Posted by: Feldman
We have a big rivalrly game in Rochester tonight, all four Rochester boys hockey teams play, AND there is a game in Lakeville that could help settle the seeding process for the top three teams in Section 1AA, or it could turn that process basically into a coin flip.
We'll get to all of that, but first...
It is most definitely playoff time.
Section girls hockey playoffs started Wednesday night. Some games were blowouts, others were history-making.
Speaking of which, we'll start in Woodbury, where there was what we'd call a, uh, close game between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in Section 3AA.
The
box score
looks like it came from a baseball game. After 121 minutes, 58 seconds, No. 4 seed East Ridge came away with a beyond-dramatic 3-2 six-overtime victory against No. 5 Apple Valley. East Ridge senior Anya Hafiz scored the game-winner at 12:58 of the sixth OT. The winning goal came on East Ridge's 115th shot.
Let me repeat that: East Ridge had 115 -- ONE-HUNDRED FIFTEEN -- shots on goal.
Know what else that means? Apple Valley goalie Taylor DeForrestmade 112 -- ONE-HUNDRED TWELVE -- saves. The box score says she made 111 saves, but all reports that came out last night and today say 112, so we'll go with that for now. Here's a link to the
Minnesota Hockey Hub report
on the game, which indicates DeForrest shattered the previous record for saves in a game, set by Lakeville North's Cassie Alexanderin 2013, when she made 59 saves in a 4-3 six-OT loss to Minnetonka in the state tournament.
* In Section 1AA, I was in Kasson to watch No. 2 seed and No. 13-ranked
Dodge County move along in the postseason
with an 8-0 victory against Rochester Century.
* Section 1AA would have had the game of the night had it not been for the East Ridge-Apple Valley marathon. In 1AA, No. 4 seed Lakeville North survived against No. 5 John Marshall/Lourdes, 4-3 in double-OT. Morgan Manes scored 3:51 into the second overtime for North to win it. No. 3 seed Farmingotn also brought No. 6 Mayo's season to an end with an 11-0 victory at Farmington.
Here's a roundup of those two games
, and one from
the Section 1A quarterfinals
, which saw No. 5 seed Austin beat No. 4 Faribault 3-1, and No. 2 Red Wing roll past No. 7 Albert Lea 9-1.
The Section 1A and 1AA semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, with the higher seeds playing host to the lower seeds.
* * * * *
Back to the boys game, where we're still two weeks out from the start of the postseason.
A game in Rochester tonight has some big implications for the Big Nine Conference championship race. Rochester Mayo plays at Rochester John Marshall, at 7:30 p.m. at the Rec Center. I'm told these two teams have met a time or two, or 112, before. JM has four regular-season games remaining. A victory by the Rockets tonight would basically make their game next Tuesday at Northfield for the Big Nine Conference championship.
It's a full slate of boys games tonight, so let's get to it...
MAYO at JOHN MARSHALL
7:30 p.m., Rochester Rec Center
Records: Mayo 9-4-0 Big Nine, 13-8-0 overall; JM 12-0-0, 16-5-0.
Coaches: Mayo, Lorne Grosso (49th season, 706-443-28 overall); JM, Jay Ness (5th season, 63-58-4)
Last meeting: JM defeated Mayo 5-2 on Dec. 12 at Graham Arena.
Last game: Mayo beat Mankato West 3-2 on Saturday at Graham Arena; JM shut out South St. Paul 6-0 on Saturday at the Rec Center
Team leaders: MAYO -- Jr. F Anthony Oliveto 17-20--37; Sr. F Veikko Weckman 18-15--33; Sr. F Max Billings 15-10--25; Sr. D Nick Norby 7-15--22; So. G Liam Claton 12-5-0, 3.41 GAA, .874. JM -- Sr. F Brady Dahl 21-23--44; Sr. F Isaac Lamppa 21-18--39; Sr. F Conner Lee 8-23--31; Sr. D Josh Frerks 7-23--30; Sr. G Brady Meyers 16-5-0, 1.32 GAA, .934 save pct., 4 SO.
Notes: JM's victory against Mayo back on Dec. 12 snapped the Spartans' 10-game winning streak in the series. ... JM's Meyers continues to be ranked among the top goalies in the state. He is tied for 5th in victories (16), is 7th in goals-against average (1.62), is tied for 3rd in save pct. (.934), and is tied for 6th in shutouts (4). ... Four of the top eight scorers in the Big Nine are in this game -- JM's Dahl (2nd, 44 pts.) and Lamppa (5th, 39); and Mayo's Oliveto (6th, 37) and Weckman (T-8th, 33). ... This will likely be the final JM-Mayo game in which Grosso is the Spartans' head coach. He has been on Mayo's bench for 110 of the previous 112 rivalry matchups. ... Mayo is still mathematically alive for the conference championship, though it needs to win its final four games, have Northfield lose out and have JM beat Northfield, but lose its other remaining games.
LOURDES at BRECK
7:15 p.m., Breck School Anderson Ice Arena, Golden Valley
Records: Lourdes 5-15-0 overall: No. 2 Breck 18-3-0
Coaches: Lourdes, Josh Spaniol (103-86-8 overall); Breck, Les Larson
Last meeting: Breck won at Lourdes 7-0 on Jan. 24, 2015.
Last game: Lourdes lost at Blake 5-2 on Saturday; Breck defeated Minnehaha Academy 10-1 on Wednesday
Team leaders: LOU -- Jr. F Tucker Chapman 16-10--26; Jr. F Montana Streit 8-17--25; Sr. F Peter Alexander 6-11--17; Sr. F Mason Carstens 7-5--12; Jr. G Adam Renn 3-12-0, 4.29 GAA, .864 save pct., 1 SO. BRECK -- Sr. F Chase Ellingson 25-29--54; Jr. F Mitch Machlitt 23-19--42; Sr. F Tyler Scott 15-25--40; Sr. F Will Blake 16-21--37; So. G Linden Olness 16-3-0, 1.82 GAA, .905 save pct., 3 SO.
Notes: Breck is ranked No. 2 in the state, behind only Hermantown. ... The Mustangs have not lost in 2016. Their last loss came on Dec. 30, a 6-1 loss to St. Michael-Albertville. ... Breck is on an 8-game winning streak, outscoring opponents 57-9 in that stretch. ... Lourdes, despite its record, is in line for a top-three seed in the Section 1A playoffs, though it likely will have to beat Albert Lea and Red Wing next week to secure that positioning. The Eagles have played the toughest schedule of any Section 1A team this season. ... Lourdes' Chapman has seven points in the past five games.
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CENTURY at AUSTIN
7:30 p.m., Riverside Arena
Records: Century 5-9-0 Big Nine, 8-12-1 overall; Austin 3-10-0, 5-11-1
Coaches: Century, Josh Klingfus (5th season, 61-58-10 overall); Austin, Erik LaRock (4th season, 17-72-5)
Last meeting: Century defeated Austin 2-0 on Dec. 12, 2015, at Graham Arena IV in Rochester.
Last game: Century beat Winona 3-1 on Monday; Austin lost at Red Wing, 3-2 in OT, on Saturday.
Team leaders: CENT -- Jr. D John Schmitz 5-9--14; Jr. D Will Zmolek 5-8--13; So. F Ben Haas 3-10--13; So. F Jon Thorvilson 6-7--13; So. G Cole Walter 6-9-1, 3.62 GAA, .884 save pct., 2 SO; So. G Jackson Killinger 2-3-0, 2.92, .909. AUST -- Jr. F Isaac Arnold 12-10--22; Jr. D Jace Greenman 8-14--22; Jr. F Brayden Merritt 9-7--16; Sr. D Jason Stoulil 3-13--16; So. G Noah Bawek 4-10-1, 3.08, .873.
Notes: Century is seeking its second three-game winning streak of the season. ... Century's Schmitz has four points in the past five games. ... Austin's Arnold has 13 of his 22 points in the past seven games. ... Austin has lost four consecutive games, but has played well in them, taking Red Wing -- a team that could be a top-4 seed in the Section 1A playoffs -- to OT on Saturday.
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AREA GAMES
• Mankato East (6-5-1, 11-9-1) at Red Wing (9-4-0, 9-12-0); time, location: East defeated Red Wing in their first meeting of the season, 7-3, at Mankato on Dec. 19. ... East is 3-2-1 in its past six games, on the heels of an eight-game winning streak. ... East senior F Judd Schulzis the Big Nine's leading scorer (21-30--51). ... Red Wing is battling for a top-three finish in the Big Nine.
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SECTION 1 SHOWDOWN
• No. 8-AA Lakeville North (14-5-1) at No. 20-AA Lakeville South (13-6-1), 7 p.m.: Follow the bouncing puck here. Three teams are jockeying for position atop the Section 1AA playoff seedings. Farmington has beaten Lakeville North twice. Lakeville South has defeated Farmington twice. And if North can win this game tonight, it will have defeated South twice this season. So ... coin flip for the top seed? Probably not; it would likely go to North by virtue of having the best record among the three (as of now), but who knows? If South wants that top seed, I'd think a win tonight would put it in the driver's seat for it. South is 11-1-1 in its past 13 games; North is 9-1-0 in its past 10. Get to Hasse Arena early if you want a seat.
