Falcons stun Vikings in 30-27 overtime thriller
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.
Atlanta tore the big-play page out of the Vikings playbook and left their Super Bowl aspirations crumpled on the Metrodome turf Sunday afternoon when Morten Andersen’s 38-yard field goal in sudden-death overtime gave the Falcons a stunning 30-27 victory in the NFC championship game.
The Vikings, who were favored by 11 points by odds-makers, and even more by the 65,060 purple-clad followers who set a Vikings playoff attendance record, lived up to their season-long image as the league’s top-scoring team with the best record by romping to a 20-7 lead in the first half. But some improbable and implausible things started happening to the Vikings, and the Falcons were forceful about taking advantage of every opportunity.
Their 15-1 season and NFL record 16 victories counting last week’s playoff romp over Arizona had made Vikings followers talk about a team of destiny. But the Falcons players are convinced that it is they who were destined to reach the Super Bowl, having come back from a 1-7 start a year ago under the coaching of Dan Reeves, who himself had to take a week off in the stretch drive for heart surgery.
“I can’t control my emotions, even if I can’t holler as loud, and I get tired easily,” said Reeves. “But if I can stand what happened today, my heart must be in great shape. I feel great for us, but to go through a season losing only one gme, like the Vikings did, and then lose a game like this…I also feel for them.”
Reeves takes Atlanta to its first-ever Super Bowl in two weeks in Miami to find a familiar foe in Reeves’ former team, the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.
Andersen’s game-winning kick came after the Vikings’ vaunted offense had failed to sustain a drive on two possessions in the 15-minute overtime. After an exchange of punts, the Falcons marched resolutely from their own 9-yard line to the Viking 20, with Jamal Anderson’s last two runs carefully aligning the ball for the winning third-down kick.
But Andersen wouldn’t have had the chance to win the game without the heroics of a skilled but comparatively unheralded journeyman quarterback Chris Chandler and a stubby, 5-10 wide receiver named Terance Mathis, who collaborated for the game-tying touchdown pass with 0:49 left in the fourth quarter.
“We had been trying to take their crowd out of the game,” said Mathis. “And when I caught that touchdown pass, man, it was quiet. It was like someone turned the lights out.”
Did he ever catch a bigger touchdown pass? Mathis, his eyes sparkling, said: “No.”
However, he did catch a similar touchdown pass to end the first half, turning that early 20-7 Vikings lead to a suddenly catchable 20-14.
Statistically, the Vikings looked solid. Cunningham was 29-48 passing for 266 yards and two touchdowns; Randy Moss and Cris Carter caught six each, and Robert Smith carried 21 times for 71 yards. But Atlanta offset that with Chandler’s dart-like passing, 27-43 for 340 yards, with Mathis and running back Jamal Anderson catching six each, and Tony Martin snaring five for a game-leading 129 yards. Jamal Anderson added 67 yards on 23 rushes.
While it was an exciting and surprising game throughout, the biggest surprises were that the Vikings failed at the critical junctures where they have succeeded all season. Vikings placekicker Gary Anderson — who hadn’t missed a field goal all year — missed one. It was from 38 yards, and it only missed by about a foot, but it came with barely 2 minutes remaining and it would have secured a Super Bowl trip by giving the Vikings a 30-20 lead.
“Obviously, it was a disappointing time for that to happen,” said Anderson, who had kicked two field goals and three extra points to raise his tally to 39 of 39 field goals and 67 of 67 extra points. “You have to be a man about it. When you’re a field-goalkicker, that’s your job –to line up and fire those field goals. And unfortunately, that one didn’t go through.”
Coach Dennis Green also said it was just part of the game, and that Anderson “worked hard and tried to help our team win. He’s a big part of the reason we won all year.”
There were other surprises. Atlanta took the opening kickoff 76 yards for a 5-yard touchdown pass from Chandler to Jamal Anderson. Order was restored when the Vikings responded to cover 80 yards in five quick plays, the fifth a 31-yard touchdown pass from Randall Cunningham to rookie Randy Moss, who simply buzzed past defender Michael Booker to get free in the end zone.
A pair of Anderson field goals sandwiched a 1-yard touchdown sneak by Cunningham, boosting the Vikings to the 20-7 lead. Everything was by the book to that point, including a key fumble recovery by Robert Griffith at the Falcons 33 when Atlanta’s O.J. Santiago fumbled a pass reception, setting up the Cunningham touchdown.
But when the Vikings got the ball on a punt and tried to pad the lead with a minute to go to halftime, Chuck Smith swatted the ball out of Cunningham’s cocked hand on third down and Travis Hall recovered at the Viking 14 with 0:59 on the clock. On first down, Chandler hit Mathis for the touchdown that closed the gap to 20-14.
“Randall was going to throw the ball and got hit and it got ruled a fumble,” said Green. “We were trying to add some points, to put ’em away. That’s been our style all season.”
The only points of the third quarter came on Morten Andersen’s 27-yard field goal, which closed the gap to 20-17. But Cunningham directed an 82-yard, 15-play drive, passing to a diving Matthew Hatchette for a 5-yard touchdown to again achieve security at 27-17.
Another Andersen field goal made it 27-20, but even that didn’t appear dangerous, because the Vikings lost the ball on a fumbled snap by Cunningham, but the defense stopped Chandler on fourth down.
With only 6 minutes remaining, the crowd kept screaming to the amplified, dome-shaking beat and waved their gold-colored “purple pride” towels with confidence. There still wasn’t real concern when Andersen missed his field goal.
But when Chandler got the ball with 2:07 left, and needed only 1:18 to guide an 8-play, 71-yard march — including a 29-yard pass to Ronnie Harris, and the 16-yard touchdown pass to Mathis — it was time for genuine concern. And, as Mathis said, “Silence.”
Reeves turns Falcons around in one year
Dan Reeves established himself as an outstanding coach during 10 years with the Denver Broncos, all but two of them with winning records, and during four years with the New York Giants. But regardless of what happens in the Super Bowl, Reeves will never forget the building and execution of this year’s Atlanta Falcons.
“It was incredible that we were just 1-7 halfway through last year, in my first season at Atlanta,” said Reeves, whose Falcons went 8-2 after that. “Then to get to the Super Bowl in my second season.
“We’ve got a great group of guys, and they’ve bought into what we’re trying to do. Every coach preaches the same thing, but when you have a group of guys who believe in it, it’s really something.”
Reeves, of course, took his own personal timeout this season — for bypass heart surgery. At the time, the Falcons were doing well, pushing against San Francisco for the NFC West lead.
“I can remember being in intensive care,” Reeves said. “My wife came in and said San Francisco lost, so we’ve got a chance. The team went into Detroit with a chance. I watched on television, like an outsider, and I was so proud. But we still had a lot of work to do.”
The Falcons won 24-17 at Detroit, clinching their first NFC West title in 18 years. He came back, guardedly, the next week, when Atlanta beat Miami 38-16 to complete its most successful season ever at 14-2. One of the losses was at San Francisco, and the other was at the AFC finalist New York Jets. In the playoffs, the Falcons took out the 49ers 20-18, setting the stage for the Vikings encounter.
The Falcons needed a few key ingredients to turn things around, and Reeves got them. Most notable was quarterback Chris Chandler. After playing two years at Indianapolis, one-plus at Tampa Bay, two-plus at Phoenix, one with the St. Louis Rams and two with Houston, Chandler was one of those talented quarterbacks who never found himself with the right team at the right time. He was released by five teams, but Reeves traded a fourth- and sixth-round draft pick for him.
“When we signed him, I told Chris we were willing to stick our necks out on him because I thought he could win a Super Bowl,” said Reeves. “The way he ran that last drive ranks right up there with all the big-time quarterbacks.”
Chandler’s final payoff of Reeves’ confidence came on the winning drive in overtime. It was second and 8 at the Falcon 26, and Chandler passed to O.J. Santiago for a 26-yard gain. Santiago had caught a pass and fumbled to set up the first Vikings touchdown. Asked why they went back to him in a crucial situation, Reeves was straightforward.
“We had two plays in mind, and I told Chris, ‘You call the one you feel most comfortable with,’ ” Reeves said. “He called the pass to O.J. It’s important for a quarterback to be comfortable throwing to somebody in a situation like that.”
Santiago said he tried to shrug off the bad feeling of the fumble and focus on the rest of the game. “That is the Chris Chandler we are used to,” Santiago said. “Chris Chandler doesn’t make mistakes. He finds the open man and he hits them. He’s been doing it all year. He’s a good quarterback, and we know that in Atlanta. If the rest of the country doesn’t know it, maybe they will after today.
“I just feel that we are supposed to be in the Super Bowl,” Santiago said. “I’ve been saying that now for five weeks. If you were down in Atlanta, you would have heard me say it.”
The Vikings suffered some injuries during the game. Robert Smith hurt his knee and thigh, Dixon Edward hurt a hamstring, Eddie McDaniel hurt his ankle and his knee. Chuck Evand injured a knee. Vikings coach Dennis Green said those injuries took a toll, but they weren’t an excuse.
Corey Fuller, whose diving defensive plays batted away several Chandler passes, praised the Falcons. “They stuck to the laws of the game. They play all 60 minutes,” Fuller said. “If we play them 10 times, you never know. But today they were the better team.”
Cris Carter credited the Falcons too. “It was a phenomenal drive, taking the clock down to two minutes,” Carter said. “If we had gone up by 10 points with two minutes left…we felt the game was going to be over, we just didn’t get the points. After that, the defense didn’t get the job done, but the offense had a chance to score a touchdown, so it’s on us collectively.
“It was a tremendous game. They kept coming, but so did we. When you get into a game like this, you don’t expect the other team to quit. You know it’s going to be a close game.”
Craig Sauer, a backup linebacker and special teams player for the Falcons is a former University of Minnesota star from Sartell, Minn. After Atlanta closed to 20-17 in the third quarter, Sauer raced in on kickoff coverage and made a flying tackle on David Palmer, halting his return at the Viking 17. He was still pumped after the game, partly because his brother Kent Sauer, a freshman defenseman at UMD, was watching him play.
“It was one of the greatest games ever,” Sauer said. “What more could anyone ask for?”
The record 64,060 fans had long since left the Metrodome, otherwise they might have had a modest answer to suggest.
Comrie, DU gain split with UMD
DULUTH, MINN.
Paul Comrie didn’t get a goal Saturday night, but his stickhandling, passing and puck-swiping touch seemed to mesmerize the UMD Bulldogs and was the key to Denver’s 4-2 victory for a split in the weekend WCHA series.
After Comrie scored two goals in UMD’s 4-3 first-game victory, Bulldog coach Mike Sertich marveled at the Pioneer captain’s skills. “I’d say he and Brian Swanson of Colorado College are the best two players in the league,” said Sertich.
And while Comrie didn’t get a goal, his line had three of the Denver goals, and, naturally, he had two dazzling assists, giving him four points out of the seven DU goals for the weekend.
When told of Sertich’s assessment, UMD captain Bert Gilling said: “Personally, I’d say Comrie is the best player in the league. I’ve got the utmost respect for him. He’s got speed, agility, great hands and great imagination. And he’s a competitor too; when he gets agitated, he just turns his game up a notch.”
The split sends Denver home 7-8-1, tied suddenly by Michigan Tech in challenging Alaska-Anchorage and Wisconsin for third place in the WCHA, with Anchorage at Denver next weekend. UMD dropped to 3-11-2, deeper in the cellar, but only four points behind St. Cloud State, next weekend’s foe, which dropped into eighth by losing twice at Michigan Tech.
With 3,991 fans at the DECC Saturday night, Comrie set up the first of two goals by Mark Rycroft to open the game, and he made a big play to set up James Patterson’s clinching goal, when it was 3-2 midway through the third period.
“I thought Comrie had a lot more support tonight,” said DU coach George Gwozdecky. “Rycroft and Patterson played much better tonight. Last night, Paul was all alone.”
As big a factor as their offense was, the Pioneer penalty killers shared the spotlight, because Denver was almost equally adept at taking penalties and killing them. But they shackled the Bulldogs to 1-for-9 on the power play while Denver was 0-for-2.
The first period was the reversal of Friday’s 4-3 UMD victory, when UMD took a quick 2-0 lead, only to have Denver cut it to 2-1 and later tie it 2-2. This time, it was the Pioneers who jumped off to a 2-0 lead, and the Bulldogs who cut it to 2-1 before the first period ended.
UMD goalie Brant Nicklin made 39 saves as Denver outshot the Bulldogs 43-29, but Nickli.n couldn’t hold off the Pioneers indefinitely. After 11:28 had elapsed in the first period, Rycroft scored at the crease when Joe Ritson and Comrie collaborated to lure Nicklin to the right side and isolate Rycroft.
Four minutes later, Veres had the puck along the boards, deep on the left side, and spotted defenseman Erik Adams moving in from the right point. Veres fired a hard pass across the slot, Adams caught it and zipped a 30-footer past Nicklin for the 2-0 lead.
Just 52 seconds later, UMD got back in the game when they got the puck in deep on the left and a forechecker helped spring the puck free to the slot. Ryan Homstol lunged to pick off the puck and shot immediately, getting the puck up and into the short side on Stephen Wagner from the right.
That aroused the Bulldogs, who almost tied it when Jeff Scissons tried a wraparound. They did get the 2-2 tie at 4:25 of the second period when freshman defenseman Mark Carlson strolled in from the left point and shot through a screen of bodies on a UMD power play.
UMD had a 2-man power play for a 1:23 span later in the middle period, but Wagner and the penalty killers avoided danger. “Right there, if we could have scored we could have changed the momentum,” said Sertich.
Instead, it stayed 2-2 until Rycroft broke the tie at 3:08 of the third period with his second goal of the night when he slipped behind the defense to the far blue line to catch a 100-foot pass from defenseman Ryan Hacker, a senior from Alexandria, Minn. Rycroft skated in on the left side and beat Nicklin low to the far side.
The Pioneers killed off another penalty, then Comrie came up with his coup de gras play, at 8:12. UMD defenseman Jesse Fibiger got possession behind his own net, but as he whirled to escape, Comrie was coming from the other direction and swatted the puck right off his stickblade and onto the blade of Patterson, out front. The play happened so suddenly, that Nicklin was completely relaxed, unaware that Patterson had the puck. As Patterson teed it up, Nicklin tried to recover, but too late, and the senior from Wayne, Mich., had his 16th goal of the season.
UMD was not helped when Derek Derow missed the game with a flu-like infection, and Tommy Nelson left midway through the game with a possible concussion.
Denver University 2 0 2 — 4
Minnesota-Duluth 1 1 0 — 2
First Period: 1. DU–Rycroft 10 (Ritson, Comrie) 11:28. 2. DU–Adams 2 (Veres, Popadynetz) 15:34. 3. UMD–Homstol 7 (unassisted) 16:26. Penalties–Kidd, DU (holding) 4:47; Pogreba, UMD (slashing) 5:26.
Second Period: 4. UMD–Carlson 3 (Medak, Gunderson) 4:25, Power play. Penalties–Wallnutt, DU (cross-checking) 2:54; Kidd, DU (high-sticking) 4:25; Newman, DU (roughing) 11:36; Patterson, DU (cross-checking) 12:13; Newman, DU (slashing) 14:54; Fibiger, UMD (interference) 17:25.
Third Period: 5. DU–Rycroft 11 (Stauss, Patterson) 3:08. 6. DU–Patterson 16 (Comrie) 8:12. Penalties–Morgan, DU (hooking) 4:43; Popadynetz, DU (high-sticking) 9:08; Patterson, DU (cross-checking) 13:48.
Saves: Wagner, Denver 9 13 5–27; Nicklin, UMD 9 8 12–39. Power plays: Denver 0-2; UMD 2-9. Referee: Mike Riley; assistant referees: Marco Hunt, Brett Klosowski. Attendance–3,991.
Bulldogs hang on to top Denver 4-3
Denver University coach George Gwozdecky called Minnesota-Duluth “the best last-place team I’ve seen.” And that was BEFORE the Bulldogs rose up to bite the Pioneers 4-3 before 3,798 fans at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.
Afterwards, there could be no doubt. The Bulldogs led 2-0 early, saw the Pioneers rally to gain a 2-2 tie in the third period, but battled back themselves. Jeff Scissons set up the tie-breaking goal by Derek Derow and then Scissons scored himself for a 4-2 UMD cushion, which was entrusted to goaltender Brant Nicklin. He came through, his fourth breakaway chance in the final minute, amid 30 saves.
“They played well, and Nicklin played very well,” said Gwozdecky. “They took advantage of some of our breakdowns early in the game. But we had our chances. I can’t remember many games where we’ve had so many breakaways that we didn’t score on.”
The Pioneers (6-8-1) hadn’t won in Duluth since Dec. 3, 1933, but the Bulldogs (3-10-2), languishing in last place, have scored the fewest goals in the league, and hadn’t won a WCHA game in five tries at the DECC until Friday.
“That was a good hockey game,” said UMD coach Mike Sertich. “And that’s a pretty good hockey team Denver has. We moved the puck well, and we came up with some big goals when we needed them.”
Freshman defenseman Kent Sauer got UMD started when he moved in boldly from the point to put away a pass from behind the net by Ryan Homstol after only 2:19 had elapsed. “I got there just at the right time, and I didn’t aim, for once,” said Sauer, a 6-1, 225-pounder, who scored his first college goal to celebrate homecoming for his older brother, Craig Sauer, who is a linebacker with the Atlanta Falcons, who are in Minnesota to play the Vikings in the NFC title game on Sunday.
At 6:21, freshman center Tom Nelson stationed himself in the slot while Colin Anderson passed in from the right boards to Curtis Bois behind the net, and Nelson quickly deposited the relay from Bois to the lower left for a sudden 2-0 headstart. It was his first goal, too. “I feel relieved,” said Nelson, who is from across the bay in Superior, Wis., where he led his team to three consecutive Wisconsin state high school hockey titles. “We had some nice plays, and played well overall. And it’s a good thing Nicklin stood on his head.”
The Bulldogs kept the pressure on, generating a half-dozen other promising scoring chances that either misfired or were stopped by goaltender Stephen Wagner. But after 15 minutes of being dominated, Denver got its offense untracked.
Nicklin had stopped Mark Rycroft on a 3-on-2 rush midway through the period, and also saved a Kelly Popadynetz breakaway later in the period. It took the Pioneers fourth line to connect for a goal when Bryce Wallnutt fed out from behind the net and Joe Ritson scored while being checked at 15:52.
Denver had the edge in chances in the scoreless second period, as Rycroft couldn’t quite reach a late return feed from Paul Comrie on a 2-on-1, and Gavin Morgan zoomed in on two successive breakaways, only to be foiled by Nicklin. Jon Newman just missed on a power play when his shot from the left circle glanced up and away off the crossbar.
The Pioneers got the equalizer at 7:46 of the third period, with each team a man short. Comrie made use of the extra portion of room on the ice, carrying from the right boards across the slot, holding the puck patiently until he could use a defender as a screen and then drilling his shot into the lower right.
At that point, it looked a lot like a number of UMD games where the ‘Dogs played well enough to win, but found a way to lose. But Derow’s goal rejuvenated the ‘Dogs. And Scissons exchanged passes with Ryan Coole, 1-timing the return to score the ultimate winner.
Comrie waltzed in from the right to score his second goal with 1:44 remaining, but Nicklin and the Bulldogs managed to hang on. Of course, it took one more breakaway, when Bjorn Engstrom intercepted Mark Carlson’s pass and sailed in alone. Nicklin stood his ground, gave him nothing, and Engstrom’s shot missed the net.
“Everyone thinks I saved it,” said Nicklin. “I’ll take it.”
Denver University 1 0 2 — 3
Minnesota-Duluth 2 0 2 — 4
First Period: 1. UMD–Sauer 1 (Homstol, Derow) 2:19. 2. UMD–Nelson 1 (Bois, C. Anderson) 6:21. 3. DU–Ritson 2 (Wallnutt, Veres) 15:52. Penalties–Sauer, UMD (hooking) 2:28; Engstrom, DU (hooking) 10:48; Coole, UMD (hooking) 18:13.
Second Period: No scoring. Penalties–Kidd, DU (high-sticking) 6:01; Coole, UMD (roughing) and Ritson, DU (roughing) 9:41; Patterson, DU (roughing) 13:01; Coole, UMD (interference) 15:25; Rycroft, DU (roughing) 20:00.
Third Period: 4. DU–Comrie 11 (Rycroft, Kurulak) 7:46. 5. UMD–Derow 7 (Scissons, Coole) 12:00. 6. UMD–Scissons 12 (Coole, Bois) 16:33. 7. DU–Comrie 12 (Hacker, Morgan) 18:16. Penalties–Pogreba, UMD (holding) and Patterson, DU (roughing) 7:28; Pogreba, UMD (high-sticking) and Kurulak, DU (high-sticking) 15:19.
Saves: Wagner, DU 8 11 8–27; Nicklin, UMD 8 12 10–30 . Attendance–3,798. Referee: Mike Riley; assistant referees: Brett Klosowski, Marco Hunt.
Tomaino return sparks Hilltoppers
Tony Tomaino was like a lot of young hockey players, looking for a chance to accelerate their development. Tomaino’s return to Duluth, however, now has helped Marshall accelerate its development.
The Hilltoppers started the season 2-3-1 while Tomaino sat out the mandatory 15 days for transfering home from Faribault Shattuck as the season started. Since he’s stepped in on defense, Marshall has gone 5-1, including an impressive 8-3 victory at once-beaten Hermantown, which ignited a three-game sweep of the Hermantown-Proctor tournament.
“I think we started to play better defense,” said Tomaino, a 5-10, 170-pound junior defenseman. “I’m trying to play smart ‘D’ and go up when I get the chance, but we’ve got some crafty forwards, so it makes sense to move the puck up to them.”
Former North Star J.P. Parise, now the hockey director at Faribault Shattuck, lured Tomaino to come down to the private school, which plays an extensive schedule and is not within the high school league guidelines because of its travel and length of schedule.
“I played on a Minnesota Blades team last summer, and J.P. Parise was the coach,” Tomaino said. “He bugged me about coming down and taking a look at Shattuck, so I made a visit. I had gotten to be good friends with Mike Eaves’ son, and he plays there. Andy Murray coaches the high school team, and he’s an unbelievable coach. The first day of school was Sept. 1, and we started hockey that day, too. We had one week of training camp, then we started playing.”
After playing about 30 games at Shattuck, Tomaino started having second thoughts about home. “The hockey was really good, but I missed my family and friends, and I didn’t really like the dorm life,” Tomaino said. “I came back a week before Thanksgiving, and I knew I’d have to sit out 15 days before I could play.”
With a good nucleus, led by forwards Jake DeSanto, Cory Cartier, Chris Hood and Swedish exchange student Jon Bloomquist, plus defensemen Adam Conrad and Ben Paul, Tomaino’s impact went far beyond the four goals and seven points he’s scored. Marshall beat Proctor, lost to Blake, then beat Rosemount, Hermantown, Denfeld and Minneapolis South.
“A lot of people are surprised by us beating teams like Hermantown,” said Tomaino. “We played really good against them, and not as well against Denfeld and South. But we won those games anyhow. We know how to win now.”
Winning thrusts Marshall into the Up North Regional boys hockey ratings at sixth, in a week of some shuffling. For example, Hill-Murray has risen to No. 1 ahead of Elk River in the state rankings. While both teams remain unbeaten, Hill-Murray pounded out convincing victories over Edina and Bloomington Jefferson in the Edina tournament.
Duluth East, which had two weeks off, returned in style to thrash Apple Valley 8-2 Saturday night at the DECC, and the Greyounds rose to No. 1 in the regional and No. 3 in the state, as some of the area’s top teams suffered some attrition. Hibbing lost twice in its own tournament, Eveleth-Gilbert lost to powerful Roseau at the Roseau tournament, and only Greenway of Coleraine kept pace with East by sweeping the same Burnsville and Eden Prairie teams that beat Hibbing.
That made a perfect setting for East’s invasion of Coleraine, as the No. 1 and No. 2 regional teams, and No. 3 and No. 4 state rated teams. Both teams are near peak form, having benefitted by the high school league’s experiment to play 20 minute periods in selected holiday games. East played longer periods against Edina and Apple Valley, while Greenway and Hibbing played 20-minute periods instead of the normal 15 while swapping partners with Burnsville and Eden Prairie.
Elsewhere in boys state play, Roseville has risen dramatically, beating Hastings, while Anoka handed Eagan its first loss, then Roseville beat Anoka in the tournament final, while Eagan beat Hastings for the second time this season. Hastings star Dan Welch was off playing for the U.S. team, but Eagan beat the Raiders with him and without him.
The Duluth Dynamite girls team played well in the Grand Rapids tournament, but the big news in girls hockey was the Kaposia Classic at South St. Paul, which annually has a tougher field than the state tournament. Roseville was upset by Burnsville, although the game went to a shootout, so will officially be recognized as an overtime tie. Eagan went on to win the tournament, beating Burnsville in the final. Hibbing showed signs of recapturing its anticipated form, as goaltender Natalie LeMay returned to the nets after missing the first half of the season with an injury.
Boys State
1. Hill-Murray, 9-0
2. Elk River, 8-0
3. Duluth East, 9-2
4. Greenway of Coleraine, 6-2
5. Roseville, 8-2
6. Roseau, 8-1
7. Eagan, 9-1
8. Hastings, 7-3
9. Hibbing, 7-3
10. Eveleth-Gilbert, 8-2
Boys Regional
1. Duluth East, 9-2
2. Greenway of Coleraine, 6-2
3. Hibbing, 7-3
4. Eveleth-Gilbert, 8-2
5. Silver Bay, 8-1-1
6. Duluth Marshall, 7-4-1
7. Hermantown, 8-2-1
8. Hayward, 7-1
9. Superior, 4-4
10. Proctor, 4-5-1
Girls State
1. Park Center, 14-0
2. Roseville, 12-0-1
3. Eagan, 14-1
4. South St. Paul, 13-1
5. Duluth Dynamite, 11-3
6. Bloomington Jefferson, 10-3
7. Rosemount, 11-2
8. Burnsville, 9-2-2
9. Mounds View, 7-4
10. Blaine, 8-4
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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