Class A QF: Mankato East vs. #2 Mahtomedi

[karl(east)]

MANKATO EAST VS. #2 MAHTOMEDI
-For the second straight season, Mahtomedi faces the Section 1A entrant in a Wednesday morning quarterfinal. These two have no recent history.

Mankato East (16-10-2, unranked, 2-seed in 1A)
State appearances: 2 (first in 2006)
Key section wins: 3-1 over 3-seed Minnesota River, 6-1 over 5-seed Rochester Lourdes
-Unlike many unranked Class A entrants, the Cougars are not a team to ride just one great player. No one had more than 23 points in the regular season, but they are balanced, Sam Shulz (16) was the top point-getter, while Matthew Salzle (6) and Layten Liffrig (22) led the way in the goals column. Defenseman Jake Anderson (14) is their second-leading scorer, and a strong defensive game will likely be the key to this first round match-up. Jack Cusey (29) had a strong season in goal. The Cougars are probably the biggest mystery in this field; they did tie Mound-Westonka in their lone game against a top ten Class A team and seemed to get stronger as the season went along, though they have some questionable losses, too.

Mahtomedi (21-6-1, #2, 1-seed in 4A)
State appearances: 10 (2 in a row)
Key section win: 6-3 over #16 Simley
-The Zephyrs return to State as a balanced squad with scoring up and down the lineup. Charlie Bartholomew (27), Kory Pilarski (10), and Nikolai Dulak (9) are their most productive forwards, but their top nine forwards were all in double digit points in the regular season against a fairly tough Class A schedule. Noah Skillings (8) and Tommy Broten (14) are the top defensemen. They also have the top goaltender in the field in Bailey Huber (32), who boasts a .939 save percentage. They can match Hermantown’s depth, but must find a way to contain the Hawks’ top line if those two meet, as they can’t match that star front-line talent. And, of course, they have to get there first: for all their Class A success, they’ve never made a final.

[JerseyDave]

Free audio stream here (State of Hockey on Youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8v6MzSdjeA

[MrBoDangles]

Holy blown no off sides call on the first goal.. Guy was standing right there..

[Schotzy]

Holy blown no off sides call on the first goal.. Guy was standing right there..

I think that falls under the weird rule that negates the offsides when the defending team brings the puck back in to the zone. I always get caught off-guard by that one, and have seen it before, been left scratching my head.

Much closer game than I thought it would be. Tied 2-2 with about 9:30 left in the third.

[50in15]

Mahtomedi continues their annual much hyped, little punch theme that they have been doing for this decade.

[Teak]

That was a good game. Kudos to Cusey, the Mankato East goalie for making 33 saves.

[MrBoDangles]

Holy blown no off sides call on the first goal.. Guy was standing right there..

I think that falls under the weird rule that negates the offsides when the defending team brings the puck back in to the zone. I always get caught off-guard by that one, and have seen it before, been left scratching my head.

Much closer game than I thought it would be. Tied 2-2 with about 9:30 left in the third.

Didn't the Mahtomedi player carry the puck into the zone? Maybe Wendell's pink top is throwing me off....

[Schotzy]

Holy blown no off sides call on the first goal.. Guy was standing right there..

I think that falls under the weird rule that negates the offsides when the defending team brings the puck back in to the zone. I always get caught off-guard by that one, and have seen it before, been left scratching my head.

Much closer game than I thought it would be. Tied 2-2 with about 9:30 left in the third.

Didn't the Mahtomedi player carry the puck into the zone? Maybe Wendell's pink top is throwing me off....

Ha! Understandable. Yes, the Mankato player took the puck from the neutral zone into his defensive zone in an attempt to create some space from the Mahtomedi fore-checker, the Mahtomedi player over pursued in to the zone before the puck got there, but it was still on the Mankato player's stick. This negated the perceived off-sides.

You need to focus!!!

[MrBoDangles]

I think that falls under the weird rule that negates the offsides when the defending team brings the puck back in to the zone. I always get caught off-guard by that one, and have seen it before, been left scratching my head.

Much closer game than I thought it would be. Tied 2-2 with about 9:30 left in the third.

Didn't the Mahtomedi player carry the puck into the zone? Maybe Wendell's pink top is throwing me off....

Ha! Understandable. Yes, the Mankato player took the puck from the neutral zone into his defensive zone in an attempt to create some space from the Mahtomedi fore-checker, the Mahtomedi player over pursued in to the zone before the puck got there, but it was still on the Mankato player's stick. This negated the perceived off-sides.

You need to focus!!!

I'm going to try..

[Stang5280]

Mahtomedi continues their annual much hyped, little punch theme that they have been doing for this decade.

I unfortunately missed the game due to an appointment, but that has seemed to be the M.O. for Mahtomedi this season. They aren’t a particularly high scoring team, but the goaltending and defense are usually outstanding. As we learned from Hermantown last year, moving on and advancing is the most important part, even if it isn’t pretty. The semifinal game against Orono should be a good one.