| 2008-2009 Section 5A Defending Champ - St. Cloud Cathedral. Favorites - St. Cloud Cathedral, Hermantown. First Round: Pine City/Rush City (10-16-1, #8 seed) defeated North Branch (4-15-0, #9 seed) 4-2. Pine City/Rush City notched three goals in the second period to lead 3-2 after two. Junior forward Nathan Theisen of the Dragons scored on the power play, at 4:53 of the third period, to give Pine City/Rush City a 4-2 edge. Pine City/Rush City outshot North Branch 33-29. For Pine City/Rush City, junior forward Taylor Gonyea had 3 assists and Theisen had 2 goals. For North Branch, senior forward Josh Arnold and sophomore defenseman Owen Caske each had 1 goal. Goalies: Pine City/Rush City - senior James Fregein, North Branch - sophomore Nic Miller. Quarterfinals: St. Cloud Cathedral (23-2-1, #1 seed) shutout Pine City/Rush City (10-17-1, #8 seed) 9-0. St. Cloud Cathedral tallied six goals in the first period including three from junior forward Jordan Palusky. Junior goalie Nick Maiers of the Crusaders recorded the shutout. St. Cloud Cathedral outshot Pine City/Rush City 52-15. For St. Cloud Cathedral, Palusky had 4 goals, 1 assist, junior forward Alex Koopmeiners had 1 goal, 3 assists, and senior forward Sam Lommel had 3 assists. Goalies: St. Cloud Cathedral - Maiers, Pine City/Rush City - senior James Fregein. Hermantown (23-3-0, #2 seed) defeated Mora/Hinckley-Finlayson (10-14-2, #7 seed) 6-2. Hermantown dominated the action and led 4-2 after two periods. The Hawks outshot Mora/Hinckley-Finlayson 60-10. For Hermantown, senior forward Branden Perrault had 3 goals and junior defenseman Connor Hady and junior forward Andrew Oakes each had 2 assists. For Mora/Hinckley-Finlayson, sophomore forward Anthony Pasillas and junior defenseman Darin Erickson each had 1 goal. Goalies: Hermantown - senior Ben Tessier, Mora/Hinckley-Finlayson - junior Cody Bjornson. Duluth Denfeld (14-11-1, #3 seed) defeated Proctor (11-14-0, #6 seed) 7-1. Duluth Denfeld surged to a 4-1 lead after two. The Hunters outshot Proctor 55-13. For Duluth Denfeld, senior forward Cody Hotchkin had 2 goals, 2 assists and junior forward Jason Johnson had 2 goals, 1 assist. For Proctor, senoir forward Rastislav Zvara had 1 goal. Goalies: Duluth Denfeld - senior Matt Messina, Proctor - junior Derek Robinson. Sauk Rapids-Rice (9-17-0, #4 seed) defeated Moose Lake Area (19-5-1, #5 seed) 4-1. Sauk Rapids-Rice used a smothering second period to make the difference. Moose Lake Area led 1-0 after one period; however, the Storm outshot Moose Lake Area 21-2 in the second period and notched three goals. Sauk Rapids-Rice outshot Moose Lake Area 47-21. For Sauk Rapids-Rice, junior forward Eric Anderson had 2 goals and sophomore defenseman Ethan Prow had 2 assists. For Moose Lake Area, junior forward Mike Unzen had 1 goal. Goalies: Sauk Rapids-Rice - senior Beau Jacobson, Moose Lake Area - senior Logan McAllister. Semifinals: St. Cloud Cathedral (24-2-1, #1 seed) defeated Sauk Rapids-Rice (9-18-0, #4 seed) 8-4. St. Cloud Cathedral led 3-1 after one period and 5-2 after two. The Crusaders netted the first three goals of the third period to cruise to an 8-2 bulge. St. Cloud Cathedral outshot Sauk Rapids-Rice 39-23. For St. Cloud Cathedral, junior forward Jordan Palusky had 2 goals, 2 assists, junior defenseman Nate Schmidt had 2 goals, 1 assist, and senior forward Sam Lommel had 1 goal, 2 assists. For Sauk Rapids-Rice, junior forward Michael Rutar had 3 assists and junior foward Eric Peckskamp had 2 goals. Goalies: St. Cloud Cathedral - junior Nick Maiers, Sauk Rapids-Rice - senior Beau Jacobson. Hermantown (24-3-0, #2 seed) defeated Duluth Denfeld (14-12-1, #3 seed) 4-2. Hermantown controlled the play in the first period; however, the teams were scoreless until Duluth Denfeld tallied in the final minute, at 16:37. In the second period, the teams exchanged early goals before a goal by the Hawks midway through the period left the teams deadlocked, 2-2, after two. Hermantown controlled the play again in the third period, outshooting the Hunters 12-5. At 9:02, senior forward Grant Huttel of the Hawks scored to give Hermantown their first lead of the game, 3-2. On a power play later in the period, junior forward Adam Krause of Hermantown added a goal with the man-advantage, at 13:41, to boost the Hawks to a 4-2 margin. Hermantown outshot Duluth Denfeld 36-26. For Hermantown, Krause had 1 goal, 2 assists, junior forward Cody Christopherson had 1 goal, 1 assist, and junior defenseman Connor Hady had 2 assists. For Duluth Denfeld, senior forward Cody Hotchkin had 2 assists. Goalies: Hermantown - senior Ben Tessier, Duluth Denfeld - senior Matt Messina. Final: St. Cloud Cathedral (25-2-1, #1 seed) defeated Hermantown (24-4-0, #2 seed) 5-1. St. Cloud Cathedral got the upper hand in the first period with a pair of goals for a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Hermantown put on more pressure and cut the margin in half with a tally from junior forward Adam Krause, at 13:29. At 15:58, the Crusaders answered back when senior forward Jon Larkin scored his second goal of the game, on a low wrister from the circle, to give St. Cloud Cathedral another two-goal advantage. With only :08 remaining in the period and a faceoff in the Hermantown end, junior forward Jordan Palusky quickly dug the puck out of the corner, fired a pass in front to Larkin who scored at the buzzer as the Crusaders held a 4-1 bulge after two. In the third period, junior defenseman Nate Schmidt added a goal to top off the scoring. St. Cloud Cathedral outshot Hermantown 28-24. For St. Cloud Cathedral, Larkin had 3 goals and Palusky had 3 assists. For Hermantown, Krause had 1 goal. Goalies: St. Cloud Cathedral - junior Nick Maiers, Hermantown - senior Ben Tessier. |