It’s the weekend in March that every Minnesota hockey fan has circled on their calendar.
Every year, thousands upon thousands of hockey fans from all corners of the state gather in the capital city of St. Paul to watch the 16 best teams this state has to offer. Memories are made, traditions are forged and champions are crowned. This tournament has seemingly become the crown jewel of amateur hockey in America.
After last season’s added attention (i.e. ESPN), seemingly more eyes were on the tournament this year and it did not disappoint. In fact, one could go as far as saying it was the best we’ve ever seen. That’s certainly something not easily said, given the fact the tournament turned 73 this season.
But let’s think about that for a minute.
There was Wednesday’s Class A quarterfinals, which usually only offered up the entertainment of hockey hair, with the games being big blowouts.
Not this year.
Two upsets graced Wednesday afternoon, as first-timer Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake upset No. 2 seed Delano (3-2) and then Northfield, another first-timer, upset No. 3 seed Mahtomedi (3-1). The two wins meant an unseeded team would make it to the Championship game on Saturday for the first time in Class A history. Then came Wednesday evening, as top seed Hermantown required an overtime to take down Luverne. That was certainly the most competitive Wednesday in the brief history of Class A.
Thursday had its share of excitement, as fan favorites (sarcasm) St. Thomas Academy and Hill-Murray both lost in the afternoon session to Lakeville South and Moorhead, respectively. The night session featured a rematch of last year’s title game, which saw top seed Eden Prairie narrowly defeat defending champ Wayzata 3-1 on an empty-net goal. It was followed up by Maple Grove and Grand Rapids having an old-fashioned shootout, with the Thunderhawks winning, 6-4.
Now we come to Friday, the most compelling day by far, on the tournament calendar. Eight teams remained, just looking for a chance to get there, and oh boy was it thrilling from start to finish.
MAML needed a goal with 2.3 seconds to play, from its top line that wouldn’t quit, to upend Northfield in a highly-contested game by the two first-time participants. Then it looked as if we had another upset brewing, as St. Cloud Cathedral was up 2-0 and then 5-2 on top seed Hermantown midway through the game. But the Hawks battled back, forced overtime (for the second straight night) and scored the winner in the extra session’s final seconds.
Friday night saw Moorhead narrowly defeat Lakeville South 3-2 to make its first title game appearance since 2009. Then it was followed by another upset, as Eden Prairie, the consensus No. 1 team in AA for the season, lost to Grand Rapids thanks to a 47 save performance from its goaltender Zach Stejskal.
If you had time to catch your breath from Friday night to Saturday morning, you were quickly losing it again. MAML gave Hermantown all it could handle in the Class A final, as the game needed double-overtime and a disallowed goal in said fifth session before getting the winner from Hermantown’s Dylan Samberg. Hermantown, a hot topic of discussion as to if it should move up to AA, had to grind its way to three wins in this tournament. It certainly spoke to the level of competition from the small schools in this tournament, and for the record, we won’t be seeing the Hawks move up next year.
Saturday night featured an all northern school final in Class AA. While the ticket scalpers might not like that, the die-hard hockey fans certainly enjoy it.
Grand Rapids jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Moorhead before the Spuds battled back. The game was 4-2, then 5-3. Moorhead pressured late, but an empty-net goal sealed its fate, giving Grand Rapids its first championship in hockey since 1980.
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After all that, it’s hard to argue that any tournament in recent memory tops this one. While not many around have seen all 73 tournaments, you could probably find those who have, saying this was certainly one of the best they have seen (although you might also get a story about how St. Paul Johnson defeated International Falls 4-3 in overtime in 1963, in the process).
While there are games from the last 73 years that live in infamy, this tournament year was by far the best. We might not see one like this for quite some time, but the bar has been set.
Years down the line, you can talk about the tournament of whatever year it is being the best all-around, but it will have to be compared to 2017. This year set a standard, and oh boy was it a fun one.
And we only have to wait 362 days to see how 2018 follows up.
See you then.
