5A Final - #1 Cathedral vs. #2 Monticello
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2026 2:26 pm
#1 seed St Cloud Cathedral Crusaders (16-11-0) vs #2 seed Monticello Moose (19-5-3)
February 25th, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT | @ Furniture and Things Community Event Center, Elk River
St Cloud Cathedral enters the 5A Section Final having rolled through two 5A opponents, outscoring them 18-5 so far, and they are now (8-0-0) vs section teams on the year. The Crusaders are looking to return to state for the 9th time in the last 12 years. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for them, but they have instead turned into a reload, and they are looking to end Monticello’s season for the 4th straight year and 4-peat as Section Champs, which hasn’t yet been done in their tradition-rich program history.
Crusaders Leaders- Jr. #19 Elijah Van Heel (11-15-26 pts), Soph. #17 Bo Schimdt (23-27-50 pts) & 9th grader #5 Brandan White (13-22-35 pts) make up their top line that has been doing lots of damage of late. Sr. #21 Griffin Sturm (18-27-45 pts) & Soph. #23 Talen Ruprecht (4-12-16 pts) lead the blueline with a nice mix of physicality and playmaking, and this unit has improved throughout the year.
Crusaders Goalie- Sr. #31 Hunter Moreland (12-6-0) 2.82 GAA .906 SV% has been strong this year, and once he won the starting role he took Cathedral’s game to another level. He has been steady so far in the playoffs, and he was excellent in their win over the Moose in the regular season.
Crusaders 5A Domination- Cathedral was in Section 5A from 2007-13 often having great teams run into the Hermantown dynasty. It was a relief to be moved into 6A in 2014, which began the run of 5 State Tourney Berths in 8 years. However, in 2022, they were back to Section 5A and they have become the bully since their return. They are now looking to win this section for the 4th straight year. This is a young team that was supposed to be a year away. If the Moose can’t beat them this year, we could be in for a long run of SCC dominance in 5A.
Crusaders Special Teams- The Power Play is at 24% and Penalty Kill is at 81.4 %
Monticello enters the 5A Section Final for the 9th time in the last 11 years. The Moose had another strong regular season, and they were able to win a drama-filled 5A Semifinal over a tough Pine City Area crew to get back to the section championship this year. Now they have a very tough Crusaders opponent who has been their roadblock of late, as Cathedral has ended their season the last 3 years. They did lose to SCC during the year, but they hope to reverse that result in this game as they look to fulfill their lofty preseason expectations.
Moose Leaders- Srs. #11 Ashton Stoll (21-25-46 pts), #7 Carter Lemke (19-21-40 pts) & #17 Liam ODonnell (12-10-22 pts) and Soph. #3 Clyde Middleton (15-18-33 pts) have been their goal scorers and they will be needed as scoring has at times been an issue. Jr. #28 Nicklas Nelson (10-24-34 pts) has led the way on the Moose blueline which is as always a source of strength for this program.
Moose Goalie- Jr. #33 Nolan Wurm (19-5-2) 1.81 GAA .907 SV% has been rock solid in net for Monticello in his first year as the starter and they will need him to be at his best vs SCC and will look for a big game out of him which he is fully capable of and has shown throughout his years.
Moose’s “Cathedral Curse”- Once moving back into Class A in 2016 Monticello became the the most dominant program within Section 5A winning Section Titles in three of the first five years. However, things changed in 2022 when Cathedral was brought back into Section due to MSHSL realignment. While the Moose have still been a great program their runs to State have hit a road block as the Crusaders have ended their season in the last three straight years. They will be looking to make sure that streak doesn’t extend to 4 years in this one.
Moose Special Teams- The Power Play is at 16.2% and Penalty Kill is at 78.5 %
February 25th, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT | @ Furniture and Things Community Event Center, Elk River
St Cloud Cathedral enters the 5A Section Final having rolled through two 5A opponents, outscoring them 18-5 so far, and they are now (8-0-0) vs section teams on the year. The Crusaders are looking to return to state for the 9th time in the last 12 years. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for them, but they have instead turned into a reload, and they are looking to end Monticello’s season for the 4th straight year and 4-peat as Section Champs, which hasn’t yet been done in their tradition-rich program history.
Crusaders Leaders- Jr. #19 Elijah Van Heel (11-15-26 pts), Soph. #17 Bo Schimdt (23-27-50 pts) & 9th grader #5 Brandan White (13-22-35 pts) make up their top line that has been doing lots of damage of late. Sr. #21 Griffin Sturm (18-27-45 pts) & Soph. #23 Talen Ruprecht (4-12-16 pts) lead the blueline with a nice mix of physicality and playmaking, and this unit has improved throughout the year.
Crusaders Goalie- Sr. #31 Hunter Moreland (12-6-0) 2.82 GAA .906 SV% has been strong this year, and once he won the starting role he took Cathedral’s game to another level. He has been steady so far in the playoffs, and he was excellent in their win over the Moose in the regular season.
Crusaders 5A Domination- Cathedral was in Section 5A from 2007-13 often having great teams run into the Hermantown dynasty. It was a relief to be moved into 6A in 2014, which began the run of 5 State Tourney Berths in 8 years. However, in 2022, they were back to Section 5A and they have become the bully since their return. They are now looking to win this section for the 4th straight year. This is a young team that was supposed to be a year away. If the Moose can’t beat them this year, we could be in for a long run of SCC dominance in 5A.
Crusaders Special Teams- The Power Play is at 24% and Penalty Kill is at 81.4 %
Monticello enters the 5A Section Final for the 9th time in the last 11 years. The Moose had another strong regular season, and they were able to win a drama-filled 5A Semifinal over a tough Pine City Area crew to get back to the section championship this year. Now they have a very tough Crusaders opponent who has been their roadblock of late, as Cathedral has ended their season the last 3 years. They did lose to SCC during the year, but they hope to reverse that result in this game as they look to fulfill their lofty preseason expectations.
Moose Leaders- Srs. #11 Ashton Stoll (21-25-46 pts), #7 Carter Lemke (19-21-40 pts) & #17 Liam ODonnell (12-10-22 pts) and Soph. #3 Clyde Middleton (15-18-33 pts) have been their goal scorers and they will be needed as scoring has at times been an issue. Jr. #28 Nicklas Nelson (10-24-34 pts) has led the way on the Moose blueline which is as always a source of strength for this program.
Moose Goalie- Jr. #33 Nolan Wurm (19-5-2) 1.81 GAA .907 SV% has been rock solid in net for Monticello in his first year as the starter and they will need him to be at his best vs SCC and will look for a big game out of him which he is fully capable of and has shown throughout his years.
Moose’s “Cathedral Curse”- Once moving back into Class A in 2016 Monticello became the the most dominant program within Section 5A winning Section Titles in three of the first five years. However, things changed in 2022 when Cathedral was brought back into Section due to MSHSL realignment. While the Moose have still been a great program their runs to State have hit a road block as the Crusaders have ended their season in the last three straight years. They will be looking to make sure that streak doesn’t extend to 4 years in this one.
Moose Special Teams- The Power Play is at 16.2% and Penalty Kill is at 78.5 %