Holy Angels (18-6-1) has fashioned an impressive body of work and enters the playoffs having won eight of its last nine games. St. Louis Park (12-12-2) has fewer wins and more losses, but won the teams’ regular-season meeting 4-2 on Dec. 20 in Richfield. Call it a “head-to-head” thing that St. Louis Park received Section 6AA’s No. 4 seed and Holy Angels the No. 5.
St. Louis Park junior Josh Middleton, one of the state’s best goaltenders in his age group, has two shutouts among his 11 wins, and he stopped 27 of 29 shots in the regular season win over Holy Angels. Junior Griffin Krone leads the Orioles in goals (19) and points (40).
Super sophomore Henry Lechner (31 goals, 35 assists) is Holy Angels’ go-to scorer, and senior Jack Bartfield (21 goals, 17 assists) ranks among the state’s highest-scoring defensemen. Holy Angels’ youth movement includes a trio of impressive freshmen in Cole Cheeseman (43 points), Gabe Perron (28 points) and Lincoln Ayers Assad (24 points).