HERMANTOWN HAWKS

'Hockeyland': Players and filmmakers talk about inside look at a northern Minnesota high school season

Jay Gabler — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 12:00:00 GMT

DULUTH — "Look at the flow, boys!" exclaimed Tommy Haines, popping into a Zoom meeting last week. "I love the flow happening there."

The filmmaker was reuniting virtually with Indio Dowd and Will Troutwine, two of the players featured in his new documentary "Hockeyland."

"You should have seen me a week back," said Dowd, a backward ball cap hardly hiding his magnificent head of hair. "I cut 4 inches off, almost."

Haines and his colleagues, including his brother and co-producer J.T. Haines, got to know the young men well during the 2019-20 filming of "Hockeyland," when the players were seniors in high school.

"We really were grateful for the trust that folks put in us," said J.T. Haines, noting that the filmmakers were present with players "in their homes, with their families at dinner, before and after practice. Lots of really important personal moments, so it's something that we did not take lightly."

"You got to know the guys," said Dowd about the filmmakers. "It made it feel like they wanted the best of you. They didn't want to just take the bad parts and make a movie of you; they wanted to make a movie with you."

"At first it was a little different," said Troutwine about having cameras present during his daily life. "As it went along, I got used to it. (The filmmakers) were all really nice. They made it really easy just to hang out and be yourself."

The 109-minute documentary, which follows the Hermantown Hawks and the Eveleth-Gilbert Golden Bears through a complete season, has been making the rounds of film festivals and is now receiving a release that begins on Friday at several dozen Minnesota theaters. Eventually, the release will expand to over 125 screens nationwide.

"This is by far a record for Northland Films," said J.T. Haines, referring to the Midwest-based production company he and his brother run with co-founder Andrew Sherburne. The filmmakers are calling "Hockeyland" the third film in a "hockey film trilogy" that previously included features on pond hockey and Olympic hockey.

Tommy Haines, who directed "Hockeyland," said he was hoping to portray "the true Minnesota hockey experience, through the eyes of the players that live it."

"The whole public school hockey program," added J.T. Haines, "is a really unique thing and people have very, very strong feelings about it. I think that's one of the things we especially wanted to capture."

As a high school sports story, "Hockeyland" has been compared to "Friday Night Lights" and "Hoosiers." As a documentary, though, the film finds its drama in its quieter moments — rather than the exaggerated histrionics familiar from fictional portrayals.

"It's not like 'Friday Night Lights,' where the coach is trying to get a kid who's injured on the ice, even if he blows his knee out," said Minnesota sportswriter Loren Nelson, an expert on prep hockey. "A lot of times, for drama purposes, you'll have the evil coach. ... I guess that makes for good entertainment, but I thought this movie was pretty accurate in that regard."

In "Hockeyland," both Hermantown coach Pat Andrews and Eveleth-Gilbert coach Jeff Torrel come across as supportive and empathetic. The film portrays both as closely connected to their communities, with Andrews returning to coach the same team he played on as an adolescent.

"These guys want to come back," said Nelson, who noted that in the 2022 Minnesota state hockey tournament, fully half of the 16 Class 1A and 2A head coaches were leading teams they once played for. "A lot of them have had good high school experiences, and they want to give back."

That loyalty starts early. It led Hermantown star Blake Biondi to stick with his school despite offers to leave and play for pro development teams.

"I would never change that in a million years," said Biondi, who now plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth and has been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens. He's also an athlete ambassador representing The Rink Live for Forum Communication Co. this upcoming season.

"I hope kids in Minnesota still know, if you're good enough, (pro teams) are going to find you. You can't get those years back, in your life."

Despite the similarities between the two programs featured in "Hockeyland," there are significant contrasts between them. For a long stretch in the 20th century, Eveleth was at the heart of Minnesota's — and America's — hockey country, reliably producing championship contenders. It's home to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.

In recent decades, as the Iron Range has struggled to retain residents and resources, the tables have turned. By 2019, said Nelson, Eveleth-Gilbert weren't just underdogs: it was an outright "David versus Goliath setup" with Hermantown the near-unstoppable "juggernaut."

Turning out one of their strongest teams in years, the Golden Bears had to count it as a victory just to be competitive with the Hawks. At the end of the film, Eveleth-Gilbert's hockey program is shown merging with Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl to form the Rock Ridge Wolverines.

Some of the film's most evocative scenes feature ordinary life during a northern Minnesota winter. "You have kids shoveling rooftops," noted Tommy Haines. "You've got Indio and his brother riding four-wheelers in the middle of winter, or Will's (car is) getting pulled out of the snowbank (by) friends. They're figuring out how to do it on their own, as 16, 17 year olds."

The film has proved a window into the young players' lives even for their parents, Tommy Haines added. "We had some special screenings in Hermantown and in Hibbing earlier last year. Parents (were) coming up and saying that they're really glad to be able to see a little peek into the world of their kids," said Haines. "What that really looked like, to be in the locker room or to be on the ice."

"Hockeyland" also explores the players' relationships with their families. It's "dedicated to the spirit and memory of Lori Dowd," devoted mother of Indio and his brother Aydyn, both of whom played for Hermantown. In the film, Lori Dowd describes her treatment for cancer; she died in June 2022.

"Something that was always huge to her was promoting me and my brother's success," said Indio Dowd. "You can see in the movie how much effort she put into the two of us, and the team as well ... having that little piece of memory with her towards the end, something that will be there forever to remember her, is something that I can't thank enough about."

"You'll see that in both these towns," said Tommy Haines, "the parents are helping out with the concession stands or helping out doing parent nights and flooding the rinks at nights. So much community involvement by the parents and the people in those communities."

While mothers and fathers appear at length in "Hockeyland," the young women who are peers to the boys on ice appear only around the edges of the story, as cheerleaders and friends.

"Girls' hockey is huge in Minnesota," said J.T. Haines. "That would be an amazing story in itself. I think it's right to ask the question, should there be a story like this about girls' hockey? And I think the next question for us would be, could we have a role in supporting that?"

The film also doesn't address the fact that the hockey teams highlighted onscreen are overwhelmingly white. Tommy Haines said that in framing the story, he was conscious of his role as a filmmaker and the stories he was equipped to tell.

"In this case, J.T. and I felt like, we're from the Iron Range originally. This is a story that we know really well, and this is a story we feel like we can tell. The communities can trust us, not being outsiders coming in and just exploiting these towns or these stories."

Minnesota prep hockey, said Nelson, does not tend toward self-reflection regarding such topics. "I don't hear a lot of conversations about gender or race, and I don't know if that's an indictment or if it's just that it isn't really an issue that people around high school hockey are thinking about," Nelson said. "It's not something that I hear brought up in hockey circles very often. It's usually about the hockey, and really not a lot else."

"The thread that was always keeping us in line," said Tommy Haines, "was, what is (these players') experience? What are they dealing with? What are their challenges? What are their successes? What are their aspirations for the future?"

Tommy Haines said the future of "Hockeyland," as a film, will depend in large part on how well it does in Minnesota theaters. "Our distributor, Greenwich Entertainment, and we discussed, hey, let's not show it on the coasts first. Let's show it in Minnesota first. This is what this film is about, it's who it's for."

If the film does well in Minnesota, explained Tommy Haines, that could inspire more theaters nationally to book the movie. "For a small documentary outlet like Northland Films, this is a dream, for sure," he said. "We're competing against big Marvel films and massive budget films. We're up against those big guys now, so we'll see how it goes."

Whatever audience "Hockeyland" reaches, viewers who know Minnesota hockey agree that it stands as a true depiction of the teams and families onscreen. Those viewers include the players themselves.

Biondi, of Hermantown, said it was eye-opening to watch the finished film and learn more about the experiences of the players from Eveleth-Gilbert. "You definitely forget about stuff like that. You just don't even think about it, because you're in your own world and you're just trying to beat those guys," he said. "There's so much history between (Hermantown and Eveleth). It was cool to have them both featured."

Troutwine, of Eveleth-Gilbert, said people in his community have been pleased with the film. "I thought (the filmmakers) did a good job showing all the effort that everyone puts in," said Troutwine. "I thought it was portrayed well onscreen."

"We were all pleasantly surprised," said Dowd, of Hermantown. "We're all so tight-knit with our hockey group, and we all just care so much about that strong sense of community that we have." The film, said Dowd, "really showed why we're successful, why we're so close."

"In Minnesota, if you play high school hockey, you're playing, generally speaking, with the kid next door," said Nelson. "These guys all grew up together playing, and they're playing for their town. They're not just playing for two random team names. They're playing for their community."

For information on "Hockeyland" screenings, and appearances by people involved with the film, see hockeylandmovie.com.

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Andover wins Class AA in thrilling fashion, Hermantown edges Warroad in Class A crown

Steve Wagner — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 04:39:56 GMT

ST. PAUL — Logan Gravink scored a double overtime goal to lift the Andover Huskies to the Minnesota Class AA hockey title.

Gravink slipped in a rebound at 8:59 of the second overtime for a 6-5 win over the Maple Grove Crimson in a Class AA title game that will be remembered for years.

The 18,950 fans witnessed an evenly matched pair of Northwest Suburban conference foes, with Andover (25-5-1) and Maple Grove (23-7-1) providing a high-octane track meet that featured disallowed goals, missed rebounds, bone-crunching hits, dramatic saves and a shot that rang off the crossbar and goalpost.

And that was just in regulation.

Cheyton Fisher’s goal with just more than 6 minutes remaining in the third period gave the Crimson a 5-4 edge, but Gavyn Thoresen — the hero for the Huskies in their double-overtime quarterfinal win — deflected a shot to tie the game with 1:50 left in the third.

The game started fast, with Finn Brink scoring just 12 seconds into the game for a 1-0 Maple Grove lead. The first period featured five goals, including two from Joshua Giuliani, as the Crimson headed into the locker room with a 3-2 advantage.

Andover picked up the only goal of the second period to even the game.

In the third period Cayden Casey split two Crimson players and fired a wrister shortside to give the Huskies a 4-3 lead at 5:24, but Giuliani tied it 43 seconds later with a rocket past Austin Brauns.

It was the third goal of the game for Giuliani, who netted a hat trick for the second time in the tournament.

Wth just more than 6 minutes left in regulation, Giuliani slid a pass in front of the Huskies net to teammate Fisher, who buried the puck for a 5-4 lead.

Thoresen saved Andover’s title hopes with the goal.

In the first overtime, both teams continued their torrid pace, forcing both goalies to make sprawling saves. After the extra frame, Maple Grove had 43 shots on goal, compared to Andover's 39.

In February, Andover won the Class AA girls title.

Hermantown captures Class A title

After allowing an early goal, Hermantown’s defense bottled up the Warroad attackers and Zam Plante scored two second-period goals to give the Hawks a 3-2 win in the Minnesota Class A state championship game.

Defensemen Ty Hanson and Beau Janzig spent almost the entire third period on the ice and for the first time in the state tournament, kept Warroad’s Division I recruits Daimon Gardner and Jayson Shaugabay off the scoresheet.

Hermantown coach Pat Andrews had nothing but praise for his top defensemen, who also helped hold the Warriors to just one goal in the Hawks 2-1 win on Jan. 15.

“These two came off the rink like one time in the third period — they’re unbelievable studs,” Andrews said. “The work that these two kids did on their top line — two games in a row — it’s phenomenal.”

The first period was an up-and-down game, with Warroad’s Garrett Hennum scoring just over 6 minutes into the game to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead, much like the early goal Alexandria scored Friday in the semifinals.

Less than 30 seconds later, the Hawks’ Dominic Thomas wrapped his stick around the back of the goal and slipped a shot past Warriors goalie Hampton Slukynsky to tie the game.

Shaugabay, a Minnesota Duluth recruit, tried to respond with his own wraparound goal late in the third period for Warroad, but Hermantown's Ty Hanson — another UMD commit — slid in front of the puck to keep the score tied.

“He’s a really good buddy of mine, I’ve played with him a lot and that’s his move,” Hanson said. “He just tries to wrap it, his stick is so long he can basically reach it around to the other side of the net. I saw it coming and I just went to the back post.”

Instead of exploding offensively after the goal, Hermantown’s attackers were held largely in check until Zam Plante scored on a backhand shot 55 seconds into the second period.

He’s a really good buddy of mine, I’ve played with him a lot and that’s his move. He just tries to wrap it, his stick is so long he can basically reach it around to the other side of the net. I saw it coming and I just went to the back post.

Warroad answered quickly when a puck ricocheted off the skate of Griffin Marvin to tie the score, but throughout the second period, Hermantown attackers forced Slukynsky to make some impressive saves.

Plante took a pass from Kade Kohanski at the 3:02 mark of the second period and fired it into the back of the net for his second of the period and what proved to be the game-winner.

In the third period, Warroad coach Jay Hardwick split up Gardner and Shuagabay to try throw the Hermantown defenders off — something Andrews said was a “good move.”

“We thought maybe if we split them it would give us a different look,” Hardwick said. “We’ve done that at different times — sometimes you split them up and get them away from some people and have some success. We just couldn’t find that one in the third period.”

“They’re very good,” Hardwick said. “There’s a reason why Ty is committed to UMD. He’s in your face and he skates very well and Janzig — he’s a steady defenseman back there that makes it hard on people and he made it hard on our top line and our top guys today. I said I thought we needed to get more pucks on the net, but part of that is they made it hard on us to do that.”

Slukynsky made some terrific saves to keep the Hawks out of the net the rest of the game, but Plante’s second-period goals were all the Hawks needed for the win. He finished with 33 saves for Warroad.

Callaway made 19 saves, but needed to make just nine over the final two periods to preserve the win for Hermantown.

After the disappointing end to Hermantown’s 2021 season, Andrews was happy to snag his first title as the Hawks’ head coach, but he didn’t like the way the word “redemption” has been thrown around.

“I don’t like that word, I just think we were on a mission and it’s been, unfortunately, a 48-month mission instead of a 24-month mission,” Andrews said. “I’m just so proud of these guys, they put in an unbelievable amount of work and we’re unbelievably talented. But what no one sees is the amount of work these guys put in. I don’t know of anybody that skates as much as them.”

Warroad 1-1-0—2 Hermantown 1-2-0—3 First period — 1. W, Garrett Hennum (Carson Pilgrim), 10:45; 2. H, Dominic Thomas (Ty Hanson), 12:14. Second period — 3. H, Zam Plante (Beau Janzig), 0:55; 4. W, Griffin Marvin (Pilgrim, Eric Comstock), 1:41; 5. H, Z. Plante (Kade Kohanski, Max Plante), 3:02. Third period — No scoring. Saves — Hampton Slukynsky, W, 33; Dane Callaway, H, 19. PHOTO GALLERY (swipe/click to view)

Hermantown vs Warroad, 2022 Class A Final

Hermantown goaltender Dane Callaway (32) blocks a shot by Warroad forward Jayson Shaugabay (17) during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad goaltender Hampton Slukynsky (1) blocks a shot by Hermantown forward Zam Plante (27) during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad defenseman Todd Powassin (24) and Hermantown forward Kade Kohanski (11) battle for the puck during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad goaltender Landon Haggan (32) shuts down Hermantown forward Matthew Kauppinen (17) on an attempt during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad goaltender Hampton Slukynsky (1) stops a shot by Hermantown forward Dallas Vieau (24) during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad forward Matthew Hard (9) and Hermantown forward Zam Plante (27) battle for the puck during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad forward Matthew Hard (9) and Hermantown forward Zam Plante (27) collide chasing the puck during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Warroad forward Daimon Gardner (13) passes the puck between Hermantown forward Zam Plante (27) and Hermantown defenseman Ty Hanson (2) during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Hermantown forward Dominic Thomas (21) puts the puck past Warroad goaltender Hampton Slukynsky (1) to score during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Hermantown forward Dominic Thomas (21) celebrates his goal against Warroad during the first period Saturday, March 12, 2022, in the State Boys Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

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Teams, players to watch for in the 2022 Minnesota boys state hockey tournament

Eli Swanson — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 17:45:20 GMT

ST. PAUL — After a full season of action all around the state, the race for a boys hockey championship comes down to the final 16 teams set to meet this week in St. Paul.

Only three wins separate the best teams in Minnesota from a spot in the record books, and this year's tourney includes both traditional powerhouses vying for more banners and first-time qualifiers looking to make their mark in inaugural trips to the Xcel Energy Center.

Both classes are guaranteed different champions this season with defending Class A winner Gentry Academy's move to Class AA in the offseason and Class AA defending champion Eden Prairie's loss in the Section 2AA semifinals.

Two teams, Minneapolis in A and Prior Lake in AA, will make their state tournament debuts this season. Minneapolis, a mascotless co-op of seven public schools, is the first public school team from the city to make the Tourney since Minneapolis Edison in 1994. It should be noted, however, that Minneapolis has a storied history at the state tournament that includes more than 40 appearances split between eight schools — stretching back to Minneapolis Washburn's first appearance in 1948 — and a state championship for Minneapolis Southwest in 1970.

https://twitter.com/Kovar_HJsports/status/1499216106736783369?s=20&t=fp-iMtaNRcIUGzJ5Ck_4zw

Prior Lake comes to St. Paul after Mr. Hockey favorite Alex Bump exploded for 4 goals and an assist in the Lakers' 7-4 Section 2AA final win against Chaska. Bump, a senior forward and Vermont commit, leads the team with 75 points on the season and is joined by fellow senior forwards Will Schumacher and Sam Rice to form a dynamic offensive top line. Prior Lake was 0-4 against state tournament qualifiers in the regular season, but does bring in a signature win after knocking off defending state champion Eden Prairie in the Section 2AA semifinals.

Hermantown is the favorite in Class A and undoubtedly hungry for a return to form after being forced to play mostly junior varsity players due to COVID-19 issues in its quarterfinal loss to Dodge County last season.

The Hawks (26-2-0) breezed through Section 7A tournament play without surrendering a goal and have only lost twice on the season — to Class AA state tournament qualifiers Cretin-Derham Hall and Maple Grove. Hermantown, led by the offensive firepower of Max and Zam Plante and their 121 combined points, beat both No. 2 Warroad (2-1 OT on Jan. 15 in Hermantown) and No. 3 Mahtomedi (3-0 on Dec. 18 in Mahtomedi) during the regular season.

Hermantown won't be without competitors, with Warroad (24-3-1) the other most likely contender for the Class A title. The Warriors make their 23rd appearance at the state tournament and will look to bring their fourth title back to Hockeytown. Senior forward Daimon Gardner, a Clarkson commit, junior forward Jayson Shaugabay and junior goalie Hampton Slukynsky have led Warroad to an eight-game winning streak coming into St. Paul. Warroad's only loss against a Class A team this season was its overtime defeat to Hermantown in January.

Mahtomedi (16-11-1) won't be an easy out, either. Senior goalie Ben Dardis has a .942 save percentage coming into the tournament, and the Frank Brimsek Award finalist has not allowed a goal in his last 203:36 of game action.

The Class AA tournament is, at least on paper, one of the most wide-open brackets in years. In a season where the rankings shifted rapidly and consistently throughout the winter months, Hill-Murray (23-4-1) emerged to claim the No. 1 seed in the Tourney after finishing the year on a seven-game winning streak that included wins over top-10 Maple Grove and Moorhead. However, the Pioneers lost to state qualifiers Andover and split with Edina during the regular season.

Despite making the tournament in 2021, Hill-Murray will play its first game back at the X since winning the 2020 state championship after being ruled out of last season's quarterfinal against Wayzata due to COVID-19 quarantine requirements.

Cretin-Derham Hall makes its return to the Xcel Energy Center for the first time since 2009 and the No. 2 seed will look to continue an 18-game winning streak that stretches back to Dec. 29. The Raiders are paced by senior forward Drew Fisher — the Mr. Hockey finalist leads the team in goals (28) and assists (31) — and senior goalie Marko Belak, a Frank Brimsek Award finalist with a .938 save percentage and 23-3-0 record in 26 appearances this season.

Of the eight teams in the Class AA bracket, only Prior Lake has not defeated at least one other member of the field. And if the parity in this year's field wasn't evident enough already: two of the teams that enter the tourney as unseeded squads, Edina and Lakeville South, were once ranked as the top team in the state during the season and the top seven teams in Let's Play Hockey's preseason rankings from Nov. 24, which were conducted via a poll of high school coaches, all advanced to St. Paul.

Follow along on The Rink Live for game recaps, news and photos when the action gets underway on Wednesday. See the bracket below for game information and times — streaming information, and printable brackets can be found online. For an idea of the path each team took to the Tourney, section tournament brackets for all eight sections in both classes are available here.

MR. = Mr. Hockey Finalist

FB = Frank Brimsek Award Finalist

Class A

Section 1 - New Prague Trojans (11-15-2)

3rd appearance - 0 championships

Last Appearance: 2017

Players to Watch: Jr. F John Schmidt (10 goals, 16 assists), Sr. F Will Andersen (9 goals, 16 assists), Sr. G Carter Puente (10-11-1, .911 SV%, 3.14 GAA)

Section 2 - Minneapolis (21-6-1)

1st appearance*

*Current team is a co-op of seven Minneapolis public schools. Last appearance by a Minneapolis public school was in 1994 (Minneapolis Edison).

Players to Watch: Sr. F Jack Hanson (24 goals, 28 assists), Sr. F Zander Zoia (11 goals, 29 assists)

Section 3 - Mankato East/Loyola Cougars (17-10-1)

4th appearance - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2020

Players to Watch: Jr. D Shae Gavin (16 goals, 13 assists), Sr. D Aiden Prochaska (8 goals, 20 assists), Sr. F Quintin Steindl (8 goals, 19 assists), Sr. G Caelin Brueske (16-90-1, .910 SV%, 2.22 GAA)

Section 4 - Mahtomedi Zephyrs (16-11-1)

13th appearance - 1 championship

Last appearance: 2020

Last championship: 2020

Players to Watch: Sr. G Ben Dardis

(14-11-1, .942 SV%, 1.97 GAA), Jr. F David Wolsfeld (22 goals, 24 assists)

Section 5 - Monticello Moose (13-14-1)

4th appearance* - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2020

*Monticello has made two trips to St. Paul as Monticello/Maple Lake and one trip as Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake

Players to Watch: Sr. F Wilson Dahlheimer (23 goals, 24 assists), Jr. D Gavin Simon (7 goals, 18 assists)

Section 6 - Alexandria Cardinals (19-6-2)

6th appearance - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2018

Players to Watch: Sr. F Josiah Gronholz (25 goals, 34 assists), Jr. F Tyler Kludt (13 goals, 35 assists), Sr. F Brycen Berg (27 goals, 16 assists)

Section 7 - Hermantown Hawks (26-2-0)

18th appearance - 3 championships

Last appearance: 2021

Last championship: 2017

Players to Watch: Jr. F Zam Plante (Minnesota Duluth) (20 goals, 35 assists), So. F Max Plante (16 goals, 50 assists), Jr F. Kade Kohanski (20 goals, 33 assists), So. G Dane Callaway (17-2-0, .921 SV%, 1.48 GAA)

Section 8 - Warroad Warriors (24-3-1)

23rd appearance - 4 championships

Last appearance: 2020

Last championship: 2005

Players to Watch: Sr. F Daimon Gardner

MR.

(Clarkson) (39 goals, 37 assists), Jr. F Jayson Shaugabay (Minnesota Duluth) (25 goals, 49 assists), Jr. G Hampton Slukynsky (24-3-1, .928 SV%, 1.48 GAA)

Class AA

Section 1 - Lakeville South Cougars (25-3-0)

7th appearance - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2021

Players to Watch: Jr. G Jack Hochsprung (21-3-0, .931 SV%, 1.35 GAA), Jr. F Tanner Ludtke (Nebraska Omaha) (22 goals, 38 assists)

Section 2 - Prior Lake Lakers (18-10-0)

1st appearance

Players To Watch: Sr. F Alex Bump

MR.

(Vermont) (41 goals, 34 assists), Sr. F Will Schumacher (23 goals, 29 assists), Sr. F Sam Rice (11 goals, 29 assists)

Section 3 - Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders (24-3-0)

4th appearance - 1 championship

Last appearance: 2009

Last championship: 2006

Players to Watch: Sr. F Drew Fisher

MR.

(28 goals, 31 assists), Jr. F Jake Fisher (Northern Michigan) (23 goals, 29 assists), Sr. G Marko Belak

(23-3-0, .938 SV%, 1.57 GAA)

Section 4 - Hill-Murray Pioneers (23-4-1)

32nd appearance - 4 championships

Last appearance: 2021

Last championship: 2020

Players to Watch: Sr. F Dylan Godbout

MR.

(Wisconsin) (29 goals, 24 assists), Sr. D Axel Begley (5 goals, 28 assists), Sr. D Leo Gruba

MR.

(11 goals, 21 assists), Jr. G Jack Erickson (16-1-1, .930 SV%, 1.39 GAA)

Section 5 - Maple Grove Crimson (21-6-1)

5th appearance - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2021

Players to Watch: Jr. F Landen Gunderson (19 goals, 53 assists), Jr. F Finn Brink (26 goals, 26 assists), Sr. F Joshua Giuliani (23 goals, 26 assists)

Section 6 - Edina Hornets (20-8-0)

29th appearance - 10 championships

Last appearance: 2019

Last championship: 2019

Players to Watch: Sr. F Trey Fechko (Arizona State) (20 goals, 20 assists), Jr. F Jimmy Clark (Minnesota) (15 goals, 21 assists), Jr. G Robbie Clarkowski (19-8-0, .928 SV%, 1.74 GAA)

Section 7 - Andover Huskies (22-5-1)

3rd appearance - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2021

Players to Watch: Jr. F Cayden Casey (21 goals, 46 assists), Jr. F Gavyn Thoreson (25 goals, 41 assists), Sr. G Austin Brauns

(19-5-1, .927 SV%, 1.72 GAA)

Section 8 - Moorhead Spuds (21-6-1)

19th appearance - 0 championships

Last appearance: 2021

Players to Watch: Sr. F Gavin Lindberg

MR.

(21 goals, 43 assists), Jr. F Harper Bentz (37 goals, 27 assists, 9 GWG), Sr. F Carson Triggs (23 goals, 31 assists)

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