Five of the six top-ranked teams playing for title

CLASS 2A BOYS STATE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

Lack of sectional upsets led to stacked state bracket

Stillwater forward Matthew Volkman (18) celebrates with the student section after scoring in the second period of the Class 2A, Section 4 championship game against Hill-Murray at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood on Feb. 28. MATT BLEWETT — SPECIAL TO PIONEER PRESS

Image

By Jace Frederick

jfrederick@pioneerpress.com

Five of the top six teams in Let’s Play Hockey’s final Class 2A state rankings reached St. Paul this season. The lone exception was top-ranked Hill-Murray, who fell in the Section 4 final to third-ranked Stillwater.

Shakopee — the No. 9-ranked team in the state — is the No. 6 seed.

The lack of section upsets created a stacked state tournament field that could lead to a high-quality tournament.

Do we know you?

Stillwater’s starting goalie in the Section 4 final — who’s expected to be between the pipes in Thursday’s quarterfinal — is senior Cal Conway.

Last season, Conway played for Andover.

The Ponies’ opponent on Thursday? Andover.

Funny how things work out.

Conway was suspended by the Minnesota State High School League for nine weeks in the middle of the campaign due to a technical issue with his transfer to Stillwater, but returned in early February and has been stellar ever since.

Now he’ll take on some former teammates of his.

Moorhead’s time?

The Spuds are the top seed this week, and in position to finally break through for the program’s first state title.

Wait, the Spuds have never claimed a crown? No, but they’ve come tantalizingly close. This will be their 21st state tournament appearance, and sixth in the last eight years. Moorhead has eight runner-up finishes. Led by Mr. Hockey finalist Mason Kraft — a forward committed to Minnesota State-Mankato — this could be the Moorhead team that climbs the final rung.

Edina repeat?

The Hornets have played on Saturday night in each of the past two tournaments, and lifted the trophy in 2024.

The elite players on this year’s Hornets’ roster are largely sophomores and juniors, so this Edina

Welcome back, Cadets

In its first season under coach Mark Strobel, St. Thomas Academy is making its first state tournament appearance since 2021. That’s not really a “drought.”

What is noteworthy is the Cadets still have yet to win a title since moving up to Class 2A more than a decade ago, nor have they played on Saturday night in that time. That’s despite having six previous appearances in the big school tournament over the past 10 years. This team has the talent to break through.

The Cadets have five players with 40-plus points and feature Cody Niesen, who’s stopped 93 percent of the shots he’s faced this season, in net.