Class A SF #2 seed 8A Warroad (24-5-0) vs #3 seed 5A St Cloud Cathedral (24-4-1)

[ClassAGuy]

This should be a classic Cathedral won in OT way back in November.

Two very good teams going head to head in this one!

[ClassAGuy]

#2 seed 8A Champion Warroad (24-5-0)
Warroad took care of business in their first game as they routed New Ulm 8-1 in their Class A Quarterfinal win. Their big top line led the way as Marvin-Cordes & Pilgrim combined for 5 goals and ignited a big five goal 2nd period that proved to be the difference. Now they get a highly anticipated rematch with St. Cloud Cathedral who they lost to with 1 second left in overtime early this year. Now they have a chance at redemption and a ticket back to their 3rd straight Class A Championship game with a ton of big game experience amongst their roster.

Warriors Leaders- Seniors #5 Carson Pilgrim (31-35-66 pts.) & #22 Murray Marvin-Cordes (27-28-55 pts.) and Junior #15 Taven James (20-39-59 pts.) make up the engine of the Warrior machine. Seniors #25 Ryan Lund (19-22-41 pts.) & #27 Will Hardwick (0-12-12 pts) and Sophomore #21 Broden Hontvet (6-26-32 pts) are experienced defenseman who play big minutes and are excellent at getting out of their own end.

Warriors Goalie- Senior #30 Ben Norris (24-5-0) 2.12 GAA .897 SV% has played every minute in net this winter and has gotten steadily better over the season he has been solid so far but he will be tested by SCC’s Big Line and PP in this one.

Warriors Drive for Title #5- This Warriors team had a very tough offseason as back in July they woke up to news that their beloved Assistant Coach Michael Tveit, age 38, had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Now 6 months later Warroad heads back to the Tourney playing in his honor and in search of State Title #5 which just so happens to be the number that Michael wore when had the honor of putting on the Warrior sweater in his high school days. The drive for Title #5 for their fallen and beloved #5 seems like destiny for these Warriors.

Warriors Special Teams- The Power Play is at 29.7% and Penalty Kill is at 82.4 %

#3 seed 5A Champion St Cloud Cathedral (24-4-1)
St Cloud Cathedral picked up a very good win over a tough Northfield team in the Class A Quarterfinal round with a 5-1 win. The Crusaders got a big effort from their top line and their powerplay unit went 2 for 2 to ice the game over the gritty Raiders. Now they move into the Semifinal and they get the rematch on the big stage with Warroad, the team that ended their State Championship dreams a year ago. They did get a win back in November but they know this game will be by far their toughest of the season and they appear ready for the challenge.

Crusaders Leaders- Senior #26 Andrew Dwinnell (27-41-68 pts) and Juniors #6 John Hirschfeld (25-54-79 pts) & #24 Joey Gillespie (31-31-62 pts) were excellent on Wednesday and need to be big in this one. Senior #3 Vince Gebhardt (2-13-15 pts) & Sophomore #21 Griffin Sturm (9-19-28 pts) lead the blueline with a nice mix of physicality and playmaking and will need to contain the Warriors top line.

Crusaders Goalie- Senior #31 Nick Hansen (17-0-1) 1.42 GAA .936 SV% has been excellent this year and once he came back from injury Cathedral took their game to another level. SCC has yet to be beaten when he plays making him an X factor

Crusaders Secondary Scoring- One of the big keys to the red hot 2nd half for SCC beyond getting fully healthy has been the emergence of secondary scoring as they have been able to start to get scoring from all three lines. The 2nd half emergence of Seniors #19 Cole Hawg (12-16-28 pts), #17 Landon Swenson (7-9-16 pts) & #14 Philip O’Neal (4-7-11 pts) along with Junior #13 Jaeger Wood (10-7-17 pts) have been key and the 2nd line scored the game winning goal on Wednesday and they will be key in this game vs the Warriors 2nd & 3rd Lines.

Crusaders Special Teams- The Power Play is at 21.8% and Penalty Kill is at 83.3 %

[ClassAGuy]

Warroad 1-0 26 seconds in

SCC bad pinch and Warriors go down and bury a rebound off rush

[ClassAGuy]

2-0 Warriors on the PP

[Nostalgic Nerd]

Amazing crowd this morning. I walked in thinking I could get a seat easily. Eh eh.

[ClassAGuy]

BHS 2024 Class A State SF #1
#2 @WarroadHShockey 2
#3 @CHSPuckSquad 0
End of the 1st Period
Warroad had a good jump early but Cathedral had some great chances as the period went on. Warroad Goalie Ben Norris the MVP in this one so far.
SOG SCC 12-9

[ClassAGuy]

SCC makes it 2-1 on a PP Goal and they are slowly starting to carry the play more

[ClassAGuy]

BHS 2024 Class A State SF #1
#2 Warroad 2
#3 SCC 2
End of the 2nd Period
That period belonged to the Crusaders after they killed the 5 v 3 Warrior PP it was all Cathedral. They have all the momentum heading into the 3rd period.
SOG 18-18

[ClassAGuy]

Heading to OT in classic game
3-3 SCC ties up late after controversy on the Warroad goal

[ClassAGuy]

BHS 2024 Class A State SF #1
#2 Warroad 3
#3 St Cloud Cathedral 4
Final OT
St Cloud Cathedral battles back from down 0-2 early, a controversial Ref Call late and they find a way to head back to the Title Game for the 1st time since 2019.
SCC moves to (25-4-1) on the year

[Nostalgic Nerd]

That was a great game. Loved the SCC player who dove for the puck and tipped it to his teammate to make it 2-2. Also the end to end to make it 3-3. A pity Warroad has been beaten by Hermy, SCC, and Mahtomedi over and over.

[grindiangrad-80]

I would say that since the puck clearly went in before the whistle it was a good call. I get why he blew the whistle but ultimately no player quit playing prior to it going in. And the fact that the puck was always in play was a factor. Without replay a goal that was scored wouldn’t have counted.

Really nice game.

[Joe2015]

I would say that since the puck clearly went in before the whistle it was a good call. I get why he blew the whistle but ultimately no player quit playing prior to it going in. And the fact that the puck was always in play was a factor. Without replay a goal that was scored wouldn’t have counted.

Really nice game.

I agree

It's a letter of the law vs spirit of the law thing. By the letter of the law, its not a goal. But by the spirit of what is right/fair, it should be a goal. You shouldn't punish Warroad in that instance because the ref had a quick whistle. And that is exactly why you have replay: to get the call right. I agree with it being a good goal.