened the game again for Section 3 in the second half. From there, it was all Section 8 as they scored seven unanswered goals for a commanding win. Four players for Section 8 finished with three-point games including Kruse with a hat trick, Gunderson, Paul Huglen (Roseau) and Max Strand (Roseau).

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