Goaltender Presley Patrin played out of his mind, stretching and diving and twisting his body into pretzel-like positions all while throwing himself in front of pucks with abandon.

Defenseman Jack Krtizcek was a puck-moving, shot-blocking ironman — leaving the ice rarely and for just a handful of seconds (hydrate, quick breather) before jumping back into the fray.

Forward Carter Ashworth drilled a one-timer into an opening no bigger than a napkin, surprising even himself with the accuracy of the rising shot.

Parker Mitchell? The state’s scoring leader? He didn’t score Monday night in Mora/Milaca’s 1-0 victory over St. Cloud Cathedral at the Mora Civic Center. He didn’t need to, not with fellow seniors Patrin, Krtizcek and Ashworth — among others — all playing their roles to perfection.

“Yeah, I don't really care about points right now,” said Mitchell, who entered the night with 44 goals and 72 points, both state highs. “Right now it’s all about the Trek to the X. We have 13 seniors and (playing in the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul) is all we want to do. 

“We win and I get zero points? That’s a win for me.”

Unranked Mora/Milaca improved to 15-5-2 as it played a state-ranked opponent (Cathedral came in at No. 19 in Class 1A) for the first time this season. The Mustangs have won eight straight and 12 of their last 13.

“It’s a very important win, and that's probably the closest game we played all year,” said Patrin, who made 21 of his 25 saves in the final two periods. “We played at a very high level on defense.”

The shutout was Patrin’s fifth of the season.

“He's outstanding,” Ashworth said. “He's kept us in games all year. We love him.”

Ashworth provided the winning goal on a third-period power play when he took a feed from Krtizcek and blasted a shot into the upper right corner, the puck finding an opening between St. Cloud Cathedral goaltender Nicholas Hansen and the right goalpost.

“I didn't think it went in,” Ashworth said about his goal, which came with 9:31 remaining. “I thought it went over the net. But then everybody was cheering, so I was like, ‘Alright.’ ”

St. Cloud Cathedral (11-10-0) was trying to solidify its position in the top four of Section 5A , a group that is expected to include Cambridge-Isanti, Little Falls and Monticello.

Mora/Milaca never seems to pop up in discussions about top section seeds. Not that the Mustangs care.

“Seeding in my mind doesn't really mean anything, because playoff hockey is a totally different thing than what it is right now,” Krtizcek said. “But yeah, maybe we'll get some people talking about us now that we’ve beaten Cathedral."