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#3 seed 4A Champion Mahtomedi (16-11-1) vs 3A Champion Mankato East (17-10-1) Class A QF @ Xcel Energy Center

Section 4A Champions- Mahtomedi Zephyrs (16-11-1)
Section 4A Playoff Results- W 9-0 #8 seed St Paul Johnson, W 6-0 #5 seed Two Rivers, W 4-0 #3 seed Chisago Lakes

Meet the Zephyrs- No team enters the Class A State Tournament more battle tested and with more Championship experience than Mahtomedi. The last time we saw Coach Jeff Poeschl in St Paul his Zephyrs were raising the 2020 State Championship Trophy and no other team in the field has both a head coach and players on their roster with State Championship pedigree. This Mahtomedi team has been tested as well and no team played a tougher schedule than they did during the year playing many of the AA’s best teams this winter in preparation for the State Tournament tests. Ultimately though the reason why no one should count out the Zephyrs is because of their 4 year Senior starting goalie Ben Dardis (14-11-1 1.97 GAA .942 SV %) who is the state's all-time shutout leader comes into the Tourney with 4 straight shutouts and already has a State Title under his belt. On Defense Ben’s brother Senior Grant Dardis (5-16-21 pts.) along with Junior Cav Bruner (4-17-21 pts.) lead a solid group of defenders that have gone toe to toe with the State’s best teams all season long. Up front they are led by Senior forward Brent Gulenchyn (14-20-34 pts.) and a nice core group of Juniors forwards in David Wolsfeld (22-24-46 pts), Charlie Drage (5-22-37 pts.),Carter Haycraft (14-15-29 pts.), Jonny Grove (13-16-29 pts.) and Cory Bohmert (8-12-20 pts.) that give the Zephyrs a solid two lines to compete with anyone. The Zephyrs will look to fall back on their Championship experience and wreck the Title Game prediction of 1 vs 2 that everyone is envisioning in Class A just like they did in 2020 as the 4 seed.

vs.

Section 3A Champions- Mankato East Cougars (17-10-1)
Section 3A Playoff Results- W 6-0 #7 seed Mankato West, W 7-1 #3 seed Luverne, W 6-0 #1 seed New Ulm

Meet the Cougars- When the season started many doubters had serious questions on just how good Mankato East would be as they did graduate a core of seniors who accounted for 75 of 102 of the team's goals. They also lost their returning starter goalie from the year before who decided to pursue other hockey opportunities. With question marks like that it was no guarantee to what we would see out of this year’s version of Cougar Juice. The first big question got answered by getting Senior goaltender Caelin Brueske (17-9-1 .908 SV% 2.17 GAA) to return to hockey this season after quitting the sport his junior year and all he did was set single season record for shutouts in school history so that problem was easily solved. As for replacing the high end scorers from the class of 2021 this year’s version of the Cougars has used a much more balanced team approach when it comes to offense and that approach has given them great success. Seniors Quintin Steindl (11-23-34 pts.), Aiden Prochaska (8-25-33 pts.) & Parker Anthony (11-17-28 pts.) along with Juniors Shea Gavin (16-13-29 pts), Andrew Bastian (11-14-25 pts) & Brayden Borgmeier (10-7-17 pts) and the addition of Sophomore Christian Theuninck (11-13-24 pts.) have given this team just the right amount scoring to wear teams down. They are coming into the tournament feeling good as they outscored their 3A competition 19-1 and in every game they did their most damage in the second period to put the game away. While they will be in trouble no matter who they draw in the first round at State this group of Cougars has proven already they have the answers for the questions their doubters raise.

#3 seed 4A Champion Mahtomedi (16-11-1) vs 3A Champion Mankato East (17-10-1) Class A QF @ Xcel Energy Center
The second game of the day features a match up that we saw back in 2018 the year before Ben Darids took the nets for the Zephyrs. Back then the #2 seeded Zephyrs were the heavy favorite over a young Mankato East crew yet the Cougars had Mahtomedi on the ropes until a 5 minutes major called on the Cougars late in third helped the Zephyrs escape with a win. There are some similarities to this year's matchup as Mankato East does have a Senior goaltender Caelin Brueske (17-9-1 .908 SV% 2.17 GAA) who set the single season record for shutouts in school history this winter and he was their Starter at State in 2020 as sophomore. Mahtomedi counters with the above-mentioned Ben Daridis and all he has going on is that he is coming into the Tourney riding a four game shutout streak. The Cougars are built like Mahtomedi in the fact they don't have a big gun up front and rely on their scoring depth but Mahtomedi’s Juniors forwards David Wolsfeld (22-24-46 pts), Charlie Drage (5-22-37 pts.) & Carter Haycraft (14-15-29 pts.) are coming into the State Tournament red hot. Mahtomedi has the depth advantage and better overall skill and should be able to wear down the Cougars with their relentless forecheck and advance to the Semifinal round.

My Pick- Mahtomedi wins by 2 but scores late to pull away and Mankato East hangs around most of the game

Maht scores a couple early
Mahto’s Dardis holds them to zero
Maht scores a couple late to win 4-0

Or something else

elliott70 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 08, 2022 9:04 am Class A game two may be the upset of the day.

Section 3A teams typically do not play difficult schedules primarily because of travel and well team do not schedule them.
But MEast did play some better single A teams and played them well.

If not for Maht's goalie I would give MEast a chance.

Maht by 3.

From Elliott on a double post about the game

sorry I overlooked this in my excitement.

As we get ready for Game #2 the preview from Karl (East) to get us rolling.

MANKATO EAST/LOYOLA VS. #3 MAHTOMEDI

The day’s second quarterfinal is also a pretty clear one on paper, though this one has a much higher chance of being close than the two immediately before and after it. Mahtomedi won a 2018 quarterfinal between these two by a 4-2 margin.

Mankato East/Loyola (17-10-1, Unranked, 2-seed in 3A)

State appearances: 4 (last in 2020)

Key section win: 6-0 over 1-seed New Ulm

The Cougars put all three of their section opponents in running time as they waltzed through their first season in the new Section 3A.

They are led by their defense about as much as any hockey team can be; Shae Gavin (20) is their leading scorer and has five more goals than any forward on the squad, while Aiden Prochaska (18) is second on the team in points. Quintin Steindl (16), Parker Anthony (7), and Andrew Bastian (17) round out a balanced, though not flashy, offense.

Caelin Brueske (30) has been solid in net, and has eight shutouts on the season. An upset would take a lot of discipline against a deep, structured Mahtomedi team unlike anything they face in southern Minnesota, but if any of the unseeded teams are going to keep a game interesting, it’s these Cougars.

Mahtomedi (16-11-1, #4, 1-seed in 4A)

State appearances: 13 (last in 2020)

Championships: 1 (2020)

Key section win: 4-0 over 3-seed Chisago Lakes

The metro’s great Class A power had little trouble racking up the shutouts on their march through 4A.

This team does not have the firepower of the state champion edition two years ago, but what they do still have is Ben Dardis (32), the presumptive Frank Brimsek Award winner, 2020 title-stealer, and simply the most dominant goalie in recent high school hockey; he enters the Tourney with a .942 save percentage and a five-game shutout streak.

David Wolsfeld (4) and Charlie Drage (11) do the heaviest lifting on a junior-heavy offense, and there is the customary respectable depth beyond that led by the likes of Brent Gulenchyn (18), Jonny Grove (9), and Carter Haycraft (22). Cav Bruner (2) and Grant Dardis (3) lead the way on D.

That should be enough to handle Mankato East, and if they stick to the system and if Dardis does his thing, this is the team most capable of a stunning upset.

I am hoping MEast is not overwhelmed by the crowd (somewhat tongue in cheek).

Not cheering against Maht but hoping for a competitive game.

elliott70 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:21 pm I am hoping MEast is not overwhelmed by the crowd (somewhat tongue in cheek).

Not cheering against Maht but hoping for a competitive game.

Same here hoping the Cougars can hang around!

The jersey colors are awful. Couldn't someone have worn white?

What a save by Mankato East Goaltender Caelin Brueske to keep it 0-0

Mahtomedi starting to take control but a stick penalty in the Neutral zone will give Mankato East a PP

Sparlimb wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:44 pm The jersey colors are awful. Couldn't someone have worn white?

Totally agree! Gold vs Gold basically.

Finally a decent game. The AA vs A game was pretty boring.

Mahtomedi 0 Mankato East 0 After 1 Period

Good 1st period for both teams as the Cougars were able to stick around and the Zephyrs didn't give up much and generated the better chances. Player of the period was in net but it wasn't Bend Dardis it was Cougars goalie Caelin Brueske who had a few really nice saves to keep it tied at zero.

To make it even harder the TV banner has East in yellow and Mahtomedi in black.

I thought the NFHS banned yellow jerseys as “whites”.

It does make it more difficult.

Carter Haycraft makes it 1-0 Mahtomedi

Mahtomedi 3 Mankato East 0 After 2 periods

Mahtomedi was able to find the back of the net when Carter Haycraft scored about a minute into the period. Nick Beiersdorf scored in the middle of the period on assists from Jake Hodd-Chlebeck & Cole Swanson to make it 2-0 and Cav Bruner scored back breaker to make it 3-0 with around 8 seconds left. Ben Dardis will look to shut the door the rest of the way as he has done throughout the playoffs.

Mahtomedi 4 Mankato East 1 Final

The Cougars were able to break the shut out streak by Ben Dardis when Cougar defenseman Aiden Prochaska scored to make the game 3-1 but Mahtomedi did answer back when Charlie Drage scored to put the game away and make it 4-1. Mahtomedi moves on to face Warroad on Friday in the Semi Finals.