#1 seed Northfield (22-3-1) comes into this game having taken care of #8 La Crescent-Hokah as they cruised to their 22nd win in the Section 1A Quarterfinals. The Raiders got big offensive games out of Sr. Christian Whiteman & Jr. Jacob Peters as they each had hat tricks in the big win, which is key as they are big depth scoring pieces for the Raiders. Now they face Rochester Lourdes in the 1A Semifinals, which is going to be a very scary matchup for Northfield. The Eagles have one of the top team defenses in Class A, and they have been a very difficult opponent when getting to play in Rochester. The Raiders last lost a Section 1A game in the semis back in 2022, and they have been the dominant team since then. They will need their top players, Sr. Michael Steward & Soph. Miles Kennelly up front, Sr. Bridger Riley on the backend, and Sr. Gavin Winter in net to be at the top of their game in this one.
#4 Seed Rochester Lourdes (17-7-2) enters this game having to survive a physical effort from Albert Lea to win the 1A Quarterfinal. The Eagles struggled late in the year due to missing their scoring trio of Srs. Jack Phillips & Owen Hoehn, and Jr. Nolan DuBois and getting them back and having a full lineup again is a huge development for them. Now they have a huge test awaiting as they look to try to take down the 1A kings, Northfield. They will have confidence as they played the Raiders on a bigger stage last year in the Section Final Game and nearly upset them. Now they are older and wiser, and the key to winning this one will fall on the performance of Goaltender Sr Anton Ackley, who has been nothing short of spectacular all year. This is the exact game this group thrives in, being the underdog and playing team defense, and like when they tied Duluth Marshall & Blake earlier this year, if they can hang around, they could definitely pull an upset over a Northfield team that has been more vulnerable this year.
1A SF- #1 Northfield vs #4 Rochester Lourdes
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