The Minnesota Blades

The Excel Energy Center will be buzzing this weekend as 8 teams in each class vie for a State championship.  The U16 Minnesota Blades will play a big role in deciding supremacy as six of the teams' players played huge roles in helping their teams earn State tournament berths.  Rachel Herzog, Jac Kaasa and Kenzie Prater will help lead the Class AA #3 seed Hill-Murray Pioneers.  The #4 seed in 2A, the Lakeville North Panthers, features Morgan Manes.  And Madi Nolan will play a big role for the Forest Lake Rangers.  In Class A, Carly Bullock, who scored two goals in a 6-5 win over Breck in the Section 5A title game, will help lead the #3 seeded Blake Bears.  Several other Blades came within a single victory of making it to State as Totino-Grace, led by Logan Knip's 52 saves and Amelia Vosen's assist, lost a double-overtime thriller to South St. Paul 2-1.  Taylor Henthorne and Kathryn Larson played significant roles in the Section 4AA Final before their Roseville Raiders fell 3-1 to Hill-Murray.  In Section 8A, Haley Mack, who finished the season  ranked 9th in the State in goals scored with 35, added 6 more in the Section playoffs as her Green Wave team made a run to the Section final before losing to top-ranked Warroad.  Congrats to all of the Blades for fantastic winter seasons and best of luck to everyone in the State tournament!

The U14 Minnesota Blades took the Boston hockey scene by storm, displaying high-end skill on the ice and a strong desire for achievement off the ice.  On the ice, the Blades went 3-1 in pool play, outscoring their opponents 17-3, with wins over the Boardwalk All Stars (6-0), the Massachusetts Spitfires (7-0) and the North America Stars (3-0), and a 3-1 loss to eventual champions, the East Coast Selects.  The Blades took a 1-0 lead in the semifinals, but gave up a late goal and lost 2-1 in an overtime shootout.  Off the ice, the team visited the hockey programs at Boston University (tour conducted by Head Coach Brian Durocher), Harvard (tour conducted by team captain and National team member Josephine Pucci), and Northeastern (tour conducted by Assistant Coach Linda Lundrigan).  Way to go ladies!