Minnesota boys hockey sectionals conclude; state tournament set March 4-5

Minnesota’s Class A and Class AA boys hockey section finals wrapped up the week of Feb. 24-27, with the state tournament set for March 4-5 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and consolation and additional games at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. Sporting News’ state-tournament table lists Class A quarterfinals on March 4 at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with March 5 consolation slots at 10 a.m. and noon at Mariucci and at least one Class AA slot at 11 a.m. March 5 at Grand Casino Arena.

Section finals produced decisive results across the state. Rosemount edged St. Thomas Academy 3-2 at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena on Feb. 24. Edina defeated Wayzata 3-1 at Ridder Arena on Feb. 25, while Moorhead blanked Elk River 5-1 at Runestone Community Center that same night. Hibbing beat Cloquet 3-2 at Amsoil Arena on Feb. 25 and St. Cloud Cathedral prevailed over Monticello 3-1 at the Community Event Center in Elk River on Feb. 25. Dodge County knocked off Northfield 4-2 at Rochester Rec Center on Feb. 25.

Photo coverage and box-score paths illustrate how teams reached those title games. Sartell-St. Stephen junior Lane Larson was pictured guarded by River Lakes senior Griffin Mayhew in a Jan. 15 game at Scheels Athletic Complex; Sartell reached the Section 6A championship but fell 3-2 in overtime to Northern Lakes at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud on Feb. 26. Northern Lakes’ 3-2 OT win ended Sartell-St. Stephen’s run and booked Northern Lakes’ state-tournament spot.

The Twin Cities reporting outlined deep runs in the 2A brackets. Lakeville South punched its ticket to the Class 2A state tournament by beating Farmington 3-1 in the Section 1AA final at Rochester Rec Center on Feb. 26 after a semifinal slate that included Farmington’s 3-2 OT win over New Prague and Lakeville South’s 6-1 semifinal victory over Lakeville North. In Section 2AA, Minnetonka marched through with a 5-0 quarterfinal win over Chaska, a 4-1 semifinal over Eden Prairie at Braemar Arena, and a 5-2 final win against Chanhassen at Ridder Arena on Feb. 26.

Sporting News noted the sweep of section finals and explicitly reported, "Minnesota's MSHSL boys ice hockey section finals wrapped up Friday night with Gentry Academy claiming the final spot in next week's state tournament." Twin Cities coverage fills in that narrative: Gentry Academy upset Hill-Murray in the section semifinals and then downed White Bear Lake in a Section 4 game at Aldrich Arena on Feb. 27. The photo caption shows Gentry defenseman Nate Wilke (27) celebrating with forward Braden Bois (21) after a first-period goal in that game.

With confirmed section champions including Minnetonka, Lakeville South, Rosemount, Edina, Moorhead, Hibbing, St. Cloud Cathedral, Dodge County, Northern Lakes and newcomer Gentry Academy, March 4-5 will pit established powers against breakthrough programs on the bigger Minneapolis-St. Paul ice. The stage at Grand Casino Arena and the 3M Arena at Mariucci will amplify exposure for small programs like Gentry Academy making a first 2A state appearance and should concentrate scouting, alumni support and ticket interest as postseason momentum builds into state semifinal and consolation play.