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Star Power Leads Section 4 to Great 8 Title

By Minnesota Hockey, 03/26/13, 10:30AM CDT

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The Reebok Ted Brill Great 8 is a yearly festival hosted by Minnesota Hockey and the Minnesota High School Coaches Association featuring Minnesota’s top high school seniors. This past weekend the players took the ice at Wakota Arena in South St. Paul, and they came to play, showcasing speed, stick handling, shooting ability, determination and a physical presence throughout the weekend.

With eight teams representing their high school sections, the battle for bragging rights started Friday afternoon with quarterfinal matchups.  Game one started with Section 4 taking down Section 2 by a score of 5-4.  Jake Jackson (Tartan) had two goals, including the game winner, and an assist.  Zach Lavalle (Hill-Murray) assisted on both of Jackson’s goals and buried one of his own as those two teamed up with  TJ Roo (Totino-Grace) on a line of Mr. Hockey finalists.

In the second game of the tournament, Section 8 gave up a goal in the first period before scoring four unanswered to win 4-1 over Section 3.  Four different players scored for Section 8 and ten different players made the score sheet.  Jim Buckingham (Cretin-Derham Hall) scored the only goal for Section 3.

Section 6 came out fast and furious in the third game, sprinting out to a 4-0 lead in the first period against Section 5.  Bo Gronseth (Hermantown) gave Section 5 some life with two goals only 26 seconds apart early in the second, but Connor Thie (Minnetonka) netted his third of the game and the eventual game winner to put a stop to the momentum, leading Section 6 to a 6-4 victory.

The final quarterfinal pitted Section 1 against Section 7. Section 1 jumped out to a two goal lead in the first, but Section 7 scored five straight and pulled out a 5-4 win. Andrew Kerr (Duluth East), Jack Forbort (Duluth East), Beau Michaud (Cloquet) and Levi Talarico (Duluth Denfeld) all registered multiple points for Section 7 in their opening game.

Consolation Bracket

In consolation action, Section 2 advanced to the consolation championship with a 5-3 win over Section 3, and Section 1 beat Section 5 by a score of 6-3. 

The consolation championship was the closest game of the tournament.  Section 2 scored first to go up 1-0. Then, Section 1 scored twice in the second period to make it 2-1. In the third, Section 2 regained the lead 3-2 before giving up a goal to Matt Ratzloff (Owatonna) that sent the game into overtime. Jono Lindquist (Bloomington Jefferson) captured the consolation title for Section 2 with his second goal of the game on a pass from Jack Brandstetter (Mound-Westonka).

Championship Bracket

Section 4 and Section 8 faced each other in the first semifinal game of the tournament. Ryan Edavold (Crookston) notched the game’s first goal a couple minutes into the second period to give Section 8 a lead.  Section 4 responded with two goals before the period was over though, and Henry Hart buried two in the third (St. Thomas Academy) to secure a 4-3 win.

The second semifinal between Section 6 and Section 7 proved to be a one-sided affair. Section 6 scored two goals in each period and cruised to a 6-2 victory.  Six different players scored for Section 6. For Section 7, the line of Adam Johnson (Hibbing), Talarico, and Alex Toscano (Duluth East) combined for six points.

Sunday’s championship game featured Section 6 and the star-studded Section 4. Roo & Lavalle took over the game for Section 4 as Roo scored the game’s first three goals to record a natural hat trick. Lavalle had the primary assist on each of the goals. Section 4 would never relinquish the lead en route to a 6-2 and the championship crown in the 2013 Reebok Ted Brill Great 8. 

Players Make an Impression

While the competition between sections was fun to watch, the main purpose of the Ted Brill Great 8 was to give these players the opportunity to develop with and compete against the top players in Minnesota.  The players took advantage of that opportunity.  Eight players that are still uncommitted finished in the top ten in tournament scoring, including the top three: Alex Funk (Rochester Lourdes), Lavalle and Roo. 

Several players from smaller towns and lesser known high school programs also made an impact on the tournament, greatly increasing their prospects of future development opportunities.  Andrew Scofield (Northfield), Brandstetter, Derek Graves (Mora), Tanner Picht (Morris/Benson), and Eric Ylitalo (Delano) all finished with four points and had strong showings. Kyle Olson (Lake of the Woods) played well between the pipes tying Willie Benjamin (Edina) and David Zevnik (St. Thomas) with only three goals allowed over the weekend.

The Reebok Ted Brill Great 8 continues to display the talent and depth of high school hockey in Minnesota.  In the coming weeks, many more youth and high school players will have similar opportunities to develop and exhibit their skills in the Reebok Minnesota Hockey High Performance Programs.

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