SECTION 2A/AA SHUTS OUT SECTION 4A/AA 3-0 TO KICK OFF DAY 1
Section 2A/AA broke loose with three second half goals to roll over Section 4A/AA in the tournament opening game Friday afternoon at Plymouth Ice Center, 3-0.
Shane LaVelle (Chaska) opened the scoring a little more than seven minutes into the second half when he buried a close range rebound to get things started. Assists went to Garrett Pinoniemi (Delano) and Jackson Jutting (Prior Lake). Later in the frame, Section 2A/AA would strike twice more to ice the victory. Josh Andes (Minnetonka) rifled home a top-shelf wrist shot, assisted by Nick Olmsheid (Chaska) and Teddy Lagerbeck (Minnetonka) to stake a two-goal lead with 7:08 to play, and that was followed up three minutes later when Lagerback scored from the mid-slot, with assists to Andes and Calvin Barrett (Chaska).
Ben Bullis (Eden Prairie) and Jon Howe (Minnetonka) combined for the shutout in net for Section 2A/AA, collecting 31 saves. Their counterparts, Wyatt Vint (Hill-Murray) and Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi) manned the crease for Section 4A/AA, stopping 17 shots. Huber stopped all seven shots he faced in the first half.
SECTION 6A/AA RALLIES FROM EARLY DEFICIT TO TOP SECTION 3A/AA, 3-1
After falling behind early, Section 6A/AA rallied with three unanswered goals to move past Section 3A/AA in quarterfinal action Friday afternoon at Plymouth Ice Center, 3-1.
Section 3A/AA grabbed an early lead, just 36 seconds into the game when Ben Stucker (St. Thomas Academy) redirected a shot from the point from Mason Wheeler (Rosemount) that found the back of the net to push the green team out front.
A half a period later, Section 6A/AA would answer when Nick Davison (Cretin-Derham Hall) lifted a wrist shot from right circle that found the top shelf to level the score. A single assist went to Brett Chorske (Edina).
Locked into a 1-1 draw at the half, Section 6A/AA broke through with a pair of goals in the second to pull away. First, Henry Sweeney (Hopkins) buried a wrist shot from the left circle to push the gray team out front midway through the period, with the assist to Davison. With 9:05 left, Jonah Jangula (Armstrong-Cooper) scored from the high slot to seal the victory. Single assist on the goal went to Matt Gleason (Cretin-Derham Hall).
In net for 3A/AA, Ethan Kapps (Apple Valley) stopped 13 of 15 shots he faced in the second half, after Will Tollefsen (Rosemount) made nine saves on 10 shots in the first.
At the other end, Danny Fraga (Wayzata) made 14 saves on 15 shots in the first half for Section 6A/AA before Noah Amundson (St. Cloud Cathedral) shut things down in the second, stopping all eight shots he faced.
LAYLIN'S THREE POINTS HELPS LIFT SECTION 8A/AA PAST SECTION 1A/AA, 4-1
Luc Laylin (St. Michael-Albertville) tallied a pair of goals and an assist to help power Section 8A/AA past Section 1A/AA by a 4-1 final Friday evening at Plymouth Ice Center.
It took a little less than seven minutes for Section 8A/AA to grab the lead when Luke Johnson (St. Cloud) opened the scoring, with assists to Joseph Mcnamara (Buffalo) and Laylin.
After Section 8A/AA took a narrow one-goal lead into the halftime break, Section 1A/AA answered 7:07 into the second when Grant Silianoff (Shattuck-St. Mary’s) knocked home a centering pass off the stick of Niklas Norman (Shattuck-St. Mary’s) from the corner to draw the game even at 1-1.
Section 8A/AA would reclaim its lead a short time later when Laylin launched a backhand shot into the net when he converted on a penalty shot to push the white team out front for good with 9:39 to play. Laylin would add another score with 4:34 left to ice the win. Single assist on the goal went to Mason Kruse (Brainerd). Adam Flammang (St. Michael-Albertville) added an empty netter with four seconds left as Section 8A/AA finished off Section 1A/AA with a strong second half effort.
In net for the victorious Section 8A/AA squad, Soren Falloon (St. Cloud) stopped all 13 shots he faced in the first half, and Nathan Mueller (Buffalo) made 14 saves on 15 shots in the second half.
Manning the crease for Section 1A/AA, Caleb Mayer (Lakeville) stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced during the first half, and Ryan Flanders (Austin) made 12 saves on 14 second-half shots.
SECTION 5A/AA USES STEADY EFFORT TO MOVE PAST SECTION 7A/AA, 3-2
Section 5A/AA jumped out with a pair of early scores, then rode a steady and consistent effort towards a 3-2 victory over Section 7A/AA in Friday night’s final quarterfinal at Plymouth Ice Center.
Alexander Brouillet (Centennial) opened the scoring a little less than five minutes into the game to push Section 5A/AA out to an early lead they would not relinquish. John Dorholt (Maple Grove) and Tyler Kostelecky (Maple Grove) both assisted on the opening tally.
Midway through the half, Jack Karges (Champlin Park) would add another, with assists to Zach Shaffer (Blaine) and Carsen Richels (Blaine) as the sky blue squad worked to set the tone early.
Section 7A/AA would answer late in the frame, when Charlie Schoen IV (Andover) would get the gold team on the board with 5:16 left in half, with assists to Dalton Saltness (Forest Lake) and Kameron Jaeger (Grand Rapids).
Early in the second half, Section 5A/AA built on its lead on a fine effort Kostelecky, who burned through the left circle and displayed great hands before making a nifty move to beat Cole Manahan (Hermantown) and push the lead to 3-1.
Not content to go away quietly, Section 7A/AA would cut the deficit to one goal after Brady Baker (Hermantown) knocked home the puck from the mid slot following an odd-man rush for the gold team. Kobe Koenig (Grand Rapids) assisted on the final goal.
In net for the victorious Section 5A/AA squad, Brandon Benson (Blaine) and Ethan Haider (Maple Grove) combined for 25 saves on 27 shots, with each net minder allowing one goal.
Between the pipes for Section 7A/AA, Ben Fritsinger (Andover) made six saves on eight shots, and Cole Manahan (Hermantown) stopped nine of 10 shots.