FELDY:Season openers were kind to three of Rochester's four boys hockey teams, as Lourdes, Mayo and John Marshall all still have a "0" in the loss column. Century ran into a buzzsaw up at White Bear Lake last Saturday, where the Bears scored twice in the first minute en route to an 11-0 win.
Mayo and JM got off on the right skate, winning their openers on Tuesday night. Mayo won at Red Wing, 2-1, while JM rattled Farmington, 7-1, at the Rec Center. It was a nice, balanced effort for the Rockets, with nine players getting on the scoresheet and a great debut by sophomore goalie Jacob Garvey (30 saves).
Idle tonight: Century, Lourdes.
JOHN MARSHALL at BLOOMINGTON KENNEDY
When: 7:30 p.m. tonight
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Where: Bloomington Ice Garden
Records: JM 1-0-0, Kennedy 0-1-0
Spotlight players: Kennedy senior forward Sam Merchantis the team's leading returning scorer. He was second on the team last season with 7-7--14, so clearly the Eagles had trouble putting the puck in the net last season. Merchant scored one of Kennedy's two goals in its season-opening 9-2 loss to Robbinsdale Cooper on Saturday. ... Sophomore goalie Jacob Garveyhad a stellar debut on Tuesday night, stopping 30 of 31 shots in his first varsity game. Garvey, who was playing Bantam hockey at this time a year ago, carried a shutout into the third period, before Farmington scored a power-play goal with 11 minutes remaining.
Of note: Kennedy allowed 38 shots on goal in its loss to Cooper. Chris Marks, just an eighth-grader, played the first two periods in goal and stopped just six of the 14 shots he faced. He was replaced by freshman Jon Kosiak, who stopped 23 of 24 shots in the third period. ... JM won't look past Kennedy tonight or Irondale on Saturday, but the Rockets have a big week ahead next week. They play host to Albert Lea on Tuesday, before back-to-back games against their intra-city rivals. JM plays Mayo at the Rec Center a week from today, then it faces Century at the Rec Center on Saturday, Dec. 11.
IRONDALE at MAYO
When: 7:30 p.m. tonight
Where: Graham Arena I, Rochester
Records: Irondale 0-1-1; Mayo 1-0-0
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Spotlight players: Irondale senior F Mike O'Keefeleads the team with three points through two games. O'Keefe was shut out in the Knights' season opener last Friday, but he had a big game (1 goal, 2 assists) in a 6-6 tie against Chaska on Saturday. O'Keefe was the Knights' fourth-leading scorer last season with 14 points. ... Mayo coach Lorne Grosso said goalie play will be the key to the Spartans success of lack thereof this season. The veteran coach knows what he's talking about. Senior G Alex Van Galderhad a tremendous game in the season opening 2-1 win at Red Wing on Tuesday. He stopped 17 of 18 shots and had a shutout going halfway through the third period. Now it's time to see if he -- and the Mayo defensive corps -- can have that kind of performance consistently.
Of note: Irondale, which plays in the North Suburban Conference (which includes state power Benilde-St. Margaret's), was 7-18-0 last season. ... Irondale High School is located in New Brighton. ... The Knights lost to Spring Lake Park, 9-2, in their opener last Friday, then tied Chaska, 6-6, on Saturday. ... After tonight's game, Mayo is off until Tuesday, when it plays Park of Cottage Grove at the Cottage Grove Ice Arena.
AROUND THE STATE
* Apple Valley at Eden Prairie: No. 7-ranked Apple Valley is 1-0, beating Bloomington Jefferson in its opener, 6-3. This is the season opener for No. 3 Eden Prairie, which is led by Mr. Hockey candidate Kyle Rau (40-41--81 last season).
* Burnsville at Edina: Time to see if No. 11 Burnsville can hang with the top-ranked Hornets. Burnsville opened the season with a good 6-4 win against Hill-Murray. Edina is in jeopardy of falling below .500 after a 6-1 win against Buffalo and a 3-2 loss to Wayzata to open its season.
* Moorhead at Fargo (N.D.) South: No. 16-ranked Moorhead, a perennial Section 8AA power, faces Fargo South, a perennial state tournament team in North Dakota. South is returning to the Kiwanis tournament in Rochester late this month. We'll keep an eye on how the Bruins do up to that point. They traditionally play a tough schedule.
