It’s March Madness as college baskeball afficionado’s would say, but in the State of Hockey “March Madness” usually really gets going with the most publicized and closely covered high school tournament in the world. That being, the Minnesota Boys High School Hockey Tournament held annually at the Xcel Energy Centre in St. Paul. The tournament has an aura all of its own, and typically plays to sold out crowds at the 18,064 seat venue with total attendence in the 120,000 range for all the sessions. Many NHL teams would be jealous of that. Names like John Mayasich, Henry Boucha, Mike Antonovich, Phil Housely, Dave Spehar, and Johnny Pohl became household names with their performances during the 4 intense days of the tournament. While the tournament seems to have its perennial hockey powerhouses like Edina, Hill-Murray, Roseau, and Warroad making regular appearances there are always a few new schools each season hoping to make their mark. People still recall where they were when they watched the infamous five overtime thriller between Apple Valley and Duluth East. Whether your an current student or are an alumni of the schools in the tournament, the games themselves take on a life of their own and you cannot help but get wrapped up in all of the excitement and drama. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Many also relish the opportunity to hear the voice of former NHL player / coach and general manager Lou Nanne commentate as the teams battle for the state title. His voice has sort of become the voice of the tournament, and his experience commentating on NHL games gives the broadcast a level of detail and expertise that few other broadcasts of high school tournaments can match. <o></o>
Here is a run down of the section championships ‘AA’: Section winner will be in bold. <o></o>
Class ‘AA’: <o></o>
Section 1 ‘AA’: Lakeville South’s Bill Simon scored two goals to lift the Cougars over cross-town rival Lakeville North Panthers, this is their first journey to the State tournament.<o></o>
Section 2 ‘AA’: Edina’s Anders Lee scored from close range just past the 7-minute mark of overtime to give the Hornets a 4-3 win over a pesky Burnsville squad. Lee brought the Hornets to overtime when he scored on a penalty shot in the 3rd period. <o></o>
Section 3 ‘AA’ - Woodbury is going to state for a 2nd year in a row as California-born David Eddy had two goals that ended Rosemount’s surprising season in an 8-2 rout. The Irish’s JT Brown did his best as he scored the only two goals for Rosemount in a losing effort. <o></o>
Section 4 ‘AA’ - Secton 4 almost always seems to come down to Hill-Murray vs. White Bear Lake and it was no different this season as the Pioneers’ Jordan Johnson early 3rd period goal held up in a hard fought 2-1 victory. <o></o>
Section 5 ‘AA’ - The Blaine Bengals roared past arch-rival Centennial with a dominating 6-1 victory, senior forward Mike Schaber led the way for Blaine with a hat-trick. <o></o>
Section 6 ‘AA’ - Matthew Berglund was the hero for Benilde-St. Margaret’s Scarlet Knights as he scored the game-tying and game winning goals to bring about a remarkable 2-0 comeback to beat the Minnetonka Skippers in overtime, 3-2. <o></o>
Section 7 ‘AA’ - In a hard-fought matchup at the DECC, Adam Boleman’s 3rd period goal would lift Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks to a 3-2 victory over the Anoka Tornadoes. <o></o>
Section 8 ‘AA’ - The defending Class ‘AA’ State Champion Roseau Rams crushed Moorhead 6-1, and appear to have an excellent chance to repeat. The Rams are a perfect 28-0 and senior forward Ben Nelson had the game winner and goaltender Mike Lee had his 26th win of the season. <o></o>
Here is the bracket for Class ‘AA’ quarterfinals as well as the key player(s) for their respective teams.<o></o>
#2 Edina Hornets (26-2) Tourney odds 5-2 (co favorites)<o></o>
Key Player(s): Junior Marshall Everson’s 41 goals and 64 points top a physical and hard-charging Hornets’ offense. Fellow junior Anders Lee also fired home 32 goals for Edina this season. <o></o>
Vs. 11AM 3/6/08 Ch. 45<o></o>
Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (15-11-2) Tourney odds 28-1<o></o>
Key Player(s): 6′4″ senior forward Justin Jokinen (pronounced Jock-i-nehn) leads the Lumberjacks with 21 goals and 39 points. <o></o>
—————————————-<o></o>
#3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s Scarlet Knights (25-3) Tourney odds 6-1<o></o>
Key Player(s): Senior forwards Matthew Berglund (63 points) and Steve Zeirke (65 points) are the one-two punch for the Scarlet Knights. <o></o>
Vs. 1PM 3/6/08 Ch.45<o></o>
Woodbury Royals (22-6) Tourney odds 16-1 (wise guy pick)<o></o>
Key Player(s): Senior forward David Eddy provides offensive punch for the Royals, chipping in 29 goals and 58 points in 28 games this season. <o></o>
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#1 Roseau Rams (28-0) Tourney odds 5-2 (co –favorites)<o></o>
Key Player(s): Junior defenseman Aaron Ness (some even project he could be drafted in the 1st round at this year’s NHL Entry Draft) is considered to be one of the best players in Minnesota and he leads the Rams with 67 points, senior forward Ben Nelson isn’t far behind with 64 points. <o></o>
Vs. 6PM 3/6/08 Ch.45<o></o>
Blaine Bengals (20-8) Tourney odds 24-1<o></o>
Key Player(s): Seniors Mike Schaber and Ryan Johnson dominate at both ends of the ice for the Bengals with 59 points and 58 points respectively. <o></o>
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#4 Hill-Murray Pioneers (24-3-1) Tourney odds 5-1<o></o>
Key Player(s): Senior forward Dan Cecka leads the team with 31 goals and 66 points in just 28 games. <o></o>
Vs.<o></o>
Lakeville South Cougars (24-3-1) Tourney odds 100-1<o></o>
Key Player(s): Junior Bill Simon has a modest 28 points to lead a well-rounded Cougar attack. <o></o>
The State of Hockey News Class ‘AA’ Championship Prediction: ~ Roseau Rams - The Roseau Rams will have the pressure of being the defending State Champions with them, but this is something the Rams are used to dealing with. They may be the smallest school competing in the Class ‘AA’ tournament, but they have a tremendous offense; including the most gifted blueliner in the tournament in Aaron Ness who can give his team a scoring dimension none of the other teams have. While I think Roseau will have a good battle on its hands with Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the title game, the Rams will simply be too much for them as they get the repeat.
<o></o>
TRYTRYTRY prediction….Unbeaten Roseau not tested this year as much as the METRO teams to Lose in Semis. Edina advances to the final vs Hill Murray advances to the Finals in the “All TIME most Hated Schools final” 3-2 OT for Hill Murray in the upset.
fficeffice" /><o></o>Many also relish the opportunity to hear the voice of former NHL player / coach and general manager Lou Nanne commentate as the teams battle for the state title. His voice has sort of become the voice of the tournament, and his experience commentating on NHL games gives the broadcast a level of detail and expertise that few other broadcasts of high school tournaments can match. <o
></o>Here is a run down of the section championships ‘AA’: Section winner will be in bold. <o
></o>Class ‘AA’: <o
></o>Section 1 ‘AA’: Lakeville South’s Bill Simon scored two goals to lift the Cougars over cross-town rival Lakeville North Panthers, this is their first journey to the State tournament.<o
></o>Section 2 ‘AA’: Edina’s Anders Lee scored from close range just past the 7-minute mark of overtime to give the Hornets a 4-3 win over a pesky Burnsville squad. Lee brought the Hornets to overtime when he scored on a penalty shot in the 3rd period. <o
></o>Section 3 ‘AA’ - Woodbury is going to state for a 2nd year in a row as California-born David Eddy had two goals that ended Rosemount’s surprising season in an 8-2 rout. The Irish’s JT Brown did his best as he scored the only two goals for Rosemount in a losing effort. <o
></o>Section 4 ‘AA’ - Secton 4 almost always seems to come down to Hill-Murray vs. White Bear Lake and it was no different this season as the Pioneers’ Jordan Johnson early 3rd period goal held up in a hard fought 2-1 victory. <o
></o>Section 5 ‘AA’ - The Blaine Bengals roared past arch-rival Centennial with a dominating 6-1 victory, senior forward Mike Schaber led the way for Blaine with a hat-trick. <o
></o>Section 6 ‘AA’ - Matthew Berglund was the hero for Benilde-St. Margaret’s Scarlet Knights as he scored the game-tying and game winning goals to bring about a remarkable 2-0 comeback to beat the Minnetonka Skippers in overtime, 3-2. <o
></o>Section 7 ‘AA’ - In a hard-fought matchup at the DECC, Adam Boleman’s 3rd period goal would lift Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks to a 3-2 victory over the Anoka Tornadoes. <o
></o>Section 8 ‘AA’ - The defending Class ‘AA’ State Champion Roseau Rams crushed Moorhead 6-1, and appear to have an excellent chance to repeat. The Rams are a perfect 28-0 and senior forward Ben Nelson had the game winner and goaltender Mike Lee had his 26th win of the season. <o
></o>Here is the bracket for Class ‘AA’ quarterfinals as well as the key player(s) for their respective teams.<o
></o>#2 Edina Hornets (26-2) Tourney odds 5-2 (co favorites)<o
></o>Key Player(s): Junior Marshall Everson’s 41 goals and 64 points top a physical and hard-charging Hornets’ offense. Fellow junior Anders Lee also fired home 32 goals for Edina this season. <o
></o>Vs. 11AM 3/6/08 Ch. 45<o
></o>Cloquet/Esko/Carlton Lumberjacks (15-11-2) Tourney odds 28-1<o
></o>Key Player(s): 6′4″ senior forward Justin Jokinen (pronounced Jock-i-nehn) leads the Lumberjacks with 21 goals and 39 points. <o
></o>—————————————-<o
></o>#3 Benilde-St. Margaret’s Scarlet Knights (25-3) Tourney odds 6-1<o
></o>Key Player(s): Senior forwards Matthew Berglund (63 points) and Steve Zeirke (65 points) are the one-two punch for the Scarlet Knights. <o
></o>Vs. 1PM 3/6/08 Ch.45<o
></o>Woodbury Royals (22-6) Tourney odds 16-1 (wise guy pick)<o
></o>Key Player(s): Senior forward David Eddy provides offensive punch for the Royals, chipping in 29 goals and 58 points in 28 games this season. <o
></o>—————————————–<o
></o>#1 Roseau Rams (28-0) Tourney odds 5-2 (co –favorites)<o
></o>Key Player(s): Junior defenseman Aaron Ness (some even project he could be drafted in the 1st round at this year’s NHL Entry Draft) is considered to be one of the best players in Minnesota and he leads the Rams with 67 points, senior forward Ben Nelson isn’t far behind with 64 points. <o
></o>Vs. 6PM 3/6/08 Ch.45<o
></o>Blaine Bengals (20-8) Tourney odds 24-1<o
></o>Key Player(s): Seniors Mike Schaber and Ryan Johnson dominate at both ends of the ice for the Bengals with 59 points and 58 points respectively. <o
></o>——————————————-<o
></o>#4 Hill-Murray Pioneers (24-3-1) Tourney odds 5-1<o
></o>Key Player(s): Senior forward Dan Cecka leads the team with 31 goals and 66 points in just 28 games. <o
></o>Vs.<o
></o>Lakeville South Cougars (24-3-1) Tourney odds 100-1<o
></o>Key Player(s): Junior Bill Simon has a modest 28 points to lead a well-rounded Cougar attack. <o
></o>The State of Hockey News Class ‘AA’ Championship Prediction: ~ Roseau Rams - The Roseau Rams will have the pressure of being the defending State Champions with them, but this is something the Rams are used to dealing with. They may be the smallest school competing in the Class ‘AA’ tournament, but they have a tremendous offense; including the most gifted blueliner in the tournament in Aaron Ness who can give his team a scoring dimension none of the other teams have. While I think Roseau will have a good battle on its hands with Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the title game, the Rams will simply be too much for them as they get the repeat.
<o
></o>TRYTRYTRY prediction….Unbeaten Roseau not tested this year as much as the METRO teams to Lose in Semis. Edina advances to the final vs Hill Murray advances to the Finals in the “All TIME most Hated Schools final” 3-2 OT for Hill Murray in the upset.
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