Pioneers want to prove they deserve No. 1
Hill-Murray has something to prove against Elk River when the two North Suburban hockey powers collide in the opening round of the boys Class AA state tournament Thursday.
Ordinarily, the Pioneers would be happy just to have survived Section 3AA and made it to state. But their pride was stung during a late-season slide that dropped the Pioneers to 21-3-1 overall and cost them the No. 1 rank in the state. And Elk River delivered the key blow in that stretch, putting extra emphasis on Hill-Murray’s 7:05 p.m. opening game against the Elks (22-3).
On top of that, Hill-Murray had taken great pride in dominating the third period of their games, and that also was punctured by the Elks.
“Elk River had been No. 1, but then we displaced them,” said Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner. “So when we played them, it was late in the season up at their place, and we were rated No. 1. We had a good game with them, and it was 2-2 late in the third period. But they outplayed us after that, and beat us 5-2.
“That started us on a 5-3-1 slide. We were No. 1 when we went up there, and they came after us with something to prove. Now we’ve got something to prove against them.”
The Pioneers had a tough finish, but Lechner thinks they’ll be stronger for it, now that they’ve gotten past Roseville to win the 3AA title in a tough, 3-2 game.
“Roseville was very good, they come at you hard and they live and die by the sword that way,” he said. “It’s very tough to play against that.”
For Hill-Murray, reaching the state tournament overturns the disappointment of losing to White Bear Lake in last year’s sectional. The Pioneers have similar talent, but this year’s team has a couple of advantages in comparison.
One asset is the tri-captain arrangement of Matt Koalska, Derek Larson and Brad Holzinger. Koalska, tghe team’s scoring leader and a finalist for Mr. Hockey, gets most of the attention, but all three have been strong leaders and role models for the younger Pioneers this season.
Another change is that Pat Schafhauser — former Hill-Murray and Boston College star who is confined to a wheelchair after suffering a spinal injury playing in Europe — has been promoted from junior varsity coach and now handles the varsity defense as Lechner’s assistant.
“Pat is a very good coach, and when he says something, everybody listens,” said Lechner. “The players also want to go through the wall for him. And there isn’t much whining from everybody when they realize what he’s gone through.”
While the Pioneers use three lines regularly, the top line has scored about half of the team’s 136 goals.
Koalska has 20 goals and 50 assists for 70 points, while Larson (21-25–46) and their linemate, Dan Miller (31-28–59) give what Lechner calls the “white” line the team’s main impact.
“Our ‘blue’ line has scored 63 goals, though, and our ‘red’ line has 47, while our defense has totaled 61,” said Lechner. “There’s a dropoff from the first line’s production, but Joey Kaufman, who centers the third line, has 28 points, and Andy Nolan has 23. Bobby Ahmann is our top-scoring defenseman with 21 points, while Holzinger has 19 and Steve Czech 14. So we’ve got pretty good balance.”
The Pioneers had been clicking well on the power play, too, until recently. “All of a sudden, in the last month, we don’t ever seem to get any chances on the power play,” said Lechner. “In the playoffs, we were 1-for-1 against Irondale, then we never got a single power play against either Woodbury or Roseville.”
The hitting is likely to be more intense against Elk River, which could lead to some opportunities to see if the Pioneers have kept their touch.
For most of the season, Lechner alternated junior Dan Kehler and sophomore Landon Franzmeier in goal. “We decided to go with one, so in the last six games we gave the first chance to Kehler, because he’s a year older, and he’s played well,” said Lechner. “He’s 14-1-1,and has only given up 39 goals. Franzmeier is 7-2.”
Hill-Murray is typical of Pioneer teams in recent years, with solid depth and balance, and with seven seniors scattered through the lineup, including the third line. They are physically strong, with 11 players over 6-feet tall, and seven over 190 pounds. They all can skate, and they come at foes forcefully.
In that vein, they will find a strong match in Elk River, but then both teams already know that. Whenever the two meet, it is like two irrepressible forces colliding, and the outcome may hinge on which one has more to prove to the other.
Coach adjusts, brings out best in Eden Prairie
It’s an old, familiar story: Team struggles, coach lays down the law, team finally adjusts to what the coach demands, then rides a hot streak to reach the state tournament. It’s a nice story, it just doesn’t happen to fit Eden Prairie’s amazing rush to this week’s Minnesota boys Class AA high school hockey tournament.
The Eagles (18-7) will face Holy Angels (24-1) in the opening quarterfinal Thursday at 12:05 p.m. at Target Center.
Lee Smith is in his sixth year as head coach at Eden Prairie after four years as assistant hockey coach, and he had to bounce back himself from losing 3-2 to Edina in a six-overtime marathon Section 6AA final last season — the longest game in high school hockey history. “That one hurt so bad I couldn’t even watch the videotape for about two months,” said Smith. “Then when I finally watched it, I got all fired up again for this year.”
So did goaltender Jon Volp, who was the victim of that six-overtime loss despite making 50 saves. Volp and Nick Hanson are co-captains, and defenseman Frank McQuillan is the only other senior on the team.
“We lost 11 seniors from last year’s team, and we only had seven lettermen back, and only one player, junior center Luke Flaig, who had as many as 20 points. We had some young kids from JV and from Bantams, and they had some talent. We were sure we were going to be good, but when the season started, everyone struggled.”
The struggle reached its low point in a 2-1 loss to Hopkins. Smith blew up.
“I laid into ’em for about an hour after that game,” he said. “I told the players that of the 10 teams I had been associated with at Eden Prairie, this one ranked No. 1 in talent, but No. 10 in heart. That might have been a little unfair, but I wanted them to know I wasn’t going to accept that level of performance.
“Then I asked them how many still believed we could be good enough to go to state. All of them stood up.”
That impressed Smith. It moved him enough that if he was a typical coach, looking to ride the cliche, he might have capitalized on the sudden focus to ramrod through some demands to adhere to his system. But he didn’t. He decided to change his own style, his own concept, to a system that might better make use of his team’s skill level.
“We had been playing to get the puck up to the red line, then get it in deep to their zone and forecheck,” Smith said. “But we didn’t seem to be getting in quickly enough to forecheck. The thing is, our players, even our young ones, are highly skilled at passing, so we decided to change our style to make better use of that.
“We even changed our practice format to work more on transition drills to try to get our forwards moving, and our defense to get the puck up to them so they could catch passes with speed. We started focusing on concept drills than systems, woking on getting open for passes and shooting, and on things like working 2-on-1 out of the corners, or 2-on-2 after a transition up from the defense.”
He also moved captain Nick Hanson, one of only three seniors, from center back to defense to play with Colin Peters, the team’s outstanding junior defenseman who logs large quantities of ice time. Luke Flaig, his top returning scorer, had been out of the lineup with an injury, so when he came back, Smith plugged him in at center with a pair of skilled sophomores up from Bantams, Garrett Smaagaard and Mike Erickson, a move that also required him to move Erickson from center to wing.
The move has worked. Flair has eight goals but has 32 assists for 40 points with a creative flair that has choreographed Smaagaard to 23-17–40 and Erickson to 21-16–37.
“Five or our nine forwards have 30 points or more,” said Smith. But it wasn’t overnight success. “It did us a lot of good to go up to the Iron Range during Christmas break,” Smith said. “We lost to Greenway 3-2 in a great game, and we beat Hibbing the next night. We thought Greenway was really great to play against, and Hibbing was as good a team as we saw all year.”
The Eagles were ready to take flight, even though their record was a mediocre 5-6 as of Jan. 1. They went to Hastings, and stung the powerful Raiders 6-5 in the closing seconds after an amazing third-period comeback, and they started believing in each other.
“Since we were 5-6 on Jan. 1, we’ve gone 13-1,” said Smith. “Our only loss in that time was 5-3 to Eagan, and we outshot ’em 35-18. But we lost because of taking some bad penalties. It was a good loss, because we realilzed we beat ourselves.
“In our seven games in February, we outscored teams 38-7, and our power play is up to something like 50-percent. We’re doing a good job of maintaining puck control instead of dumping it in. We’re passing the puck and entering the offensive zone with control and force, and not having to play dump-and-chase.”
One of the most satisfying victories in the stretch was a season-ending rematch with Eagan, as Eden Prairie broke from a 1-0 lead to score six times in the second period and romp 7-0. Still, Wayzata was seeded No. 1 in Section 6AA, and there in Eden Prairie’s bracket lurked Edina, the team that had ended Eden Prairie’s season in four of Smith’s six years.
But Eden Prairie beat Minneapolis South, then knocked off Edina 4-1, and got by stubborn Minnetonka 3-1 in a spooky championship game. At one point, the Eagles were outshooting Minnetonka 18-2, but trailed 1-0. Finally, Garrett Smaagaard scored a power-play goal to puncture Nick Sieber’s brilliant goaltending performance, and Eden Prairie went on to claim a 3-1 victory.
“Their goalie played unbelievable,” said Smaagaard. “I figured if we just kept it up, eventually we’d get one by him. We’re playing pretty well now.”
Smith knows his young Eagles will have an eye-popping experience at the tournament, and, with only three seniors, 10 juniors and seven sophomores, they might seem to be a year away. But they’re impatient.
“We’re far from the favorite, but there isn’t a bad team in the tournament,” said Smith. “We also have the most losses, but in eight of our last 14 games, we’ve won with running-time third periods.”
The Eagles have the most losses inthe tournament with seven, but nobody is as hot as they are in a 13-1 finishing surge. Quite a comeback, for the team…and the coach.
Bulldogs help Gophers gain home-ice
It was the final night in the DECC for Brian Haedrich, better known as the Maroon Loon, the goofy mascot for the UMD hockey team. After being introduced in the spotlight, the Maroon Loon tried to outdo himself and slid from the top of the arena down the concrete steps to the bottom, and survived, barely.
The Bulldogs had a similar fate. They compounded the 4-1 Friday loss to Minnesota by matching their season-high of seven goals on Saturday, but still managed to lost 10-7 to the Gophers.
The double defeat left the Bulldogs on their downward slide, having clinched ninth and last place in the WCHA. The two victories allowed Minnesota a renewed life for a chance at home-ice in the upcoming WCHA playoffs.
Minnesota (10-11-5) rose up to tie Alaska-Anchorage (10-13-5) for the fifth and final home playoff berth with 25 points. The two teams split both series during the season, too, but the Seawolves, who lost two one-goal games to Colorado College over the weekend, have completed their WCHA schedule, while the Gophers go back home to face Wisconsin.
A victory, or even a tie, in either game will boost the Gophers to sole possession of fifth, meaning they would open the playoffs at home. In fact, the Gophers are only one point behind fourth-place Wisconsin (12-12-2), and could vault past the Badgers with a victory and a tie, or a sweep, and they could even overtake third-place Denver (13-11-2) in the tightly bunched scramble.
For UMD, the disappointing season comes down to a series at Colorado College this weekend, and the Bulldogs might as well stay in Colorado Springs, because it is certain that by finishing ninth they will open the playoffs with a best-of-three at CC the following weekend.
The much-maligned Gopher seniors played as if a load had been lifted from their psyches as they accounted for 11 of the 14-goal splurge in the DECC.
Seniors scored eight of the 10 Minnesota goals on Saturday, four by Reggie Berg, and Wyatt Smith, who got three on Friday, got his fourth of the weekend and 21st of the season on Saturday.
For UMD, Derek Derow got the only goal on Friday and the Bulldogs found a new dimension in futility as they matched their season-high goal total of seven, previously scored against Air Force Academy, in the first two periods, but still lost by three. They got goals from Ryan Homstol, Judd Medak, Mark Carlson, Shawn Pogreba, Ryan Coole, Jeff Scissons and Colin Anderson.
The Gophers fired 54 shots at the UMD net, outshooting UMD 54-28 on Saturday, after peppering Brant Nicklin for a 49-29 edge on Friday.
The Friday game ended ugly, with the teams engaging in a penalty fest after the Gophers had boosted the lead to 3-0 in the first three minutes of the third period. But coach Mike Sertich disputed Minnesota’s claim that UMD initiated all the chippy stuff.
“They accused us of starting everything,” said Sertich. “But they ran Brant Nicklin four times in our goal, and never got called for a penalty.”
Sertich also vented some frustration at the Gopher fans, who formed a tight but very vocal section of the DECC, and at the world in general, plus Minnesota coach Doug Woog’s suggestion he might go outside of Minnesota to recruit in the future.
“First of all, I can’t believe how rude the Minnesota fans were,” Sertich said, tongue in cheek. “They yelled ‘Nicklin sucks’ all through the game. I just can’t believe fans would do that. I wonder if our athletic director will write their athletic director about it.”
Last year, the Gophers officially protested UMD’s fans for chanting the same thing at Dave Spehar. The Bulldog fans seemed amazingly sedate this time. So did the Bulldogs on Friday night, and their improved effort on Saturday went for naught.
“Us?” repeated Sertich. “We’ve got to work on getting older. And if Minnesota is going to go outside the state to find players, maybe we’ll have to go to another galaxy to find them.”
SACCHETTI COMMITS
The only good news the Bulldogs got last weekend was an official commitment from Eveleth star centerman Andy Sacchetti, who attended Saturday night’s game and said that he had told Mike Sertich he will accept a tender to UMD. “But I’m going to play a year of junior in the USHL first,” said Sacchetti, a lightning-quick skater and one of the state’s most prolific goal-scorers. He joins Jon Francisco of Hermantown, who previously committed to UMD but will first play a year in the USHL.
Gilbert Viewpoint column: Puck tourney
One thing about not having a “home” team in the state hockey tournament is that it allows fans to watch and be entertained from a more detached attitude. Pick a team, any team. It’s wide open.
Of course, Hermantown and Silver Bay give the Up North region two favorites to choose from in Class A. And I think Hermantown is the team to beat. Naturally the Hawks must get past Benilde in Wednesday’s first round, but my pick is Hermantown, and don’t overlook the possibility that if the Hawks get to Saturday’s final, they could find Silver Bay there too. It would make a heckuva final.
Then there’s AA. Perhaps never before have all eight teams had as much hope of a wide-open tournament as this time, and all of them stress a physical style of play. Having seen all but Blaine and Rochester Mayo, I would suggest that the smartest picks would be from among a group that includes Hastings, Roseau, Elk River and Hill-Murray.
But even those teams have challenges. Hastings has overpowering offense but may be shaky in goal when confronted by a team of equal skill; Roseau must conquer the stifling heat inside Target Center; Elk River must find ways to succeed when Paul Martin can’t play every minute; and Hill-Murray must prove that it has conquered its late-season inconsistency.
As for the others, I really like Eden Prairie’s surging team, still striving to a peak after following a 5-6 start with a 13-1 finish; Blaine has a great record and is quick, but unproven against a powerhouse like Hastings in the first round; Mayo is strong and dangerous but catches Roseau in the first round; and Holy Angels, while aiming at becoming Hill-Murray West, can prove that a contemporary Cinderella might trade glass slippers for combat boots.
For what it’s worth, here were the Up North Network’s final ratings. Class AA: 1. Roseau, 2. Hastings, 3. (tie) Greenway and Hibbing, 5. Duluth East, 6. Elk River, 7. Roseville, 8. Hill-Murray, 9. Eagan, and 10. Holy Angels. In Class A: 1. Hermantown, 2. Eveleth, 3. Benilde, 4. Warroad, 5. Blake, 6. Breck, 7. Silver Bay, 8. Marshall, 9. Red Wing, and 10. Mahtomedi. So five of the top 10 made each eight-team AA field.
Mike Randolph, Duluth East coach, hasn’t decided yet if he’ll even attend the tournament. He might not. That’s how much it hurts to miss it for the first time in six years. The Greyhounds lost six games this season, twice to Elk River, if you include the 7AA semifinals; once each to Hastings, Hill-Murray, Hibbing and Hermantown — which makes you think Randolph should avoid scheduling schools starting with “H.” So five losses were to tournament teams, and the sixth to a Hibbing team that went three overtimes against Elk River in the 7AA final.
“I don’t know who will win the tournament, but if I had to pick, I’d have to take Hastings, because they were the best team we played on the day we played ’em,” said Randolph.
Asked if he was enjoying the free time, Randolph said: “Not at all.”
Welcome to the club, the members of which number all the state’s coaches who aren’t in the tournament. Luckily for Randolph and Eveleth coach Craig Homola and their respective staffs, they have the new CCM Range-Duluth All-Star team to look forward to. It will be next Tuesday, at Wessman Arena, and it will feature the best seniors in the Duluth area against the best seniors from the Iron Range.
“It should be a great experience for all these kids,” said Randolph. “I am still amazed that some of these kids haven’t gotten any offers from college or junior teams. This game will have some really good talent, and should be really exciting, and I would guess every college and junior team would scout it.”
And that’s the bottom line. The wonder of Minnesota high school hockey, and the state tournament, is all about the kids who are playing. Pick your favorite, and enjoy.
My choice as tournament darling in A is Silver Bay; my top darkhorse in AA is Eden Prairie. My picks to win: Hermantown in Class A, and, while my head says Hastings in AA, and because I often pick with my heart, I’ll take Roseau in Class AA. Aren’t they from Up North somewhere?
Roseau aims to win one for old-time sake
Times change, even in Roseau. Roseau teams with slim, lean, high-speed skaters have been finessing their way to the state hockey tournament since 1946, when the Rams came to, and won, the second state tournament.
This will be Roseau’s record 28th trip in the 55th state tournament, with a No. 1 ranked team that is 23-1, but this one is different. A sign of the times, perhaps, and a portent of changes occuring in the tiny town a strong slapshot from the Canadian border.
This team is swift enough, but opponents are surprised and come away more impressed by Roseau’s size, strength, and ability to hit.
“It’s true, we usually have relied on great speed,” said Roseau coach Bruce Olson. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re not slow, but we rely on playing simple, strong hockey, taking the body and kind of wearing down people. We still try to play a passing and finesse game, but we also can grind it out when we have to. We did that against St. Cloud Apollo, in the section final, when we won 2-1 in two overtimes.”
The familiar, comfortable sameness to Roseau hockey is changing, too, as is the scenario that has been so colorful that it has attracted big-city media to tell the heartwarming tale of the little town where Neal Broten and his brothers grew up and became stars, and later college and pro players, as did so many before them.
It seemed as though it would never change. There was a hockey arena, then another one, and finally three actual rinks, including “the Dome,” the old place with its natural ice surface.
There were families with familiar names, such as the Burggraf family, which seemingly has been prominent in Roseau forever. All the boys played for Roseau and some went on to North Dakota. Bernie, the dad, was mayor of the town, owner and operator of Burggraf’s men’s clothing store in town, and did the radio broadcasts of games and talk-shows regarding hockey. Nancy, the mom, taught all the Roseau kids how to skate with such efficient technique that it turned into a spinoff industry, with videos and demands to work with the University of North Dakota and hockey schools. Bernie and Nancy ran the gamut from getting out there and getting involved at the grassroots end, to introducing guests to the simple pleasure of sipping Perrier.
But things change. In the last year, Nancy Burggraf discovered she has Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which caused her to slow down, then stop her involvement with skating. She has lost her ability to speak, now, and is confined at home. Bernie still does a sports talk-show, but he’s closing down his clothing store.
“Nancy worked with our kids who are seniors right through the time they were sophomores,” Olson said. “It was always nice to have someone so skilled in teaching the basics of skating, moving their feet properly, twice a week.”
Roseau kids always were able to skate indoors, in their official practices at the Memorial Arena, and there was the adjacent North rink, but also in those prized, private hours from 7-9 p.m. at the Dome. Primitive, by contemporary arena standards, with its natural ice, the Dome was where the Roseau kids learned the magical ability that hockey-school folks marvel at — that instinctive hockey sense of where to be, where to go, and what to do once you get there.
“These kids can anticipate and read the situation, and you can’t teach that,” said Roseau coach Bruce Olson, once a star at Roseau himself, who grew up in “suburban” Roseau at Salol, where there was an outdoor rink as well. “That third sheet of ice is a main reason for Roseau’s success. You’d have your structured team practice after school, but from 7-9 every night, there was open hockey at the Dome, where you’d pick sides and play, seven days a week.
“That’s where you learn where to be, where to go, and how to do simple things like, don’t move if you’re open. All Roseau kids went there for as many hours as they could, and they had fun without structure, and didn’t even know they were working on their game.
“These guys grew up on that Dome sheet, but it’s the last of the groups to experience it. The Dome is done. It just wore out. And we don’t have that third sheet of ice anymore. There’s a referendum now for a new, all-purpose facility with a rink in it. We hope it gets through.”
If this Roseau team represents the transition from the era of tradition, it’s done it right. Not only have the Rams raced through the season, losing only 6-3 to an excellent Greenway team at Coleraine (“They were the best team we saw all season, on that night,” Olson said), but they conquered their old nemesis, Warroad. While Roseau moved up to Class AA to play with the big boys, Warroad stayed as a dominant force in Class A, but the Warriors had beaten Roseau seven consecutive times in recent years.
Roseau beat Warroad 3-1 in Warroad, then stunned the Warriors with a six-goal first period in a 7-1 blowout in Roseau.
“That took a lot of pressure off these kids, neighborhood pressure,” said Olson. “That was a really outstanding first period. It was the best hockey I ever saw any Roseau team play. Ever since then, whenever we need to get these kids going, we just say ‘We need to play the way we played in that first period against Warroad.’ ”
Some of the names on this Roseau team are familiar, names like Jake Brandt, Matt and Tony Erickson, Paul Baumgartner and Derrick, Paul and Bobby John (B.J.) Byfuglien. The one that drives radio-television commentators over the edge is “Byfuglien.” But in Roseau’s keep-it-simple fashion, that is pronounced “BUFF-lin.”
“Derrick Byfuglien and Paul Baumgartner always have been the big kids back on defense on this team, from the time they were Peewees,” said Olson. “Then when Josh Olson was a sophomore, he shot up to about 6-3. And the whole overall team just sort of seemed to stretch out from the time they were Bantam age.”
Because the Roseau kids have played together since they were playing street hockey, Olson’s job of putting lines together is far different than from a huge suburban school, or a private school like Hill-Murray or Holy Angels, which attracts players from all different programs.
“I’ve had Jesse Modahl centering Josh Olson on the left and Mike Klema on the right on our first line all season,” Olson said. “All three of them have over 40 points, with 20-some goals each. Our second line has David Klema centering Matt Erickson and Phil Larson, and David has 44 points. Our third line has Eric Deferness centering B.J. Byfuglien and Mark Fabian.
“I haven’t done a lot of switching, although I did move David Klema from center to left wing for a while to get him working. After he got moving, I moved him back to center. You’ve got to work and play the whole ice sheet to play center for us.”
On defense, Olson rotates five players. Derrick Byfuglien plays one side, with Josh Grahn and Ross Miller alternating as his partner, while Nathan Berry and Paul Baumgartner are paired on the other unit. Scoring doesn’t matter to Roseau defensemen, but Grahn came through to score his first goal of the season in the second overtime of the Section 8AA final.
In goal, junior Jake Brandt is the shortest guy on the team at 5-7, and the source of spirit for the whole outfit. “Jake is a ball of fire, and a fun kid to have on the team,” said Olson. “He loves the game, and he hates to lose, but he’s always got a smile on his face. He’s the kind of guy you want to bring with you hunting or fishing.”
Speaking of which, Olson took the weekend off to go ice fishing at Rocky Point on Lake of the Woods. Yes, Roseau people are allowed to venture that close to Warroad. Even this year. Olson has only seen Elk River among the AA tournament entries, and that was in a preseason scrimmage. “I think we tied,” he said.
He could have spent the weekend scurrying around to find videos or scout Roseau’s potential foes. But even the consuming interest in hockey in Roseau doesn’t eliminate other values. That hasn’t changed. “We had three adults and a couple of kids, and we did well, caught 20-some walleyes — a couple nice ones, but all of them the good eating kind,” said Olson.
The preparation, Olson figures, is already in place for the Rams, as they look ahed to facing Rochester Mayo in their 2:45 p.m. opening-round game Thursday at Target Center. It happened over the years, in practice, in open hockey at the Dome, and under Nancy Burggraf’s guidance.
And with the changing times, Olson can simply pull out his new inspirational motto: “We need three periods like we played the first period against Warroad.”
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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