HP 16 Day 1: Section 8 cruises into semifinals with dominating performance; Edina combo leads Section 6

By Loren Nelson, Special to Minnesota Hockey, 04/16/21, 11:00PM CDT

Warroad's Shaugabay, Buffalo's Winter help push Section 8 to 8-1 triumph over Section 3

A five-goal first-half outburst carried Section 8 to an 8-1 victory over Section 3 in Friday’s CCM Minnesota Hockey High Performance Boys 16 Festival quarterfinals at Plymouth Ice Center.

Jimmy Winter (Buffalo) scored twice in the first period and Jayson Shaugabay (Warroad) added a pair of second-half goals for Section 8 in what was that last game of the day and easily the most lopsided outcome of the quarterfinals.

Section 8 also got rock-solid goaltending from Maxwell Varner (Buffalo), who stopped all 12 first-half shots he faced. Hampton Slukynsky (Warroad) played the second half and made seven saves on eight shots.

Section 3’s Ethan Stark (Willmar) ended Section 8’s shutout bid, scoring 9:55 into the second half.

Shaugabay and Noah Urness (Roseau) each finished with three points.

Roseau's Noah Urness scores a first-half goal for Section 8 in its 8-1 triumph over Section 3. Photo by Loren Nelson, LegacyHockeyPhotography.com

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Champlin Park's Ronn scores winning goal for Section 5 in 4-3 triumph over Section 7

Jordan Ronn (Champlin Park) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal midway through the second half as Section 5 used three unanswered goals in the second half to earn a 4-3 victory over Section 7.

Samuel Johnson (Totino-Grace), Finn Brink (Maple Grove) and Ronn scored in a span of 6 minutes, 30 seconds in the second half to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

Cooper Conway (Andover) turned in a spectacular performance for Section 7, scoring twice in the second half, including a goal that ended with him crashing hard into the end boards. Conway was involved in several quality scoring chances in the final minute as Section 7 pulled goaltender Derek Gibeau (Greenway) in favor of an extra skater.

Both Section 5 goaltenders were sharp. Jack Hanson (Chisago Lakes) stopped four of five first-half shots and Wesley Johnson (Totino-Grace) made 14 saves on 16 shots as Section 7 pushed to force the game into overtime.

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Duos from Chaska, Minnetonka help push Section 2 to 4-2 triumph over Section 1

The Chaska combination of Sam Scheetz and Tanner Bruender got Section 2 off to a fast start and the Minnetonka combination of Hagen Burrows and Beckett Hendrickson scored late to help secure the 4-2 victory over Section 1.

Bruender scored the lone goal of the first half and Sheetz made it 2-0 less than three minutes into the second half.

Section 1 closed to within 2-1 on a Kyle Ahlschlager (Waseca) goal and to within 3-2 on a goal by Kyle Doll (Lakeville North). But Section 2 never relinquished the lead thanks to second-half goals by Burrows and Hendrickson. A standout varsity player for Minnetonka last season as a freshman, Hendrickson scored into an empty net with 1:28 remaining.

Section 2’s Carter Wishart (Chaska) stopped all seven shots he faced in the first half and Isaiah Paulnock (Eden Prairie) finished with 12 saves on 14 second-half shots.

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Edina's Nevers, Vander Vort provide clutch scoring as Section 6 secures wild 6-5 victory over Section 4

After a relatively quiet first half, Section 6 and Section 4 combined for eight second-half goals, and Section 6’s Matt Vander Vort (Edina) secured the wild 6-5 win by scoring with 2:31 remaining.

Vander Vort and Edina linemate Jackson Nevers combined for three goals and five points, as they were buzzing in the Section 4 defensive end most of the game. Nevers scored late in the first half to put Section 6 ahead 2-1 and made it 4-2 midway through the second half.

The goals came fast and furious in the late going, with Section 4 forging a 5-5 tie on a goal by Charles Drage (Mahtomedi) with 4:04 remaining.

Reese Shaw and Wesely Berg, both of Gentry Academy, each had a goal and two assists for Section 4.