Eden Prairie hangs on for first-ever state tournament victory

SAINT PAUL, MN. — As long as its been a season for eliminating unflattering stereotypes, Eden Prairie wiped out the most nagging accusation Thursday by beating Lakeville 3-2 in the first round of the boys Class AA hockey tournament at Xcel Center.

True, 3-2 isnÂ’t exactly a show of domination, but it was enough to vault the Eagles (22-3-3) into the semifinals, where they have never ventured.

“Eden Prairie has been here four times, and I’ve been with ‘em for three of those,” said coach Lee Smith. “This was our first win in the state tournament.”

Now, that doesnÂ’t count the odd consolation game, but the Eagles, with an emerging powerhouse program, had never won a first-round game, and therefore never advanced beyond one-and-done status.
“We’ve heard it all, though,” Smith added. “These guys had been told we couldn’t get by Edina in Section 6, but we did it.”

They did it by blitzing top-seeded Edina 6-0 in the section final, but once in the state field, the challenge was larger.
And they blitzed Lakeville, too, but it didn’t show on the scoreboard. In fact, the Panthers almost succeeded in prep hockey’s version of “rope-a-dope,” falling behind 2-0, then 3-0, then somehow finding a way to stay in proximity of upsetting Eden Prairie – without shooting, difficult as that may seem.

Aaron WeberÂ’s goal at 11:36 of the second period gave Lakeville life, and Adam Davis scored a power-play goal at 3:36 of the third to make it 3-2, and even though the Panthers wound up with only 11 shots on goal for the game, to Eden PrairieÂ’s 26, Lakeville was always just one turnover away from the equalizer.

Ryan Hawkins admitted to some relief after the game, but mostly for the sake of the program.

“For our program, it’s the biggest thing ever done,” said Hawkins. “It’s great for our program, our coaches and the guys. Nick Peters, Chris Berg and I are all seniors who were on the 2000 state tournament team as sophomores. We played Greenway in the first game, and we were ahead, but they scored with two seconds left, and beat us in overtime. That’s all I could think of, when this game got down to the last few minutes. We don’t usually let that sort of thing bother us.”

Hawkins helped see to it that the Eagles would get off to a strong start, but he gave credit to Dave Watters. “Twenty-two is the big-gamer on our team, and when he came out and buried his first shot, we knew we were going to be OK,” said Hawkins.

Watters scored on a game-opening rush, knocking in a rebound at the left edge at 0:53. At 5:00, Brady Miller got the puck in the left corner and found Hawkins in the slot. Hawkins shot quickly and put the puck in off the right post for a 2-0 start.

“Brady saw me after he was mucking it out in the corner,” said Hawkins. “I don’t even know where it went, I just tried to get it off quick.”

Lakeville, outshot 12-3 in the first period, was outshot 8-4 in the second, but goaltender Brandon OÂ’Brien held the Panthers in the game. It didnÂ’t seem to be enough, though, when Nate Hanson scored on a rebound at 10:07 of the second session.

But a minute and a half later, LakevilleÂ’s Weber scored from the slot, and it was 3-1. The third period opened with successive penalties to Eden PrairieÂ’s Chris Berenguer at 1:12 and Joe Beck at 2:02, leaving the Eagles two men short for 1:10, and Lakeville on an extended power play with the overlap.

Davis came through with his power-play goal at 3:36, the Panthers were within striking distance.

“We had to kill the 5-on-3,” Smith said. “Then when we got one guy back, we iced the puck and the ref blew his whistle. We were shorthanded, so it should have been OK, and when they realized that, they faced off at center ice, instead of the puck being down at their end. That’s when they scored.”

But no amount of odd calls or close calls could matter. Eden Prairie is now 11-0-1 in its stretch run, and, biggest of all, the Eagles have won a game that mattered at the state tournament. “I really think this will put us over a big hurdle,” said Hawkins.

Simley ‘rope-a-dope’ entraps Rochester Lourdes in A semis

SAINT PAUL, MN. — Simley will be given almost no chance to upset powerful, No. 1 ranked Warroad in the Minnesota state high school Class A hockey championship game, but the case could also be made that the SpartansÂ’ upset status might mean they are right where they want to be for their Saturday high noon appointment in the title game at Xcel Energy Center.

If it werenÂ’t so ironic, you could say that Simley (18-10-1) already has proved that lightning can strike twice in the state high school hockey tournament. The irony is that Simley, from Inver Grove Heights, is not particularly quick, and is the opposite of a fearsome offensive power. Instead, they seem to prefer a rope-a-dope style of containing powerful opponents with a stubborn defense and the goaltending of Troy Davenport, and hanging around just close enough to steal a victory. Or, victories.

Otherwise, the cliché fits. Simley upset Rochester Lourdes 3-2 Friday, on a goal by Adam Hoaglund at 8:00 of the second sudden-death overtime, to gain Saturday’s Class A championship game against powerful Warroad. Close followers of the Class A segment of the tournament can be forgiven if they are consumed by a feeling of déjà vu about that result.

In Wednesday’s opening round, Simley was given little chance against St. Louis Park, but despite being outshot 30-16, Simley held on and then upset the Orioles 2-1 on an overtime goal by – guess who? – Adam Hoagland.

So in FridayÂ’s semifinal, Simley was given even less chance against Rochester Lourdes, but the Spartans, and Hoaglund, did it again.
Lourdes (22-3-3) jumped ahead when John Brunkhorst scored at 12:12 of the first period, but Simley struck back when Mike Bailey countered at 14:29.

In the second period, Bailey scored again, and the Spartans had a 2-1 lead at 5:58.

Lourdes responded with a determined increase in pressure through the third period, outshooting Simley 9-4, but it took until the final minute, with a six-man attack that the Eagles were able to notch the equalizer. Jamie Ruff got the goal, with 29 seconds remaining, to force overtime.

Lourdes dominated the first overtime, outshooting the Spartans 11-1, but with no success in puncturing DavenportÂ’s stout goaltending. After the first extra session, which was for eight minutes, the teams lined up for a 15-minute session, and halfway through, Adam Hoaglund got free in the slot for an instant, and put his shot past Ben Alker to give Simley its 2-1 victory despite being outshot 32-24.

So, after having no little chance against St. Louis Park, and almost no chance against Rochester Lourdes, Simley is in the championship game with – allegedly – no chance against Warroad.

Gophers lead upset-filled WCHA into final week scramble

Incredible comebacks on the penultimate weekend of WCHA play have left all sorts of challenges for eight of the 10 conference teams, with only those teams at the two extremities free of pressure going into the final regular-season weekend.

Only Colorado College, which wrapped up the championship by bombarding Minnesota State-Mankato 8-1 in a Friday night shocker, and winless Alaska-Anchorage are certain to not move during the final weekend. Elsewhere, there is chaos, as teams battle for the top five slots and home ice in the WCHA playoffs.

The award for comeback series of the season might belong to Minnesota, because the Gophers proved they could rally from a three-goal deficit not only once but both times against Denver, both times with tremendous surges in the second half of their games. The first night, Denver strode to a 3-0 lead through two periods with poise and precision, but Minnesota stormed back in the third period, behind two goals from Grant Potulny, to steal a 3-3 tie. PotulnyÂ’s second goal, on a power-play feed from behind the net by Matt Koalska with 1:05 left, gained the tie, as Minnesota outshot Denver 17-3 in the third period.

The next night, Denver again strode resolutely ahead. For the second night in a row, the overflow crowd at Mariucci Arena was stunned when Luke Fulgham opened the game with a shorthanded goal. Friday he did it at 15:44, and Saturday he scored at 17:06. In the Friday game, Kevin Doell and Jeff Drummond followed with second-period goals for the 3-0 cushion. In the Saturday game, Greg Keith followed FulghamÂ’s lead with another goal 1:23 later for a 2-0 lead. Potulny, who missed the first half of the season with a broken ankle, notched his third goal of the weekend at 0:55 of the second, but Fulgham seemed to nullify that by scoring at 2:27 and 4:32 for a hat trick and a four-goal weekend, which staked Denver to its 4-1 lead.

With Denver, the consensus coaches pick to repeat as WCHA champions, having Friday nightÂ’s Gopher comeback fresh in mind, there was no chance the Pioneers would let it happen again. But even their hardened resolve and the presence of league-leading goalie Wade Dubielewicz couldnÂ’t harness the Gophers, once they started rolling.

Tyler Hirsch got the puck as a lucky bounce and scored a power-play goal at 12:26 of the second period, then Hirsch maneuvered through the defense and beat Dubielewicz with a great move at 14:59, and it was 4-3. Koalska scored the tying goal just 18 seconds later, deflecting Paul MartinÂ’s point shot up and in, and the huge crowd was on fire. Barely a minute later, Barry Tallackson barged to the net and scored to put Minnesota ahead 5-4 at 16:22.

Tallackson, who, like Potulny and Koalska, had been expected to lead the Gopher offense but spent a few weeks on the injured list, made his physical presence felt throughout the rally, and capitalized on a 2-on-1 feed from Jerrid Reinholz at 3:30 of the third period, and when Jake Fleming scored at 6:11, the Gophers had scored six straight goals to wrest a 7-4 lead, and Denver coach George Gwozdecky pulled Dubielewicz for Adam Berkhoel’s relief. The seven goals – despite Dubielewicz’s 34 saves – dropped him from the top of the goaltending charts in both goals-against and save percentage.

Jeff Drummond came back to get a goal for the Pioneers, but Jon Waibel offset that one, and Minnesota had its 8-5 victory.
Still, only home ice was secured for the Gophers, who close the season with home-and-home games against St. Cloud State. “They’re all big now,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia, whose team showed that with all its top guns healthy at the same time, it might be generating some great team chemistry at precisely the right time.

Finishing in the top five is the first priority of all WCHA teams, because it guarantees home ice for the best-of-three first playoff round next week. After that, the five survivors go to Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, where finishing in the top three becomes pivotal. Once there, the second and third-place teams get the same benefit as the league champ, by comprising two-thirds of the semifinals. The fourth and fifth place teams must play each other on Thursday, with that winner going against the No. 1 seed, while the No. 2 and No. 3 teams square off in the other semifinal.

By gaining three points out of four against Denver, Minnesota remained third, behind CC and Minnesota State-Mankato. Those two had an interesting series, with CC blowing out the Mavericks 8-1 to end MankatoÂ’s 17-game unbeaten streak with a definite thud. The next night, CC led 6-4 after two periods, and seemed well on its way to a sweep, but Mankato stormed back to win 9-6. The stunning split left the Mavericks in second place, more importantly with a three-point bulge over Minnesota, because the Mavericks are through with WCHA play, but will hold second unless Minnesota can sweep St. Cloud State.

Minnesota needs one point out of the St. Cloud series to assure itself of third place, because if the Gophers stay at 34 points, onrushing Minnesota-Duluth could catch them for third. The Bulldogs did the comeback routine as well, coming from a 3-1 deficit at North Dakota to surprise the Fighting Sioux with a 3-3 deadlock on Saturday, then concluding the weekend with a 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. Freshman Tim Stapleton, UMDÂ’s scoring leader who scored the tying goal in the first game, notched the winner in the second game with 2:01 left. For the third time in four weeks, UMD coach Scott Sandelin gave senior Rob Anderson the goaltending start in the second game to spell freshman flash Isaac Reichmuth, and for the third straight time Anderson came up with a starring role and a victory.

If UMD were to tie Minnesota – a longshot, at best – the two would have to go deep into the tie-breaking procedure because they met only twice this year and traded 5-4 victories. UMD, on the other hand, faces Michigan Tech and former Bulldog coach Mike Sertich in the final series, and the Bulldogs could finish anywhere from third to sixth based on this weekend. With 30 points, the fourth-place Dogs are within striking distance of the Gophers above, but also are vulnerable to North Dakota, which is one point back, and Denver and St. Cloud, both of whom are two points behind them.

North Dakota, which has seen its scoring fall off and its winning, and No. 1 national ranking, vanish in the last month, takes its fifth-place stance to Wisconsin, and shares the challenge with Denver (which faces Colorado College home and home) and St. Cloud (which faces Minnesota home and home), with the Sioux, Pioneers and Huskies all facing the prospects of finishing fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh based on their final two games.

Even Wisconsin, which surprised everybody by scoring nine goals for a 9-5 sweeping victory over Michigan Tech in a game played at Green Bay, Wis., and Tech are only three points apart. Far from challenging for fifth place and home ice, the difference between eighth and ninth is the difference between playing at either Minnesota State-Mankato or Minnesota. Pick your poison.

(John Gilbert has covered the WCHA for over 35 years and has written a book, “Return to Gold Country,” about last year’s Minnesota NCAA championship team. He can be reached by e-mail: jgilbert@duluth.com.)

Roseville whips Eden Prairie 4-1, faces Anoka in AA final

SAINT PAUL, MN. — Roseville was ready, willing and able to take part in the anticipated semifinal shootout in the state Class AA hockey tournament semifinals Friday night, while Eden Prairie was ready, willing but unable to hold of its end.

The result was a 4-1 victory for Roseville (24-3-2), which will make its second straight trip to the championship game, to face Anoka (24-4-1) – which won a stunning 2-1 semifinal victory to eliminate defending champion Holy Angels – and one of the two will be winning its first-ever state championship in Saturday’s 7 p.m. finale at Xcel Energy Center.

The Raiders led 1-0 in the first, 3-0 after two and 4-0 before Eden Prairie got its lone goal, with only 1:11 remaining. As impressive as Roseville was, throughout the game, part of the difference might have come down to the Hockey Expo, a display of new equipment, that is conducted annually at Wilkins Auditorium, next door to the Xcel Energy Center.

That factor came through after the game, when it was suggested to Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith that the game might have gone differently if Eden Prairie had been able to get one past Jerad Kaufmann earlier in the game.

“I feel like it could have been different if we could have hit the net earlier,” said Smith. “I’ve never seen our kids miss the net as much as we did tonight. We were not just missing the net, but missing by a good three or four feet. A lot of our kids went to the Expo, and got new sticks. I told them all not to use something they’re unfamiliar with, but a lot of them used different sticks.”

A check with the Eden Prairie equipment manager confirmed that possibly more than half the Eagles prepared and used new sticks, a fact that defies the hockey tradition of using a “lucky stick” that worked for a goal or a victory, and staying with it until it breaks or the player’s luck changes. The Eagles managed only 16 shots, to Roseville’s 20, but, as Smith said, many of the Eden Prairie shots sailed wide by large margins.

SmithÂ’s frustration only got worse when he learned of RosevilleÂ’s fourth goal.

“Kellen Chamblee, who got our fourth goal,” said Roseville coach Steve Sertich, “scored it with a new stick.”

He bought it at Strauss Skates, however, and not at the Expo.
The two high-powered offenses paid closer attention to defensive coverage in the first period, as the teams dueled through a scoreless first 14 minutes. Not that there werenÂ’t chances. Brandon Svendsen, who has 30 goals for the Raiders, got loose for not one but two breakaways, about 10 seconds apart, 12 minutes into the opening period, but Eden Prairie goalie Maurcus Paulson came up with spectacular saves on both of them.

With 24 seconds left in the period, however, the Raiders broke through, as Pat Eagles rushed up the left side and dropped a perfect pass to Svendsen, who passed hard from the left circle across the goal-mouth, where Andy Carroll deflected it in for a 1-0 lead.

Blake Twardowski scored with a backhander at the left edge of the crease at 4:42 of the second period for a 2-0 Roseville lead. Then Mike Sertich made the Eagles pay with a power-play goal at 14:19 of the middle period, when Collin Cody passed from the left circle and Sertich converted from the right edge of the net.

Midway through the third period, Chamblee scored for the 4-0 cushion.
Eden Prairie got one puck into the Roseville net at 9:53, but Ryan Hawkins, who had been knocked down in the crease, clearly knocked it in with his hand and it was disallowed. Jordan Iverson finally scored for the Eagles, but not until 13:49, leaving too little time for Eden Prairie to close the gap further.

“We knew coming in they’d be aggressive offensively,” said Smith. “There wasn’t anything they did that really surprised us. We weren’t able to capitalize on some chances, but their goalie played big tonight, and they did a good job of chipping the puck to the end boards or to the side and then throwing it long.”

Sertich said he was especially proud of his team reaching the final because it has been pretty much overlooked amid the media attention all season.

“Last year’s team had more skills, but this team battles,” said Sertich. “We’ve been with these kids since they were peewees, and it’s great to see them have some success. Our goalie, Jerad Kaufmann, hasn’t gotten any notice, and he’s 21-1 for the season.”

With a chance, he failed to add, to be 22-1 if the Raiders can win one more game.

Roseville rallies to subdue White Bear Lake to reach semis

SAINT PAUL, MN. — Brandon Svendsen didnÂ’t actually shoot the puck either time, but he skillfully got his stickblade where it mattered the most twice in the third period, and that was just enough to lift Roseville to a 4-3 victory over White Bear Lake in the final game of the first round of Class AA boys state hockey tournament quarterfinals.

The Raiders (24-3-2) advance to face Eden Prairie in the second Friday night semifinal at Xcel Energy Center, while the Bears (21-7-1) head for Mariucci Arena to face Lakeville in consolation play.
The Bears, however, didnÂ’t go down without a battle. They led 1-0 in the first, and 3-1 in the second, putting the explosive Raiders in serious jeopardy before a crow2d of 18,273.

Lance Malark staked White Bear Lake to a 1-0 lead when he carried in on the left side and snapped a deadly wrist shot that beat Roseville goaltender Jerad Kaufmann to the far side at 7:05 of the opening period. The Raiders countered at 12:34 when Andy Carroll took a feed from behind the net by Pat Eagles and jammed a shot from the right side past Jon Anderson.

The Bears stormed ahead in the second period. First Dan Bonne scored at 3:43, moving in on the left side and scoring high to the right. Then Matt Anderson scored after Pat Connelly squeezed past a tangle of bodies to rush up the left side and pass across the slot, where Anderson was stationed to steer it in at 7:08.

That was a pretty goal, and it inspired three more picture-play goals, but, unfortunately for the Bears, all three were scored by the Raiders.

With 48 seconds to go in the second period, Roseville cut into that 3-1 deficit when Taylor Cox shot from the left point and Mike Sertich deflected it artfully up and into the right side of the cage.

The faceoff to open the third period hit the ice, and the Raiders charged. Pat Eagles dashed into the White Bear zone and passed across the goal-mouth, where Svendsen stabbed it with his stickblade and deflected it past Anderson, who was the Frankie Brimsek Award goaltender of the year this season. The goal came just eight seconds into the third period and tied it 3-3.

At 4:24, Eagles again was the alert set-up man, as he pounced on a loose puck just inside the blue line and fired a shot that Svendsen again tipped past Anderson. The senior forward didnÂ’t have the puck on his stick more than a millisecond both times, but his deflections created the 4-3 lead.

The Bears stepped up their intensity and attacked until the finish, constantly pressuring the Raiders and outshooting them 13-5 for the period, and 24-19 for the game, but couldnÂ’t get anything more past Kaufmann. Bears coach Tim Sager pulled goalie Anderson with 1:10 to go, but Roseville held on, winning the best-played game of the day.

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• 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.
  
  For those who want to keep up with John Gilbert's view of sports, mainly hockey with a Minnesota slant, click on the following:
  
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• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.