ALBERTVILLE - Junior forward Braeden Waller's goal with 35 seconds left boosted unranked (Class 2A) St. Michael-Albertville to the biggest upset of the season so far, a 2-1 triumph over No. 3 Edina on Thursday at the St. Michael-Albertville Arena.
Dylan Faucher started the winning play by winning a battle for the puck along the boards near the blue line. He then fed Waller, who was left alone in the slot. Waller fired a high shot over the shoulder of Edina goaltender Chase Bjorgaard, touching off a wild celebration not only on the ice but throughout the arena among Knights fans.
The goal was Waller's team leading 14th of the season. Tanner Esterberg leads the Knights with 25 points and is the only senior among the team's top 10 scorers. Senior goaltender Lucas Ingebrigtson made 29 saves to earn the victory. He ranks tied for seventh in the state with a .927 save percentage.
Brady Mullmann scored the lone goal for Edina (10-4-0) late in the first period. The Hornets led until early in the third, when Braylen Maciej tied it at 1-1.
The victory was the eighth straight for St. Michael-Albertville (9-4-0), which started the season 1-4-0.
PARK RAPIDS - Park Rapids junior Finn Henry scored a stunning six goals, one more than Prairie Centre's Leyton Fuchs, as the Panthers knocked off the North Stars 7-6 in a wild back-and-forth scorefest at Ted O. Johnson Ice Arena.
Henry scored four if his goals in the final period as Park Rapids (2-9-0) rallied from a 5-3 deficit. Henry scored his final three goals in a span of less than 5 minutes in the third period, the last coming with 2:53 remaining.
Fuchs, a junior forward, scored twice in the first and second periods and added a goal midway through the third that put Prairie Centre (10-3-0) ahead 6-4. Fuchs has 19 goals to rank tied for eighth in the state.
EDEN PRAIRIE - Max Aronson scored twice and Chase Jerdee recorded his state-best fifth shutout of the season as top-ranked Minnetonka defeated Eden Prairie 3-0 at the Eden Prairie Community Center.
Aronson, a junior forward, has nine goals for No. 1-2A Minnetonka, tied with sophomore Cash Hardie for the team lead.
The Skippers (13-0-1) have shut out their last four opponents and have eight shutouts in all this season. With Farmington's loss to Shakopee, Minnetonka and International Falls (9-0-2) are the last of the state's unbeaten teams.
Bennett Wilmer made 38 saves for No. 15-2A Eden Prairie (5-8-1).
DULUTH - Jacob Iallonardo stopped 35 shots, including 16 in the final period, as Cloquet/Esko/Carlton knocked off Lake Superior Conference rival Duluth Marshall 4-2 at Mars Lakeview Arena.
The No. 10-1A Lumberjacks (8-7-0) rallied from a 2-1 deficit after the first period by scoring the final three goals, including two in the final period.
Kaden Willis tied it at 2-2 with the lone goal of the second, Neil Elsmore put the Lumberjacks ahead 3-2 with 4:28 left in the third and Luca Gentillini's empty net goal with 29 seconds left clinched the victory.
Senior Viljami Sinisalo score both goals for No. 19-2A Duluth Marshall (12-2-1).
DELANO - Mahtomedi scored four times in the third period as the Zephyrs defeated Delano 5-3 as two of Class A's top-ranked teams met at the Delano Area Sports Arena.
No. 6-1A Mahtomedi used third-period goals by Vinny Redpath, Henry Sampair and Brock Gutterman to take a 4-2 lead. The win was the 485th at Mahtomedi for Jeff Poeschl, who is in his 29th season leading the Zephyrs. He has won 515 games overall.
Brody Geislinger scored for No. 3-1A Delano with 28 seconds left in regulation. Mahtomedi's Easton DeZelar answered with 6 seconds remaining.
The Tigers (10-4-1) led 2-1 after two periods following goals by Daniel Halonen and Brady Kangas. Gutterman added a second-period goal for Mahtomedi (7-6-2).
BREEZY POINT - Hibbing/Chisholm scored three times in the third period as it pulled away for a 4-1 win over Northern Lakes in a meeting of ranked teams at the Breezy Point Ice Arena.
Blake Riccio opened the scoring for No. 2-1A Hibbing/Chisholm in the first before No. 14-1A Northern Lakes (6-5-1) tied the game on Leyton Cable's power-play goal.
Ben Galli gave the Bluejackets (12-1-1) the lead with a power-play goal 72 seconds into the third. Jackson Strukel and Cole Swanson added goals later in the period.
BLAINE - Avenir Belous scored four goals as Rogers used a five-goal first period to defeat Blaine 7-1 in a matchup of ranked teams at Fogerty Arena.
Belous, a senior forward, has now scored seven goals for the Royals (10-4-1). He scored twice in the first and added two goals in the second. No. 7-2A Rogers' Matthew Hauser, Jayden Kurtz and Hudson Kottke each were credited with three assists.
Franklin Loo scored in the second for No. 16-2A Blaine (7-4-1).
Tag(s): News