A trio of shutouts, a pair of last-minute game-winning goals, and one massive comeback down 5-1 in the second half highlight Day 1 of the 2021 Boys HP 15 Spring Festival. 

District 3: 3 - District 8: 0

District 3 goaltenders Mason McElroy (Wayzata) and Joshua Middleton (St. Louis Park) were in peak form Friday. The two stopped all 35 saves faced against District 8 to get the shutout victory. Brittan Alstead (Wayzata) had a three-point game at the Plymouth Ice Center, scoring a goal and assisting on Griffin Krone (St. Louis Park) and Jacob Mattson’s (Wayzata) tallies.

Box Score

District 9: 6 - District 11: 5

Brett Ludvigsen (Dodge County) completed a hat trick in the best way possible, scoring twice in the final 90 seconds to erase a 5-1 deficit and give District 9 the 6-5 victory. After pulling the goaltender and scoring with 1:25 remaining and an extra attacker, Ludvigsen found the back of the net with 18 seconds remaining for the game winner. His performance overshadowed a two-goal afternoon by District 11’s Joshua Kauppinen (Hermantown), who had three points along with teammate Max Plante (Hermantown).

Box Score

District 6: 5 - District 2: 0

Thanks to getting five goals by five different goal scorers, District 6 had both the scoring and defense needed to defeat District 2. Henry Lechner (Bloomington Jefferson) finished the game with a goal and two assists while District 2 goaltenders Caleb Hall (Chaska Chanhassen) and Kam Hendrickson (Holy Family) combined for 10 saves in a shutout performance.

Box Score

District 5: 6 - District 12: 3

Trailing by a 2-0 score late in the first half, District 5 came back to tie the game with a pair of goals in the final 3:16. That effort continued in the second half as the team added four more to go on to win 6-3. Five different District 5 players had multiple points, led by Manny Pearce’s (Hutchinson) two goals. Meanwhile, Ryder Gerulli (Eveleth) had two goals for District 12 in a losing effort.

Box Score

District 15: 6 - District 4: 0

A hat trick by Easton Wahl (Detroit Lakes) and 20 combined saves between District 15 goaltenders Kale Witt (Detroit Lakes) and Ryan Gerlich (Brainerd) was enough to defeat District 4. District 15 pulled away in the second half, turning a 1-0 halftime score into a large lead with three goals in less than two minutes midway through the second half. 

Box Score

District 10: 4 - District 16: 3

Keaton Weis (Rogers) scored with 41 seconds remaining in regulation to put District 10 ahead for good. The team had led 3-1 entering the final six minutes before Landon Jamieson (East Grand Forks), on a two-on-one opportunity, and Gavin Girdler (Red Lake Falls) tied the game up for District 16. The two scored less than two minutes apart from one another. Benjamin Doll (Andover) and Weis, who finished with two goals, each finished with two points for District 10.

Box Score