Mason Moe caught the pass in stride, split the Holy Family defense as was gone. Breakaway. 

Moe’s top-end speed is such that the likelihood of him being caught from behind ranges somewhere between nil and nada.

But could he finish? Oh, yes, the Eden Prairie forward can finish. With a quick flick of the wrists Moe fired a shot low and to the left of Holy Family goaltender Bennett Reinhard. The goal was Moe’s team-leading 18th of the season and sparked the No. 5 seed Eagles to a three-goal third period on Friday in their 4-1 Section 2AA quarterfinal victory over No. 4 seed Holy Family at the Victoria Recreation Center.

Not bad … for a freshman.

“It’s ridiculous,” Eden Prairie junior Teddy Townsend said about the play of Moe. “He’s so strong and skilled. It’s honestly crazy. He amazes me in practice every day.”

Amazing? Moe is the sort of player who makes the stupefying look simple. 

“Nothing he does really surprises us,” Eagles coach Mike Terwilliger said. 

Moe stands 6-foot, weighs about 170 and has the maturity of a player well beyond his years. There’s nothing about him that screams freshman — most definitely not his refined, all-around game. The former Bantam AA phenom also assisted on Townsend’s second-period goal that opened the scoring.

If Moe isn’t the state’s best freshman then he’s front and center in the conversation. He’s scored a goal in each of the Eagles’ last three games. Three of his goals have come on power plays and three have been game winners.

“He's been getting better and better all year,” Terwilliger said. “And he's very coachable, working really hard in practice.”

Friday’s game was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed because of stormy midweek weather. It was rescheduled at least a few times before finally being played Friday. The turnaround time is short for Eden Prairie, as it plays No. 1 seed Chanhassen at 4 p.m. today in a section semifinal at Braemar Arena. Chanhassen played its section quarterfinal, a 9-0 win over Bloomington Jefferson, on Tuesday.

Moe doesn’t see the short turnaround as a disadvantage.

“I actually I don't think so,” he said. “I think that we have momentum. I'll be good. Maybe we'll catch them off guard.”

VICTORIA - Freshman forward Mason Moe had a goal and an assist as No. 5 seed Eden Prairie beat No. 4 seed Holy Family 4-1 in a Section 2AA quarterfinal on Friday at the Victoria Recreation Center. 

Moe scored on a breakaway to ignite a three-goal third period for the No. 19-2A Eagles (13-12-1) as they halted Holy Family’s 12-game win streak that started Jan. 12.

Moe took a breakout feed from Cole Saterdalen, split the Holy Family defense and fired low and to the left of Bennett Reinhard to give Eden Prairie a 2-0 lead 3:54 into the final period.

Saterdalen scored in similar fashion less than 2 minutes later, scoring on a 2-on-1 with Ethan Hall by firing low and left on Reinhard.

Parker Osborn pulled No. 15-2A Holy Family (20-6-0) to within 3-1 with 10:03 remaining but John Kleis’ empty-net goal with 1:02 remaining clinched the victory for Eden Prairie. Holy Family defeated Eden Prairie 3-2 on Jan. 12 in Eden Prairie to start its win streak.

Teddy Townsend scored a power-play goal for Eden Prairie in the second period just minutes after being stopped on a penalty shot attempt. 

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was rescheduled at least twice before the schools finally settled on a date. Eden Prairie plays No. 1 seed Chanhassen in a 4 p.m. start on Saturday at Braemar Arena.