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Section 1A Official Seeding (11 Teams)
Team- (Overall Record)
1- Northfield (19-5-1)
2- Rochester Lourdes (18-7-0)
3- Albert Lea (17-8-0)
4- New Prague (8-15-2)
5- Faribault (10-15-0)
6- La Crescent (13-10-1)
7- Winona (9-15-1)
8- Red Wing (10-15-0)
9- Waseca (5-16-1)
10- Austin (1-20-0)
11- Cotter (1-10-0)

Section 1A Playoff Bracket
Play-In Round (2/22/22) @ High Seed
#8 Red Wing 5 #9 Waseca 0
#6 La Crescent 9 #11 Cotter 0
#7 Winona 3 #10 Austin 0

Quarterfinals (2/24/22) @ High Seed
#1 Northfield 7 #8 Red Wing 2
#4 New Prague 7 #5 Faribault 1
#3 Albert Lea 4 #7 La Crescent 3
#2 Rochester Lourdes 5 #7 Winona 1

Semifinals (2/26/22) @ Rochester Rec Center
#4 New Prague 3 #1 Northfield 2 OT
#3 Albert Lea 4 #2 Rochester Lourdes 3

Section Final (3/2/2022) @ Rochester Rec Center
#4 New Prague 5 #3 Albert Lea 2

Section 1A Champions: New Prague (11-15-2)

2022 Section 1A Playoffs Preview

Strength of schedules isn’t much of a, well, strength in Section 1A. Most of Southern Minnesota’s small-school teams spend the regular season beating up on each other while sticking primarily to the confines of the Big 9 & Big South Conferences. The off-season section realignments brought back old powers to Class A from AA who appear to be the Section favorite along with a resurgent private power trying to return to its glory of the early 2000’s.

Number 1 seed Northfield (19-5-1) was the obvious choice to receive the section’s top seed as they dominated their Southern opponents going unbeaten in Section 1A play and trouncing the majority of the Big 9 Conference excluding Mayo. The Raiders feature a trio of fantastic forwards led by senior Spencer Klotz and Sophomore’s Kamden Kaiser & Cayden Monson that have helped Northfield have no issue in the goal scoring department. Add in Sophomore defenseman Ty Frank and Junior defenseman Michael Fossum who rank fourth and sixth on the team in scoring from the blueline and Raiders look like a well rounded unit. Junior Keaton Walock is in his second year as the main starting goaltender to dismiss any questions there.

Number 2 seed Rochester Lourdes (18-7-0) looks to be fully recovered from their (0-26-0) campaign just two short years ago with many Class A pundits declaring the Eagles program dead after years of dominant success in 1A play in the early 2000’s. In stepped Coach Jeff True, coming off success of taking the Lourdes Girls Hockey team to consecutive State Tournaments, and the resurgence of the last two years has been remarkable. This team is led by its Senior core who were sophomores on that winless team Senior defenseman Charlie Kielty & forward Matthew Mahoney have led the Eagles upfront and in their back end for scoring. Add in a mixture of youthful spark plugs who both have double digit goals in Sophomore Forwards Peyton Loeslie & Aidan Ritter along with stellar Sophomore Goaltender Xander Carter-Kleven who has played nearly every minute for the Eagles whom appear to be playing their best hockey down the stretch going (8-2-0) in their last 10 games.

Number 3 seed Albert Lea (17-8-0) looked to be in cruise control and the lock for the #2 seed in Section 1A then came a nasty 3 game losing streak where they dropped games to three 1A teams- Northfield, Faribault & Winona and led many to question the Tigers. They still do have enough to make a run and showed in beating Lourdes earlier this year 3-0 they should not be overlooked in 1A. Talk about a young team beyond Junior leading scorer, standout forward Joseph Yoon, nine of Albert Lea’s top ten leading scorers are underclassman and Junior goaltender Dakota Jahnke has played every minute in net for a Tigers team that will be looking to make run and will for sure be a team to watch next year as well.

Number 4 seed New Prague (8-15-2) had appeared to becoming the program in 1A after back to back State Appearances in 2014 & 15 then came the news that they were a mere 10 kids over the MSHSL cutoff line and the Trojans were thrown into 2AA and haven't been heard from since. This year they were able to drop back into 1A and appear to be the mystery team of this section only playing one 1A opponent, a 6-0 win over Faribault, making them a hard team to read and seed. This is a young team with only one senior, Will Andersen, in the top 5 of scoring. Junior John Schmidt leads the team in goals and four their top seven other scorers are either Sophomores or Freshman. This team played a much tougher schedule during the year then others. However, for the Trojans to make a run in 1A they will lean heavily on Senior goaltender Carter Puente.

Number 5 seed Faribault (10-15-0) take the young team label to a whole different level as they led up front by Sophomore forward Oliver Linnemann and two 8th graders Jackson Kurth & Tommy Kunze for another team that has a lineup littered with underclassmen and multiple middle schoolers. Goaltending has been their achilles and they will need to outscore teams to make a serious run.

Number 6 seed La Crescent (13-10-1) is looking to build off last year when the program reached its first ever Section Semi-Final. In order for the Lancers to repeat that feat this year they will need to rely on their dangerous Sophomore Duo Wyatt Farrell & Colton Holzer to keep up their tremendous scoring output to overcome what they lack in depth compared to some of the Sections best.

Number 7 seed Winona (9-15-1) come into the playoffs on a recent tear as they ripped off 6 straight wins, which included winning the 2nd meeting over Albert Lea, Faribault & Red Wing, after starting the year (3-13-1) to move up the Section Seeding ladder of late. Senior forward Ayden Ruesgen has teamed up with young guns Sophomore Teis Larsen and Freshman Aven Prodzinski to create a much needed scoring punch to overcome their shaky defense and goaltending.

Number 8 seed Red Wing (10-15-0) is a scary low seed as on any given night the Senior combo of high scoring forward Casey Larson whose 25 goals come in handy and then the Wingers have the Sections Top goalie in Senior Dixon Ehlers who has stolen a few games already this year.

Number 9 seed Waseca (5-16-1) have been led by their junior duo scoring punch of Kyle Ahlschlager & Griffin Krautkramer to give the Bluejays a chance to out score you if you're not careful.

It's been a tough season for both number 10 seed Austin (1-20-0) & number 11 seed Cotter (1-10-0) both programs have low numbers while Austin was once a Southern 1AA State Tournament team in 2001 they now are really struggling just fielding a team and the Cotter experiment seemed to have mixed results with numerous scheduled cancellations on their resume in a rocky first year.

Section 1A Playoffs Play-In Games (2/22/2022)

#9 seed Waseca (5-16-1) vs #8 seed Red Wing (10-15-0) @ Prairie Island Arena, Red Wing, MN
Waseca and Red Wing did not meet during the year but both have different strengths that they bring to the table. Waseca is a high scoring team led by their Junior duo scoring punch of Kyle Ahlschlager & Griffin Krautkramer. Red Wing on the other hand has one of the State’s top goalies in Senior Dixon Ehlers who can steal a game on any night. Looking at strength of schedule and how they have fared against common opponents it would appear that the Wingers have the advantage in this Battle of the Birds in 1A.

#11 seed Cotter (1-10-0) vs #6 seed La Crescent (10-13-1) @ La Crescent Community Arena, La Crescent, MN
The regular season matchup between the Lancers and Ramblers was canceled by Winona Cotter, one of their many cancellations this winter. While Winona Cotter will come into the playoffs riding high after securing its first win as program over the weekend they face an uphill battle vs La Crescent. The Lancers feature one of the State’s most dangerous Sophomore Duos as Wyatt Farrell & Colton Holzer both have been lighting the lamp all winter long. Cotter will need to contain those two to have a shot in what looks like a mismatch on paper.

#10 seed Austin (1-20-0) vs #7 Seed Winona (9-15-1) @ Bud King Ice Arena, Winona, MN
These two teams met twice during the regular season and Winona dominated the series sweeping Austin while outscoring them 15-1 in the two games. Austin has had major defensive issues all year and this game it appears those issues may reappear. Winona has been hot in the 2nd half of the season as they have gotten some good goal scoring Senior forward Ayden Ruesgen and his young gun teammates Sophomore Teis Larsen and Freshman Aven Prodzinski. The Winhwaks need to score as goaltending has been a major issue but that shouldn't be a problem in this one.

Section 1A Playoffs Play-In Games (2/23/2022) Recaps

Red Wing 5 Waseca 0
Red wing was able to get a big night from senior forward Carson Ahern whose hattrick propelled the Winger offense. Those goals were all the senior goaltender Dixon Ehlers would need as he shut out Waseca and Red Wing was able to pick up the win in their play in game. The Wingers will now head to #1 seed Northfield for the Section 1A Quarterfinals tonight. .

La Crescent 9 Cotter 0
The Lancers jumped out to a big lead by scoring 4 goals in each of the first two periods as they were led by their dangerous Sophomore Duo of Wyatt Farrell & Colton Holzer who both had multiple goals on the night. Cotter was able to put up 10 shots in the 1st period but it was all Lancers in the categories that matter. La Crescent will now head to #3 seed Albert Lea in the Section Quarterfinal play tonight.

Winona 3 Austin 0
Winona Sophomore Teis Larsen had a big night as he factored in all three three goals for the Winhawks who were able to also get a rare shutout from goaltender Justin Brickner and pull out a nice win over 1 win Austin. The Packers goaltender Ethan Knox did play very well on the night as he stopped 37 of 40 shots to keep Austin in the game. However, the Winhawks did not allow much to happen in the defensive end of the ice and they will now head to #2 seed Rochester Lourdes tonight.

Section 1A Playoffs Quarterfinal Games (2/24/2022)

#8 seed Red Wing (11-15-0) vs #1 seed Northfield (19-5-1) @ Northfield Ice Arena, Northfield, MN
These two teams met way back in early December and Northfield dominated Red Wing in a game where they outshot the Wingers 63-15. For Red Wing to keep this one close they will need another outstanding effort from Senior goaltender Dixon Ehlers who will be getting a heavy load of shots from the high powered Northfield offensive attack. Northfield will look to sweep Red Wing on the year and move forward to the Section 1A Semifinal Round.

#5 seed Faribault (10-15-0) vs #4 seed New Prague (8-15-2) @ New Prague Community Center, New Prague, MN
These two teams met back in early December and the score was tied at zero after 1 period of play. However it was Trojans after that and they were able to put the Falcons into running time before the game was over. However over the last few months this very young Faribault team has grown up and they have gotten some great production out of some very young players. New Prague’s program is dealing with some ugly off ice incidents but will it distract them we will see. The winner will advance to the Section 1A Semifinals in Rochester this weekend.

#6 seed La Crescent (14-10-1) vs #3 seed Albert Leal (17-8-0) @ Albert Lea City Arena, Albert Lea, MN
These two teams met on Jan 25th and it was a tight game after two with Albert Lea leading 2-1 and they would score 2 more goals to put the game away in third. The Lancers will need to be able to capitalize more on their chances when they get them this time around as when they last met they were heavily outshot 57-22 and struggled to get it out of their own end. Albert Lea is looking to discover the magic it had earlier in the year when they were riding high winning 10 of 11 games before having a late season swoon. The Tigers should have the advantage here and will look to move on the Semi Final Saturday.

#7 seed Winona (10-15-1) vs #2 seed Rochester Lourdes (18-7-0) @ Graham Arena, Rochester, MN
These two played back in early December and Rochester Lourdes broke open a tight 1 goal game after periods and scored 6 in third behind Senior forward Matthew Mahoney’s natural hat trick. Winona has improved significantly since then and they will provide a much more effective offensive counter this time around with the emergence of their youngsters putting pucks in the back of the net as the season has gone along. Look for Lourdes to try capitalize early and use their depth to their advantage as the winner here will head to the Section 1A Semifinals.

Section 1A Playoffs Quarterfinal Games (2/24/2022) Recaps

Northfield 7 Red Wing 2
Red Wing Senior goaltender Dixon Ehlers held the Wingers in the game for two periods with the high powered Northfield offensive attack as they only trailed 3-2 despite being outshot 41-17. Northfield was able to use a big 4 goal third period though to blow open the game and move forward to the Section 1A Semifinal Round.

New Prague 7 Faribault 1
The Trojans wasted little time disposing of the Faribault Falcons as New Prague scored three goals in each of the first two periods to cruise to a big win. Sophomore forward Willy Seymour had a hat trick to led the way for New Prague and they will now pose a serious threat to Northfield on Saturday in the Section 1A Semifinals.

Albert Lea 4 La Crescent 3
La Crescent looked to be on the verge of reaching their second consecutive semifinal in program history when Sophomore Wyatt Ferrell put the Lancer up 3-2 early in the third period. However, Albert Lea was not going to let that happen and they were able to battle back and tie the game and then score the game winning goal in the last two minutes of play. They will not head to Rochester to play Lourdes and what should be an entertaining Section Semifinal game.

Rochester Lourdes 5 Winona 1
The game played out similarly to win the last two teams Rochester Lourdes jumped out early to 2-0 in the 1st but Winona really settled in after that. The Winhawks then cut the lead to one goal as it was 2-1 heading to the third. But much like the 1st meeting Lourdes was able to break open the game in the third when Senior defenseman Charlie Kielty scored his goal of the night and the Eagles would cruise from there to a 5-1 win. They now head to the Section 1A Semifinals on Saturday night.

Section 1A Playoffs Semifinal Games (2/26/2022)

#4 seed New Prague (9-15-2) vs #1 seed Northfield (20-5-1) @ Rochester Rec Center, Rochester, MN
This is the match up many predicted would be the Section 1A Final when the original new section realignments came out last April. Northfield benefited from playing most of the 1A teams due to them being in the Big 9 Conference. New Prague meanwhile was stuck in the AA filled Metro West Conference (we will see for how much longer after this week's event) and they were a mystery team to most 1A coaches with a below .500 record when it came to seeding. I am sure next year the Trojans will work to get some more 1A teams on the schedule. Regardless this one looks like a great matchup as Northfields big three of Klotz, Kaiser & Monson will be alot for New Prague to handle but they have good depth and have a bunch of underclassmen who have improved playing against a better schedule than everyone else in 1A. I look for this one to be back and forth and will not be surprised if the Trojans pull a shocker here. This will be Northfields toughest test to reach the X.

#3 seed Albert Lea (18-8-0) vs #2 seed Rochester Lourdes (19-7-0) @ Rochester Rec Center, Rochester, MN
These two met back during the holidays at the Kiwanis Hockey Festival and it was a battle as they were tied 0-0 after two periods. In that contest it was Albert Lea who used a big third period to pull away and win an important Section 1A game. Since then though these two teams have trended in opposite directions. Lourdes finished the year strong and picked up wins over Breck and Providence Academy to show they are capable of a 1A run. Senior defenseman Charlie Kielty & forward Matthew Mahoney really lead this team and seem to make the big play when it's needed and they have developed some decent depth with some of their younger players. Meanwhile Albert Lea has been all over the place and they were very lucky to get by La Crescent in the Quarterfinals. Juniors Joseph Yoon and Tim Chalmers are a special duo and will make their presence felt in this one. This should be a great game that really could go either way as they battle to reach the Section 1A Championship.

Section 1A Playoffs Semifinal Games (2/26/2022) Recaps

New Prague 3 Northfield 2 OT
Number one seed Northfield looked to have things in total control as they entered the third period up 2-0 on a pair of goals from Senior sniper Spencer Klotz. With about 7 minutes left in regulation they held a 31-17 shot advantage and were still in control with a firm two goal lead and then the Raiders blink. At 6:51 New Prague’s Willy Seymour scored and the whole script of the game flipped as Northfeild lost control and the Trojans seized the momentum they were able to tie the game at 2-2 with under 3 minutes to play. Once the overtime started the Trjoans buzzed Northfield and hemmed them up in their end until they took a penalty and only 16 seconds into the power play Charlie Turnberg was able score the game winning goal in the biggest upset of the night was completed in Class A and stunningly and seemingly out of nowhere the Trojans stole one and now look to be primed to return to state for the first time since 2015.

Albert Lea 4 Rochester Lourdes 3
The Section 1A semifinals nightcap featured one of the playoffs wildest 1st periods. As Lourdes went up 1-0 but then Albert Lea. went up 2-1 only to have Lourdes make it 2-2 before the Tigers went up 3-2 but Lourdes would tie it 3-3 w/:59 to go. Tiger goals came fromChalmers, Yoon Olson while Lourdes goals came from Mahoney, Benner, Magnuson. After the wide pen racehorse hockey first period both teams settled in. Albert Lea would take a 4-3 whenMax Edwin scored 5-hole on a shot through traffic, 3:33 into the 2nd period. That would be all that unsung hero Albert Lea back up goalie Tanner Nelson would need as he shut the door from there. Not bad for a young man who up until the Section 1A playoffs played all of 1 game during the regular season but injury to their starter Jahnke has forced him into action. Now the Tigers will look to try to get back to start for the first time since 2005 as they will be the underdog again in the Section 1A Final.

Section 1A Playoffs Championship Game (3/2/2022)

#4 seed New Prague (10-15-2) vs #3 seed Albert Lea (19-8-0) @ Rochester Rec Center, Rochester, MN
Talk about an unlikely matchup in the Section 1A Championship game New Prague looked to dead to rights with about 7 minutes to play on Saturday night then with mad dash to save their season they scored 2 goals to tie it in regulation and scored a powerplay goal 2:57 into OT to pull off a frantic 10 minute frame comeback to save their season. Or how about Albert Lea who lost their starting goalie who started all but 2 games during the regular season finale to injury in stepped very limited used back up goalie Tanner Nelson and it looked like they were going to lose to La Crescent who they trailed 3-2 in the third period but they battled back as they did against Lourdes and here we are with an odd #3 seed vs #4 seed Section Title game. New Prague and Albert Lea didn't play this season but they do have two things in common: they are both very young as neither will lose much as Albert Lea brings back everyone next season and the Trojans will bring back their core. Also, they both are very inconsistent. The Trojans are a poorish (10-15-2) on the year, yes they play a AA Conference, but they also have losses to Waconia, Kennedy and Hopkins on the year. Albert Lea is tough to figure out themselves and they dropped head scratchers to Red Wing, Winona and Faibault during the year. What's it all add up basically two teams that are very unpredictable and anything can happen here New Prague would have the edge and in Depth and goaltending but Albert Lea has better top end talent. This should be a crazy Section 1A Final that again I don't think anyone envisioned happening when the 1A Brackets came out a week ago.

Section 1A Playoffs Championship Game (3/2/2022) Recap

New Prague 5 Albert Lea 2
The Trojans had a great start to the game and jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one period. However Albert Lea had a great push back and got the game tied up at 2 a piece in the 2nd period. However New Prague’s Charlie Turnberg would prove to be the difference as he would score 2 of the next 3 goals for the Trojans to help them put the game away. Backup Albert Lea goalie Tanner Nelson did his best to keep the Tigers in it but in the end below .500 New Prague heads to state and will most likely draw the mighty Hawks or Warriors in the first round of State on the “random” draw.