Other scores from Wednesday night
Irondale took down Minnehaha Academy to advance further into the section playoffs. They get a chance at the red hot Hill Murray Pioneers in the next round.
The Orono Spartans defeated Bloomington Kennedy on Wednesday night, they will get the winner of Armstrong / Mound.
Games to watch tonight
#4 Marshall Gets #5 Luverne. This game will decide who gets a shot at either the top seeded Hutchinson Tigers, or the Fairmont Cardinals. Both teams didn’t get a ton of traction in 3A this season, with Marshall being the only team to take on Hutch (they lost). Marshall rides one of the better Class A goalies in the state, Dominik Caspers.
Luverne’s signature win on the season was a 5-2 victory over the New Ulm Eagles in early January.
Prediction: I’m going to go with the #4 seed here, the Marshall Tigers in what I predict to be a low scoring game. Let’s go 3-1 final, Tigers advance to face Hutchinson (predicting a win there for the Hutch Tigers) in the Semifinals. If stud senior goalie Dominik Caspers can get hot and see shots from outside the circles, the Marshall Tigers have every chance to knock off the top seeded pack of Tigers from Hutchinson in the section semis.
Other 3A Games: New Ulm vs. Windom tonight. New Ulm is the #3 seed in this section, they went to the X out of 3A last season, beating LDC 2-1 in the semis and then getting past Hutch. I do think that this game could go either way. Windom is a scrappy first round team, they’re a team New Ulm wants to see in the first round (rather than Luverne / Marshall), however this is a great upset opportunity for Windom tonight. Worthington will see Litchfield in Litchfield tonight.
#4 Chaska vs. #5 Holy Family: Chaska had an up and down season, but they did sneak out a win over Prior Lake earlier in the season. Chaska’s leading points scorer this season is just a freshman in Jimmy Snuggerud, they’ll lean on him heavily for a stretch run. Holy Family did not end this season the way they would’ve liked, having lost 6 of their final 7 games, so they’ll come in with a chip on their shoulder tonight.
Prediction: #4 Chaska moves past Holy Family 4-2 with an ENG. If Chaska does in fact come out on top this game, I think they beat Prior Lake (top seeded Prior Lake, that is..) in the semi-finals. That’s your one bold prediction for the day.
In Section 6AA we’ve got #4 Edina vs. #5 Wayzata: Wayzata started the season with 3 straight losses. They ripped off a winning streak that lasted until January after that, but the momentum wasn’t enough to find a win versus those pesky Hornets from Edina. Edina (12-9-4), who admittedly did not have the season they wanted, was able to top the Trojans twice during the regular season, a big factor in their #4 seed and home game tonight. Wayzata isn’t going to breeze by anybody with their offense, instead, they play a tight defensive game that has proven to frustrate their opposition throughout the season. This should be a fairly even, low scoring game that I can see being decided by just a goal.
Prediction: let’s face it. This is High School hockey, anything can happen. This is the playoffs, anything can happen. Beating a team 3 times in a season is challenging, especially when you’re rivals like these two are. Despite these teams facing off already 3x this year, the most recent game was a 1-1 tie.. I take Wayzata in a nail biter. These Trojans haven’t had a marquee win since a 2-1 victory over Eden Prairie back in January, they’re going to come out ready to roll tonight.
Trojans 3, Edina 2.
#1Dodge County vs. #8Winona- Section 1-A
Dodge County rolls into the playoffs with an impressive 20-5 record and have the leading goal scorer in the state in Brody Lamb. They are riding a 13 game winning streak and are hoping to make it 14 after tonight.
Winona comes into tonite with a 12-12-1 regular season record and are coming off a 5-1 opening round playoff win against Austin. On paper Dodge County should win, but this is high school hockey and anything can happen in the playoffs, should be a fun one!
