1A Final- #1 Northfield vs #3 Rochester Lourdes
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2025 9:03 pm
Section 1A Final I February 26th, 2025 | 7:00 PM CT | @ Rochester Recreation Center
#1 seed Northfield Raiders (21-4-2)
Northfield enters the 1A Final looking to three-peat as Section 1A Champions. The Raiders have been the dominant team down south all year as they won the Big 9 Conference again and they are currently (6-0-1) vs 1A teams and they have outscored them 45-3 in those games making them a very tough team for section competitors to match up with. However, they did not play Rochester Lourdes during the regular season and they are a strong young team and this should be a good game.
Raiders Leaders- Seniors #7 Will Cashin (30-29-59 pts) & #21 Griffin Kennelly (18-19-37 pts) and Junior #9 Michael Steward (14-29-43 pts.) give Northfield a big offensive trio as they have been a strong top line all year. The Raiders strength is on the blueline as Sophomore #2 Ben Geiger (20-35-55 pts) & Junior #4 Bridger Riley (4-40-44 pts) are as good as they come as they are gifted players who can not only defend but they can add to the offense as well.
Raiders Goalie- Senior #1 Max Frank (15-4-1) 2.06 GAA .901 SV% has been their main guy in net all season long. He has postseason experience and won the Section 1A Final a year ago so he knows what it takes to win this game.
Raiders Shut Down Section 1A Defense- The Raiders have not given up a goal yet so far in their run through the Section 1A playoffs as they have gotten two shutout wins. That should not be surprising considering in 7 games so far vs 1A teams Northfield has only surrendered 3 total goals and has posted 6 total shutouts combined. This is a different Raiders team that is built more on the backend this year and their strong team defense makes it very hard to see them as an upset pick here.
Raiders Special Teams- The Power Play is at 39.5% and Penalty Kill is at 88%
#3 seed Rochester Lourdes Eagles (16-10-1)
Rochester Lourdes enters the 1A Section Final for the first time since 2019 and this is their 15th Section Title game overall in the Class A era. The Eagles are a young and talented team that has progressively improved as the year has gone along. Now they will be tasked with their toughest assignment of the season as they take on the mighty and powerful two time defending 1A champion Raiders. They won't be scared and will be looking to pull the upset.
Eagles Leaders- Senior #10 Jack Roe (11-12-23 pts) and Juniors #7 Owen Hoehn (11-9-20 pts) & #4 Jack Phillips (10-11-22 pts) and Sophomore #16 Nolan DuBois (18-9- 27 pts) give Lourdes a strong offensive core that all have double digit goals on the year so far. Junior #6 Vinny Harens (7-14-21 pts) & Sophomore #24 Charlie Kor (5-10-15 pts) lead the blueline and both have had really strong years from the backend.
Eagles Goalie- Junior #31 Anton Ackley (15-9-1) 2.43 GAA .911 SV% has had a good year in net and he has come up big in the biggest games and been able to come up with key saves when the defense breaks down.
Eagles Youthful Lineup- Lourdes was a team identified in the preseason as a sleeper pick to have a big year. After a little bit of a slow start this team took off and is playing its best hockey now. A closer look at the lineup card will show that this team should only be better next year as 9 of their top 10 leading scorers are underclassmen and their goalie will return as well next year as they look to arrive at State a year earlier than many would have expected.
Eagles Special Teams- The Power Play is at 20% and Penalty Kill is at 82 %
#1 seed Northfield Raiders (21-4-2)
Northfield enters the 1A Final looking to three-peat as Section 1A Champions. The Raiders have been the dominant team down south all year as they won the Big 9 Conference again and they are currently (6-0-1) vs 1A teams and they have outscored them 45-3 in those games making them a very tough team for section competitors to match up with. However, they did not play Rochester Lourdes during the regular season and they are a strong young team and this should be a good game.
Raiders Leaders- Seniors #7 Will Cashin (30-29-59 pts) & #21 Griffin Kennelly (18-19-37 pts) and Junior #9 Michael Steward (14-29-43 pts.) give Northfield a big offensive trio as they have been a strong top line all year. The Raiders strength is on the blueline as Sophomore #2 Ben Geiger (20-35-55 pts) & Junior #4 Bridger Riley (4-40-44 pts) are as good as they come as they are gifted players who can not only defend but they can add to the offense as well.
Raiders Goalie- Senior #1 Max Frank (15-4-1) 2.06 GAA .901 SV% has been their main guy in net all season long. He has postseason experience and won the Section 1A Final a year ago so he knows what it takes to win this game.
Raiders Shut Down Section 1A Defense- The Raiders have not given up a goal yet so far in their run through the Section 1A playoffs as they have gotten two shutout wins. That should not be surprising considering in 7 games so far vs 1A teams Northfield has only surrendered 3 total goals and has posted 6 total shutouts combined. This is a different Raiders team that is built more on the backend this year and their strong team defense makes it very hard to see them as an upset pick here.
Raiders Special Teams- The Power Play is at 39.5% and Penalty Kill is at 88%
#3 seed Rochester Lourdes Eagles (16-10-1)
Rochester Lourdes enters the 1A Section Final for the first time since 2019 and this is their 15th Section Title game overall in the Class A era. The Eagles are a young and talented team that has progressively improved as the year has gone along. Now they will be tasked with their toughest assignment of the season as they take on the mighty and powerful two time defending 1A champion Raiders. They won't be scared and will be looking to pull the upset.
Eagles Leaders- Senior #10 Jack Roe (11-12-23 pts) and Juniors #7 Owen Hoehn (11-9-20 pts) & #4 Jack Phillips (10-11-22 pts) and Sophomore #16 Nolan DuBois (18-9- 27 pts) give Lourdes a strong offensive core that all have double digit goals on the year so far. Junior #6 Vinny Harens (7-14-21 pts) & Sophomore #24 Charlie Kor (5-10-15 pts) lead the blueline and both have had really strong years from the backend.
Eagles Goalie- Junior #31 Anton Ackley (15-9-1) 2.43 GAA .911 SV% has had a good year in net and he has come up big in the biggest games and been able to come up with key saves when the defense breaks down.
Eagles Youthful Lineup- Lourdes was a team identified in the preseason as a sleeper pick to have a big year. After a little bit of a slow start this team took off and is playing its best hockey now. A closer look at the lineup card will show that this team should only be better next year as 9 of their top 10 leading scorers are underclassmen and their goalie will return as well next year as they look to arrive at State a year earlier than many would have expected.
Eagles Special Teams- The Power Play is at 20% and Penalty Kill is at 82 %