The Moose are cutting loose. Again.

After winning Section 5A as the No. 4 seed, Monticello enters the state tournament 6-1-1 in its last eight games. The Moose, making their fourth state tournament appearance in the last six seasons, have rebounded from losing five of their first six games to open the season and a 3-7-0 stretch from Dec. 23 to Jan. 22.

Monticello’s victory over St. Cloud Cathedral in the section championship game is believed to be the Moose’s first win over the Crusaders in program history.

Scoring is concentrated heavily on the stick of senior forward Wilson Dahlheimer. His three goals carried the Moose in the section championship. His 46 points are 22 more than the Moose’s No. 2 scorer, defenseman Gavin Simon. He’ll be needed to continue that level of play as the Moose often struggle to generate offense, having scored more than three goals in just 10 games.

“Right, wrong or indifferent, we’ve got Dahlheimer and then 11 guys battling for ice time,” said Monticello coach Eric Nelson, who often deploys all four of his forward lines.