#1 seed Luverne (22-4-1) enters this game having blown by #8 Windom in the 3A Quarterfinals. Roll Cards Roll had plenty of goal scorers led by their Blueline trio of Sr. Jaxon Lais and Jrs. Ben Hartquist & Ricky Rogers, who all had big nights in the win. Now they move into the 3A Semifinal, which has been a house of horrors for Luverne as a #1 seed, as they have been upset a few times in this game and last year needed late-game heroics to avoid another. They will take on their rival, New Ulm, who they swept during the regular season, but the Eagles showed they can play with them. They will need a big game out of goalie Sr Gavin Hoven, who has been rock solid in net all year, as they look to return to the Section 3A Final for the 3rd time in the last four years.
#5 Seed New Ulm (15-11-0) comes into this game having survived a thriller with Minnesota River in the Section 3A Quarterfinals. The hero of the game was Jr. Mason Buegler, as the defender scored with 38 seconds left in the game to beat a tough Bulldogs team. They now move on to the 3A Semifinal, and they will take on Luverne for the third time this year. They will look to get big games from their stars in Jrs. Hunter Larson & Carson Uecker, who both have been scoring big goals all year. They will also look for similar performance out of Jr. Blaine Arneson in net, who was stout in the playoff opening win. This is the Eagles' 8th Straight Section Semifinal Game, and they have had plenty of experience in big playoff games at the Lund Center in Gustavus, and they understand “Gusty Magic” well and will try to lean into that as they look to upset Roll Cards Roll in this one!
3A SF- #1 Luverne vs #5 New Ulm
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