Moorhead wins its first boys hockey state championship, outracing Stillwater
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HIGH SCHOOLS
The Spuds’ Mason Kraft equaled John Mayasich with four first-period goals, but the Ponies made it close by the end.
By David La Vaque
Boys State Hockey: Top-seeded Moorhead rallies to beat Lakeville South 7-4
Top-seeded Moorhead averted a monumental upset threat during the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Hockey State Tournament by tapping into its vast resource of scoring firepower.
At the center of it was senior forward Mason Kraft, who scored four goals and assisted on another to not only power the Spuds, but also sidestep an upset in the making by defeating No. 8 Lakeville South, 7-4, in the Class AA quarterfinals on Thursday, March 6 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Moorhead (26-2-1) scored three goals in the third period and the last five of the game, and along the way, wiped out three two-goal deficits to keep the Cougars (18-10-0) at bay.
“Finding a way to win is a skill,” Kraft said.
While he capped his four-goal outburst on an empty-netter with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, Kraft admittedly says he was the beneficiary of great playmaking by his teammates that engineered the stirring comeback.
The victory sends Moorhead into the Class AA semifinals on Friday night against the winner of the late quarterfinal between No. 5 Edina and No. 4 Rogers. The Spuds know them well from previous encounters this season. Moorhead defeated Edina 4-1 in the second game of the season and then by a 4-2 score on Dec. 26. Moorhead and Rogers squared off on Feb. 13 and a winner couldn’t be decided as they skated to a 2-all deadlock.
Kraft scored his 40th goal of the season with 4:40 when the Spuds pushed their lead to 6-4. Junior forward Tyden Bergeson engineered the play with a nifty spin move that followed with a cross-ice pass to Kraft, one swiftly directed the puck into the net with a quick one-timer.
Two reviews 35 seconds apart yielded two goals, but only one that was allowed. That came from Moorhead senior forward Brooks Cullen, whose goal with 12:32 remaining gave the Spuds their first lead of the contest at 5-4.
His goal on a short-range shot was initially disallowed, but after a review request by Spuds head coach Jon Ammerman, it counted. On the play, Lakeville South senior goalie Carson Hauger lost his blocker pad, leaving his bare hand exposed as the puck sailed past. But after review, it was determined that his own teammate had inadvertently created the contact that led to the blocker coming off along the near post.
Before Cullen’s goal could even be announced, Lakeville South answered with what was believed to be the equalizer. Senior forward Brayden Olsen carried the puck on the far wing, angled in and put a shot on goal. Senior forward Will Kortan came crashing in to slam in the rebound.
It was immediately reviewed and quickly determined that goalie interference occurred because Olsen wasn’t completely out of the crease as he zoomed by.
You could sense the titanic momentum shift when the Spuds scored two goals within just a minute of one another to complete their climb to leveling the score. The Spuds pulled to within 4-3 when Kraft scored No. 39 this season on a whistling shot that had so much velocity on it that it came out of the net as fast as it entered. It was Kraft’s second goal of the game.
Moments later, Moorhead tied the score with 5:40 left in the second period when Bergeson scored from the far circle, a shot that sailed high into the near corner.
Twelve seconds into the second period, the Cougars restored their two-goal advantage off a quick tally by junior forward Carter Ernst. Just moments after the face to begin the second stanza
Five goals were scored in a furious first period of play with Lakeville South holding a 3-2 advantage. Moorhead trimmed the lead off a goal from sophomore forward Zac Zimmerman with 5:41 left in the second period.
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How to watch the Minnesota high school hockey state championship games: Schedule, TV channel, live streaming
High School
BUCK RINGGOLD
Reid Glenn/St. Cloud Times/USA TODAY NETWORK
On Saturday, two Minnesota high school boys hockey squads will be hoisting championship trophies.
The Minnesota State High School League’s annual state boys hockey tournament wraps up with two championship games at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
There will be two separate brackets, Class A and Class AA.
Here’s the schedule for the Minnesota state high school boys hockey championship games
At Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul
Class A
No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral (20-8-2) vs. No. 4 East Grand Forks (15-13-2), noon
St. Cloud Cathedral advanced to the finals with a 3-0 win against Mahtomedi and a 4-1 semifinal win against Orono. Joey Gillespie had two goals in the quarterfinal win and Jaeger Wood had two goals and an assist in the semifinal win.
East Grand Forks began its tournament run with a 3-0 quarterfinal shutout against Northern Lakes and then upended No. 1 seed Hibbing/Chisholm/VCA, 7-5, with Cole Bies scoring two goals 39 seconds apart in the third period, the latter giving East Grand Forks the lead to stay.
Class AA
No. 2 Stillwater Area (24-6) vs. No. 1 Moorhead (27-2-1), 7 p.m.
Two teams seeking to win its first state title square off Saturday night.
Stillwater has posted two shutout wins at state, 5-0 against Andover and 4-0 against St. Thomas Academy. Cal Conway made 23 saves in the quarterfinals and 36 more in Friday’s semifinal win.
Moorhead rallied from a 4-2 deficit to down Lakeville South, 7-4, in the quarterfinals with Mason Kraft scoring four goals. Then in an intense semifinal on Friday, the Spuds’ Zac Zimmerman broke a 3-all tie on a goal with 58 seconds left as Moorhead defeated Edina, 4-3. It was Zimmerman’s second goal on the night.
Here are the ways you can either watch or live stream the championship games, courtesy of KSTP.com:
Buck Ringgold has been covering high school sports for more than 25 years. He has a BA in Journalism from the University of Arkansas and is a die-hard Texas Rangers fan.
