ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Class 2A boys hockey state tournament is slated to begin with quarterfinals Thursday, March 5, at Grand Casino Arena. Semifinals are Friday and the championship is Saturday.
The tournament will be broadcast by Prep45-TV and will be simulcast locally on AntennaTV. All games will also be
for free.
Moorhead games will be broadcast on
. Spuds broadcaster Larry Knutson will deliver play-by-play and Steve Hallstrom has pregame and postgame coverage.
The Forum takes a look at each of the eight teams vying for glory:
STATE HOCKEY SCHEDULE
Minnesota Class 2A boys hockey state tournament
At Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul
Thursday, March 5
Quarterfinals
1) No. 8 Gentry Academy vs. No. 1 Minnetonka, 11 a.m.
2) No. 5 Grand Rapids vs. No. 4 Rosemount, 1 p.m.
3) No. 7 Lakeville South vs. No. 2 Moorhead, 6 p.m.
4) No. 6 Andover vs. No. 3 Edina, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 6
Semifinals
5) Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
6) Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 7
Championship
7) Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
No. 1 Minnetonka (24-2-2)
Minnetonka will make its eighth appearance in the state tournament. The Skippers, who last won a state title in 2023, topped Chanhassen 5-2 in the Section 2-2A championship.
The Skippers sat atop the coaches poll throughout most of the second half of the season following a 4-2 win over the Spuds in December at Moorhead Sports Center. Minnetonka was unseated as the top-ranked team after a 6-1 loss to Rogers in February.
Forward’s Max Aronson and Cash Hardie lead Minnetonka with 31 points each. Skippers goaltender Chase Jerdee, a finalist for The Frank Brimsek Award which recognized the state’s top netminder, holds a 1.56 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
“We feel like this is probably the deepest D-corps we’ve probably ever had,” Minnetonka head coach Sean Goldsworthy
in December. The Skippers have outscored opponents 130-38 in 28 games.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Moorhead, who advanced to state for the 22nd time in program history, enters the tournament as the defending state champions. The Spuds captured the program’s first state championship last season following a 7-6 win over Stillwater.
The Spuds were the top-ranked team throughout the preseason and first month of the season. A loss to Minnetonka moved Moorhead to the No. 2 spot and were moved to No. 3 to close out the season after Rogers’ win over Minnetonka.
Moorhead houses two Mr. Hockey finalists in forward Tyden Bergeson and defenseman Brandon Mickelson. Bergeson has 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) and Mickelson has 59 points (21G, 38A). In net, sophomore Will Arnold has a 2.25 GAA and five shutouts on the year.
“(This week) is what everybody waits for,” Mickelson said after the Spuds’ 5-1 win over Elk River-Zimmerman in the Section 8-2A championship. “We’re hyped.”
Edina will return to the state tournament for the 44th time. The Hornets, who were the 2024 state champions, topped Wayzata 3-1 in the Section 6-2A championship.
The Hornets were ranked fifth in the poll. Tucker Johnson leads Edina with 60 points (16G, 44A) and Bode McConnell leads with 33 goals (54P). Hornets goaltender Chase Bjorgaard has a 2.21 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
Edina fell to Moorhead 6-3 at the Wayzata Turkey Trot to open the regular season. The Hornets tied with Minnetonka 3-3 on Jan. 29.
Rosemount returns to the state tournament for the first time since 2003 and fourth time overall. The Irish defeated No. 3-ranked St. Thomas Academy 3-2 in the Section 3-2A championship.
Connor Schubert leads the Irish with 41 points (19G, 22A) Gavin Neil has 40 points (13G, 27A). In net, sophomore Drew Sherman maintains a 1.77 GAA and .936 save percentage.
No. 5 Grand Rapids (15-12-1)
Grand Rapids will appear at the state tournament for the 18th time. The Thunderhawks, who last won a state title in 2017, downed Rock Ridge 4-1 in the Section 7-2A championship.
Seth Carlson has a team-high 43 points (20G, 23A) and Ander Rajala has 41 points (20G, 21A). Sophomore goaltender Luke Sherlock has a 2.53 GAA and three shutouts in 17 games.
The Thunderbirds went 2-7-1 to open the season before finishing with seven consecutive wins en route to state. Moorhead defeated Grand Rapids 7-1 in the pair’s lone meeting in December.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Andover is set to make its sixth state appearance. The unranked Huskies upset the top-seeded Maple Grove 3-2 in OT in the Section 5-2A semifinals and No. 3 Centennial in the section championship.
Camden Langfield leads Andover with 55 points (20G, 35A). Huskies netminder Wyatt Riemer has a 3.71 GAA.
Andover narrowly fell to Moorhead in a 5-4 overtime loss in January. The Spuds also won 7-3 in December.
No. 7 Lakeville South (14-11-3)
Lakeville South returns to the state tournament for the 10th time. The Cougars, who have yet to win a state championship, defeated Farmington 3-1 in the Section 1-2A championship.
Carter Ernst leads Lakeville South with 48 points (19G, 29A). Roan Zielie and Calvin O’Reilly both have 20 goals. Cougars netminder Keaton LeGrande has a 2.91 GAA.
Lakeville South fell to Moorhead 7-4 in the state quarterfinals last season. The Cougars play Moorhead again in the quarterfinals Thursday.
No. 8 Gentry Academy (17-9-2)
Gentry Academy makes its second state tournament appearance. The Stars, who won the 2021 state championship in their lone showing, blanked White Bear Lake 3-0 in the Section 4-2A championship.
Jaxon Cook paces the Stars with 59 points (33G, 26A). Stars goaltender Gavin Grose has 2.47 GAA and .898 save percentage.
The Stars upset top-seeded Hill-Murray in the section championship. Gentry Academy has the smallest enrollment of anyone in the tournament at 722. The school
by Moorhead High alumnus Chuck Lucius.
