Wednesday, March 12, 2008

2008 All - Northwest Conference Selections

Courtesy of Northwest Conference Headquarters:

The following players have been selected to the All Northwest Conference Team. The players were selected on a vote from the Conference Coaches.

Goalies:
Scott Lindegard Kittson Central
Alex Lyon LOW

Defense:
Nolan Knott RLF
Kyle Horntvedt LOW
Jalen Stay LOW
Nick Lindegard Kittson Central

Forwards:
Danny Usiski LOW
Casey Cardinal RLF
Jon Carlo Westerland LOW
Craig Lindegard Kittson Central
Kellen Albrecht Kittson Central
Lukas Dahl Kittson Central

Coach of the Year: Scott Younggren Kittson Central
Assist. Coach of the Year: Jason Olson Kittson Central

2008 All - Mariucci Conference Team Selections


Courtesy of Mariucci Conference Headquarters:

The following players have been selected to the All - Mariucci Conference Team. The players were selected on a vote from the Conference Coaches.

Goalie:
Michael Lee Roseau
Matt Grove Crookston

Defense:
Aaron Ness Roseau
Ben Ammerman Moorhead
Spencer Johnson Thief River Falls
Tai Larson Warroad

Forwards:
Bryce Ravndalen Warroad
Dustin Moser Roseau
Ben Nelson Roseau
Nick Oliver Roseau
Joe Becker Moorhead
Nick Thielen Moorhead

Coach of the Year: Scott Oliver Roseau
Assistant Coach of the Year: Andy Lundbohm Roseau

2008 All - Section 8A Team Selections

Courtesy of Section 8A Hockey Headquarters:

The following players have been selected to the 8A All Section Team. The players were selected on a vote from the Section Coaches.

Goalie:
Alex Christiansen East Grand Forks
Matt Grove Crookston

Defense:
Spencer Johnson Thief River Falls
Kody Vizenor East Grand Forks
Tai Larson Warroad
Kevin McMorrow Park Rapids
Curtis Tolle Park Rapids
Mark McDonald Warroad

Forwards:
Zach Lehrke Park Rapids
Bryce Ravndalen Warroad
Jake Useldinger East Grand Forks
Jeremy Hahn Warroad
Joey Wikoff East Grand Forks
Dane Shaugabay Warroad
John Grabanski East Grand Forks
Danny Usiski Lake of The Woods
Lukas Dahl Kittson Central

Coach of the Year: Pete Stanke - Park Rapids
Assistant Coach of the Year: Derek Lehrke - Park Rapids

Sunday, March 9, 2008

MINNESOTA STATE CLASS A HOCKEY: Warroad Earns 3rd Place With OT Thriller Over St. Cloud Cathedral

Courtesy of Grand Forks Herald:

By: Kevin Fee, Staff Writer

ST. PAUL — Warroad had strong incentive in the third-place game at the Minnesota state Class A boys hockey tournament.

The Warriors wanted to end the season with a win, and they also wanted to top last year’s fourth-place state finish.

Mission accomplished.

Dane Shaugabay scored in overtime to lift Warroad to a 2-1 victory against St. Cloud Cathedral in the tournament’s third-place game Saturday morning in the Xcel Energy Center.

Shaugabay’s goal came at 3 minutes, 38 seconds. The junior tipped a teammate’s shot from the point through the legs of Cathedral goaltender Nick Maiers.

Warroad ended its season at 24-7. St. Cloud Cathedral finished at 23-7-1.

Cathedral thought the game-winner might have been knocked in with a high stick. But the officials thought otherwise.

“From what I could see it wasn’t a high stick,” Warroad co-coach Bruce Olson said. “They thought it was a high stick. It looked like it was right even with his waist.”

Shaugabay has a nose for the net.

“I just kind of tipped it, and it went through the goalie’s five-hole,” Shaugabay said.

The teams traded second-period goals to set up the finish.

Bryce Ravndalen scored for the Warriors just 55 seconds into the second on a power play. Then T.J. Poganski tied it at 5:52 on an unassisted goal.

“We started a little slow, but as the game went on I think we got better and better,” Shaugabay said.

Senior Garrett Corneliusen received the start in goal for Warroad after Jared Paquin played the first two games. Corneliusen was solid, making 16 saves.

Maiers finished with 19 stops.

Olson was pleased his team’s performance at state.

“We played three very good games,” he said. “I think we represented Section 8A quite well.”

Ravndalen was named to the all-tournament team and also won the Class A Herb Brooks Award. It goes to the player in the tournament who possesses all the characteristics, values and traits that exemplify those of the late Herb Brooks, who coached the U.S. Olympic hockey team to a gold medal in 1980.

Warroad’s Mark McDonald also made the all-tournament team.

Warroad 2,
St. Cloud
Cathedral 1, OT
Key play: Dane Shaugabay’s game-winning goal.
Key player: Bryce Ravndalen, 1 goal.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

2008 1st Annual Hockeytown USA Section 8A / 8AA Hockey Classic



Contact:
Brian EricksonWarroad Memorial Arena Association
218-386-1430 (ext. 1224)
Email: brianeric@marvin.com
NEWS RELEASE

HOCKEYTOWN HOCKEY CLASSIC SECTION 8 ALL-STAR ROSTERS RELEASED

WARROAD MN, March 5, 2008 – The 1st Annual Hockeytown Hockey Classic Section 8 All-Star Game will be held at The Gardens arena on Tuesday, March 11, 2008. The event will include both a girl’s and a boy’s game and will feature the Section 8A all-stars competing against those from Section 8AA. The event organizers are excited to announce the final rosters (please see below). Headlining the event will be Sarah Erickson (Bemidji), 2008 Ms. Hockey winner, and Zach Lehrke (Park Rapids) and Drew Olson (Brainerd), 2008 Mr. Hockey finalists. The girl’s all-star game will begin at 6 p.m. and the boys will follow at 8 p.m.





































Wednesday, March 5, 2008

LIVE BLOG FROM XCEL ENERGY CENTER IN ST. PAUL: Warroad Dominates Litchfield, Earns 4-0 Victory To Advance To Semi's vs. Duluth Marshall

PERIOD 3 RECAP:

By: Timothy Oshie
Publisher

Warroad, who has won Class A titles in 1994, 1996, 2003 and 2005, looked like a veteran, tournament-tested team on this day as they dominated from start to finish.

The Warriors held a 3-0 lead coming into the final period and extended that to 4-0 on a rebound goal by sophomore, Brock Nelson. It was Nelson' 14th goal on the season and first in the state tournament. Pieper and Knox each picked up an assist to give them a pair of helpers.

Warroad displayed a "Warrior style" type of defense once again that the state tournament committee has came to love. In the last five appearances, Warroad has only given up (5) goals in the last five quarter-final games ('03 4-1 over Fergus Falls; '04 1-2 OT loss to Orono; '05 6-1 over Albert Lea; '07 3-1 over Albert Lea; '08 4-0 over Litchfield/D-C).

For Warroad, making their 19th appearance in the winter classic builds it's character with team defense.Senior goaltender Jared Paquin, steered aside all 10 shots and earned his 17th win on the season (17-3-0). He now has 5 shut-outs in the last 6 games.

Warroad peppered Lucas Johnson with 39 shots.Warroad will face the Marshall School Hilltoppers of Duluth in the Class A semi-finals on Friday morning at 11 a.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

For a full recap / boxscore / real time stats please log on to:

http://mshsl.org/mshsl/showgameinfo.asp?game=285426

BLOG UPDATE FROM ST. PAUL: Warroad Extends Lead To 3-0 On Mark McDonald Blast

PERIOD 2 RECAP:

By: Timothy Oshie
Publisher

Warroad jumped out of the gate to start the second period of play from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Senior blueliner, Mark McDonald, scored on a 55-foot blast from the right point to push Warroad's lead to 3-0 just 2:22 into the second stanza. McDonalds goal was assisted by Micky Knox and Brock Nelson. John Hellquist provided the screen and jumped out of the way of the puck just before McDonalds blast went top shelf of "grandma's cookie jar". It was McDonalds second goal in three games with his ovetime game-winner over Thief River Falls in 2OT last Saturday night.

McDonalds goal was the second power-play tally for Warroad.

The Warriors outshot Litchfield 15-5 in the second period and have a 27-8 bulge for the game.

BLOG UPDATE FROM ST. PAUL: Warroad Uses Brawn To Lead 2-0 After One @ The Xcel



PERIOD 1 RECAP:

By: Timothy Oshie
Publisher


Warroad is known for Walleyes, Windows and Hockeysticks. Now, you'd have to also use phrases like "Main Street Bullies" to the addage as Warroad used grit and toughness in the first period of play against Litchfield.

The Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Jeremy Hahn tip-in goal off the blast from Eric Milbridge. Hahn located himself in the mid-slot right and redirected the puck past Lucas Johnson to open the scoring for Warroad. Hahn also scored the first goal of the 2007 MN State High School Tournament against Albert Lea. Junior Dane Shaugabay also assisted on Hahn's tally as he whistled a pass to Milbridge off a Litchfield turnover.

Late in the opening stanza, senior winger Andy Pelland leveled a Litchfield Dragon defender but ended up taking the brunt of the collison. Play was stopped as Pelland gathered his senses at center ice.

Moments later, senior captainBryce Ravndalen took a Michael Pieper pass behind the Warroad cage and went in untouched as he weaved between several Dragon defenders. As he approached the goal mouth, Ravndalen juked and jived and shot the puck five-hole to beat Johnson. Pieper was the lone assist as the goal came at :08.4 left in the opening period.

Warroad outshot Litchfield 13-3 in the opening frame.

MINNESOTA STATE CLASS A HOCKEY TOURNAMENT: Work pays off for Warriors

Courtesy of Grand Forks Herald

By: Virg Foss, Special To The Herald

There are reasons why Warroad High School has won four Minnesota state hockey championships and 18 Section 8A titles, including five of the last six.
For starters, the players grow up in a town that bills itself as “Hockeytown USA.” That's clue No. 1.
“Every boy in town pretty much goes out for the hockey team,” said Warroad star senior forward Bryce Ravndalen. “It's our main sport. All the best athletes play hockey.”
That they do, and they play it well.
The Warriors (22-6) go after their first state title since 2005 on Wednesday, when they play Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota state Class A tournament in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
It's a team with big goals and a heavy heart. Former Warroad High School player Greg Knox died unexpectedly in Texas on Feb. 23 at age 37, just over a year after his young son was killed in an all-terrain vehicle accident.
Greg Knox was the uncle of Warroad forward Micky Knox, who sandwiched two trips to Texas to first see his ailing uncle, then attend his funeral, around playing in the Section 8A tournament.
As a show of support, his teammates are wearing decals with the names of Greg Knox and his son, Wade, on their helmets, as they begin state tournament play.
Walk into the Warroad Gardens and you'll see banners honoring Warroad's 18 section titles and four state crowns. It's an everyday reminder to the Warroad players of today of the great history and tradition of the program. “The history is all over ýPage=001 Column=004 Loose,0004.04þthe rink,” Ravndalen said.
The links to the past can be found in the present. Warroad forward Brock Nelson, for example, is the grandson of Warroad's Billy Christian, a star on the gold medal 1960 U.S. Olympic hockey team.
Warroad co-coach Bruce Olson once coached at rival Roseau High School, which is defending its state Class AA title at state this week. In his second year as co-coach with Albert Hasbargen in Warroad, Olson finds something special with Warroad's hockey players.
“The kids here are a tough, gritty bunch and they don't question anything you tell them as a coach,” Olson said. “There's no outside influence from the parents or the community, so you're free to make the decisions necessary for the betterment of the team. The best way I can say it is that our kids work hard, and they listen. As a coach, I never feel like I'm walking on egg shells. The kids come first.”
Ravndalen and his teammates buy into that. “What the coaches say goes,” Ravndalen said.
Warroad concludes every practice with 20 minutes of conditioning drills. It's not fun, but it's vital to Warrior success.
The extra work paid off in a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Thief River Falls in the Section 8 semifinals. “That's what won us that game,” Ravndalen said. “Thief River guys were beat, and we were still pounding away.”
After that game, Olson said several Warroad players came up to him and thanked him for putting them through the ordeal of the strenuous conditioning drills all season.
It's a program good enough over the years that four current NCAA Division I players (T.J. Oshie, UND; Kyle Hardwick, Bemidji State; Eric Olimb, Nebraska-Omaha; and Aaron Marvin (St. Cloud State) are products of Warroad High School hockey and members of the 2005 state championship team.
Dennis Fermoyle was co-coach at Warroad High School in 2005. Now, he coaches the junior varsity team and instructs the Warroad goalies, a position he once played.
“When I coached at Roseau, I always wondered why Warroad's goalies were always so good,” Olson said. “Watching Fermoyle work with them, I can see why. He keeps them calm and cool.”
Jared Paquin has taken over as No. 1 goalie for Warroad.
The Warriors have given up just one goal in their last five games. “When I first saw him play, I thought, ‘Boy, does he have a long way to go,'" Olson said. “He's become a very good goalie, thanks in large part to working with Dennis Fermoyle.”
Maybe the successful program stems from the great tradition established by players and coaches of the past. Maybe it comes from the gritty kids of today who listen to their coaches and pay the price of success.
Whatever it is, it works for Warroad - and has for a long time.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Minnesota State Class "A" Boy's High School Hockey Tournament @ The Xcel Energy Center

Quarterfinals:

Location: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN

Date: March 5th, 2008

Upper Bracket:

Game 1: #2-Ranked Duluth Marshall vs. Mankato West, 11:00 AM
Game 2: #3-Ranked Warroad vs. Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato, 1:00 PM

Lower Bracket:

Game 3: #1-Ranked St. Thomas Academy vs. Little Falls, 6:00 PM
Game 4: #4-Ranked St. Cloud Cathedral vs. Blake School, 8:00 PM

Semifinals:

Locations: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul and Mariucci Arena

Consolation Bracket:

Date: March 6th, 2008
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 10:00 AM, Mariucci Arena
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 12:00 PM, Mariucci Arena

Championship Bracket:

Date: March 7th, 2008

Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 11:00 AM, Xcel Energy Center
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 1:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center

Finals:

Date: March 8th, 2008

Championship:
Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 12:00 PM, Xcel Energy Center

Third Place Game:
Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 9:00 AM, Xcel Energy Center

Consolation Game:
Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6, 10:00 AM, Mariucci Arena