Minnesota Boys Class AA State tournament preview
- FTP
- 03/05/2024
Edina year after year seems to be battling it out in the state tourney, This year proves to be no different. After taking down the #2 team in the state in the section final easily and having a rare Minnetonka loss the Hornets go into the tournament sitting a top the #1 seed. With a 23-4-0 record the Hornets go into the tournament with high hopes and look to prove they belong. With last years championship loss to the Skippers they look to get back to that game but this time with a different outcome. In the quarter-finals they match up with a Elk River tea who has not been to the state tournament in many years. They have beat the Elks once before 4-0 an look to repeat it in shutout fashion again.
The Storm are also a team that nobody expected to see in the state tournament Minnetonka was everyones bet. Sitting on top of a 23-5-0 record the Storm have proven they are no stranger to winning. After starting the season 0-2 Chan finally got the ball rolling with a 6-1 win over Shakopee. And eventually a few games later they were expected to meet the undefeated Minnetonka Skippers, this game proved a lot from the storm even though they ended up losing in over time they still showed they could hang with the top teams. Coming into the section finals the game proved to be a rematch of the skippers, Chan got out to a hot start and got two early both from #7 Andy Earl and the Storm never looked back. And with holding the #2 seed we look forward to seeing how they can do in state.
Centennial prepares for the tourney with a 19-7-2 record and sits on the #3 seed. in the last few games they have played Centennial has showcased truly their talent. Senior forward #17 Harper Searels lead the way with a total of 65 points and not far behind him is #5 Heath Nelson with a total of 63 points thus far. Centennials quarter-final matchup is with the #6 seed Cretin Derham Hall, these two teams are yet to meet this season both teams have a lot of skill this game will be a tough test to see what each other is made of.
The Bears are not a team to let hang around give them an inch and they take a mile, with a record of 20-7-1 and with a convincing 3-0 win over a tough Hill-Murray team is a testament to their talent. With the next matchup being a Grand Rapids team who hasn’t seen the tournament ice sense 2017 they will be looking forward to proving themselves. White Bear looks to push on past this tough Grand Rapids team and move to the semis.
Grand Rapids has not seen the light of the tourney for years, with this newfound tourney success they look to make their presence know this year. Last time they were featured in this game they had several upsets and won the whole thing they will look to upset many a repeat their tournament success this go around.
The Raiders have become sort of a staple in the tournament, with an upset win over STA in the section finals they look on to playing Centennial. With a 17-10-0 record it certainly shows they are a solid team. they have the #7 seed. Cretin is no stranger to upset games with beating the #1 Seed Eastview in the semi-finals and beating the #3 seed STA in the finals. Cretin Derham Hall looks to again upset the Centennial Cougars.
Well this sounds like a broken record but yet another team we did not expect to see in the tournament, Rochester holds a impressive record of 22-4-2 and beat a very tough lakville south squad who went on an undefeated stint at the beginning of the season. with Rochester holding the #7 seed they look to a power house Chanhassen team who is no stranger to winning. With all the luck and momentum they can get they look to come out flying and get an early lead on chan and move to the semifinals.
Nobody expected to see this team in the tourney this year but with some upset wins thtas how the cards played out. With an 18-9-0 record they look to take down the Edina Hornets, as i said before these two teams have meet once before this season and that turned out to be a 4-0 shutout win in favor of the Hornets. Even though the Elks are the #8 seed they plan on upsetting the #1 Seed, and boy have upsets been the theme in their section, they are no stranger to showing up and playing their hearts out.
