ROSEAU RAMS

4-goal flurry in 3rd period sends Lumberjacks past Rams to Section 8AA title game

Alex Faber — Sun, 23 Feb 2025 04:07:51 GMT

BEMIDJI — The Lumberjacks had a hard time getting past Abram Hinson for about two and a half periods.

In Saturday night’s Section 8AA semifinal at the BCA, the second-seeded Bemidji High �� boys hockey team had tilted the ice towards the offensive zone and sent plenty of high-danger shots toward Roseau’s senior goaltender through most of the night, but had just one first-period goal to show for it.

Hinson seemed intent on keeping the game deadlocked at 1-1, clinging on to teammate Isaac Baumgartner’s quick first-period goal.

It took a highlight-reel move from senior Joey Fankhanel for the Jacks to finally get another past Hinson.

Over seven minutes into the final frame, Fankhanel stole a loose puck in the neutral zone and crashed towards the net on a breakaway. With nothing but ice standing between him and the net, Fankhanel faked left, got Hinson to bite, cut back the other way and slipped in the go-ahead goal.

“That’s a big-time move that he made on a goalie,” BHS head coach Ben Kinne said. “I can’t explain how much growth he’s had this year and the amount of execution that he’s been able to put out there. … I was happy to see him get that chance, and that’s part of hockey; breakdowns happen, and we get a breakaway and he was able to put it home.”

Fankhanel’s strike seemed to solve the goaltending puzzle for BHS. The Lumberjacks ripped off three straight goals to close the third period, completing a 5-1 victory over sixth-seeded Roseau to punch their ticket to the Section 8AA final on Wednesday night against top-seeded Moorhead.

“We broke the ice a little bit and solved the goalie,” Kinne said. “We were just putting ourselves, still, in really good opportunities. … We stuck with it. The ice was tilted in our favor pretty much the whole game. We were hitting their goalie, right? And he made a couple of huge saves and stuck with it and gave his team a chance, but this is a carbon copy of the games we’ve played that have been 1-1, 2-1 going into the third. I’m just proud of our guys to stick with it, and we made it happen.”

Bemidji is heading to the section championship for the first time since 2016 when it qualified for the Class AA state tournament. Saturday night’s playoff game was also just the second home playoff game in nine years for the Jacks, the first being a 10-1 win over seventh-seeded Buffalo on Tuesday night.

“It feels amazing,” O’Leary said. “I had no doubt that we’d win it, we’ve been working towards this for years. Ever since we were growing up, honestly, back in elementary school playing together. So to get this win here at home, last home game, feels amazing.”

In a game much closer than the final score indicated, two of the Lumberjacks’ biggest goals came courtesy of O’Leary.

The Rams’ lone goal came just 1:07 into the game, as Baumgartner snapped a wrister on a loose puck in the slot for a quick 1-0 lead. BHS responded by immediately applying pressure in the offensive zone in search of the tying goal. It came less than four minutes later.

“It’s not new to us to be down by one,” O’Leary said. “We know what we need to do. We just kept playing our game.”

Junior Griffin Dewar let loose a shot from the point and O’Leary tipped it in at the net front to knot it up at 1-1.

“That was important,” Kinne said. “ I don't know if it was the 40-degree weather or whatever, the puck was bouncing a little bit, but our guys just have so much belief in themselves and they stick with it and execute our game plan as best they can.”

After Fankhanel’s go-head strike in the third period, it was O’Leary who kept the scoring party going, notching his second goal with under seven minutes to go. Junior Cal Mattfield added another goal less than four minutes later, and Bemidji put the finishing touches on its victory with an empty-netter from senior Conor Stodgell.

“Benji’s goal was fantastic, driving wide and getting into a really good spot and finishing,” Kinne said. “He had maybe one or two opportunities that looked exactly like that in the first two periods. And same with Cal Mattfield, Cal's been a clutch player for us, and finding himself in the right spot and just hitting that spot was great.”

With a semifinal victory out of the way, the only thing standing between the Lumberjacks and their first section title since 2016 is the top-seeded team in Section 8AA. Moorhead claimed a 4-1 victory over Elk River in Saturday night's other semifinal bout, setting up a championship match against BHS at a neutral site on Feb. 26.

“We’ve been in tight games a lot of times this year,” Kinne said. “Everybody remembers scoring 10 goals or whatever, but we’ve won a lot of games that have been tight. You look at the final score tonight, but that’s not indicative of how the game was played. For us, we’ve got to continue that. Whoever’s next, we’re excited for, so that’s our opportunity next.”

No. 2 Bemidji 5, No. 6 Roseau 1

RHS 1 0 0 — 1

BHS 1 0 4 — 5

First period — RHS GOAL: Baumgartner (Kvien) 1:07; BHS GOAL: O’Leary (Dewar, Arndt) 5:00.

Second period — No scoring.

Third period — BHS GOAL: Fankhanel (unassisted) 7:28; BHS GOAL: O’Leary (Arndt, Graber) 12:28; BHS GOAL: Mattfield (Knott) 13:58; BHS GOAL: Stodgell (Graber) ENG, 14:24.

Saves — Metcalf (BHS) 17; Hinson (RHS) 34.

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State's biggest rivalry will take center stage as Hockey Day Minnesota matchups are set

Rob Beer — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:18:03 GMT

WARROAD, Minn. — Warroad and Roseau, certainly the country’s most historic high school hockey rivalry, will take center stage next January when Hockey Day Minnesota comes to Warroad.

The statewide event put on since its first year in Baudette in 2007 will come to its northernmost location yet on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, when sub-zero temperatures are the norm overnight in Hockeytown USA.

The Warriors-Rams boys game is among three matchups set to take place at next winter’s outdoor event televised by Bally Sports North. The Warroad girls, who repeated as state Class A champions last season, will face Lakeville North.

Moorhead and Wayzata will play in a boys matchup before the Rams-Warriors rivalry takes the ice.

The Minnesota Wild will host a game against an opponent yet to be announced at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to cap the day.

Other matchups announced include a boys high school game between Lake of the Woods and Kittson County Central on Thursday, as well as a Division III men's contest between Concordia-Moorhead and St. Olaf on Friday.

Lake of the Woods center Randy Wood is from Rainy River, Ontario, and said he can't wait to play outdoors.

"I couldn't believe it when we found out," Wood said. "I think KC (Kittson County) will be a good matchup."

Hockey Day Minnesota 2024 Schedule

*Game to be played outdoors at the Warroad Athletic Complex

Thursday, Jan. 25

*Boys - Lake of the Woods vs. Kittson County Central

Friday, Jan. 26

*Men's NCAA DIII - St. Olaf vs. Concordia-Moorhead

Saturday, Jan. 27 (All contests televised on Bally Sports North)

*Girls - Warroad vs. Lakeville North (9:30 a.m.)

*Boys - Moorhead vs. Wayzata (1 p.m.)

*Boys - Warroad vs. Roseau (4:30 p.m.)

NHL - Minnesota Wild vs. TBD (8 p.m.)

Last Year's Weather in Warroad on Jan. 27: 19 High, -9 Low

The marquee matchup will pit two of Minnesota's most hockey-rich towns against each other on one of high school hockey's biggest days.

"Those are the days that you circle when you play your rival," said Warroad native and New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson, who was on hand Friday, June 23, at Gardens Arena.

The four-time state champion Warroad boys, who went undefeated this past season until they suffered a 6-5 double overtime loss to Mahtomedi in the Class A state championship game, are led by Carson Pilgrim. The University of North Dakota commit scored 52 goals a season ago, the second-highest output in the state.

"Any Warroad-Roseau game is special and now to put it on the stage like this for Hockey Day it's just one more page in the book for the Warroad-Roseau rivalry," said Warroad boys head coach Jay Hardwick.

Roseau, a seven-time state champion, owns a 106-69-5 record against its neighbor 20 miles away, dominating Warroad in the 1950s through the 1970s before the Warriors began to even things out.

https://twitter.com/HockeyDayMN/status/1672285936376217603

On the girls side, Lakeville North fell 10-0 to Warroad last season in the Warriors’ holiday tournament. Warroad junior defenseman Katy Comstock was an all-state performer last season.

Wayzata and Moorhead met early last season, with the Trojans winning a 3-2 contest in the Wayzata Turkey Trot.

"They’re excited to be a part of it," said Moorhead assistant coach Derek Thompson said of the matchup for Hockey Day. "Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger.”

For Concordia and St. Olaf, this will be the second time teams from the MIAC have joined in the Hockey Day Minnesota festivities. St. John’s beat Augsburg 5-4 in a wild overtime game outside in White Bear last season. It’s a revenge game for Concordia, which fell to the Oles, 4-3, in the first round of the MIAC playoffs last season.

And Cobbers head coach Kirk Olimb gets his chance to bring his team to his hometown.

"It means the world," Olimb said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. MIAC hockey is great hockey but I think a lot of people don't necessarily understand how good it is and I think it's a great opportunity for it to be put on display."

The rink will be built on the school's football field, co-chairperson Brenda Baumann said. It was one of two locations, the other being closer to the lake. But logistically, having power, internet, the school and the arena nearby just made more sense.

There's been previous talks about Warroad hosting Hockey Day, but the community didn't have the infrastructure to do so until now, said Baumann, who noted the new Hampton Inn and casino expansion.

"Warroad is undergoing an amazing transformation right now. So there's many reasons why now is the perfect time for Hockeytown USA to host Hockey Day Minnesota."

The Riverbend Skate Path, a 5-mile recreational ice route, will be one of the attractions during Hockey Day, Baumann said. Roseau and Baudette businesses have also been included in the planning process.

"We've got so much hockey history up here collectively," she said. "Those are the kinds of stories that we hope to tell, not only about hockey, but also what makes these towns so special."

https://twitter.com/mnwild/status/1672262056148451329

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Roseau County rivals become NCAA national champion teammates

Brad Elliott Schlossman — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 14:41:48 GMT

GRAND FORKS — There was a time when Katie Kotlowski and Sophie Helgeson were on opposite sides of one of Minnesota's top high school hockey rivalries.

Kotlowski played for Warroad. Helgeson played for Roseau.

"We always knew about each other," Helgeson said. "We used to kind of be rivals."

Times have changed.

Kotlowski and Helgeson became college teammates at the University of Wisconsin last season. They joined on a defensive pairing together this season. And last weekend, they helped the Badgers win their seventh NCAA national championship.

The Roseau County duo helped shut down defending national champion Ohio State in the final. Wisconsin won 1-0 in Duluth's AmsOil Arena.

"It was amazing," Helgeson said. "I could probably give you so many words to describe it. It doesn't feel real. I think it's finally starting to kick in."

It marked the first national championship for Helgeson, a sophomore, and the second for Kotlowski, who was a freshman on the 2021 Badgers team.

"Honestly, it feels surreal," Kotlowski said. "Being able to win another national championship is just an awesome feeling, especially being underdogs in the tournament. It's huge for our program. It's been awesome."

Wisconsin entered the tournament unseeded.

The Badgers traveled to a regional in Hamilton, N.Y., and beat Long Island University in the opening round, then upset No. 3-seeded Colgate in the quarterfinals.

Wisconsin then upset No. 2 Minnesota in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals and No. 1 Ohio State in the final.

"Knowing we were the underdogs and had nothing to lose was a big motivator for us," Kotlowski said. "We knew the level we were capable of playing at. Going into the national tournament, there were some nerves, but that's pretty natural. I'm glad we came out on top and left everything out there."

Kotlowski played in all 41 games this season, tallying a goal, seven points and a plus-18 rating. Helgeson played in 38 games, tallying an assist and a plus-10 rating.

They often played together on Wisconsin's third pairing.

"Playing with Helgy has been so awesome," Kotlowski said. "We knew each other in high school. We were rivals. Now, looking where we are as 'D' partners and best friends. . . I'm so thankful Madison brought us together. It's a dream come true I guess. It's pretty cool to see the Northern girls on top."

They've gone from rivals to friends to national champions.

"It's crazy to think about our paths together," Helgeson said. "It's just been a blast playing with each other."

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