2024 Minnesota state boys hockey tournament: top seeds advance in Class A

The state hockey tournament is underway at Xcel Energy Center.

The 2024 Minnesota state boys hockey tournament is underway at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., with the four Class A quarterfinal games being played Wednesday. All of the top seeds advanced: Hermantown, Warroad, St. Cloud Cathedral and Mahtomedi. 

The Class 2A quarterfinals take place Thursday, and semifinals for both classes are set for Friday. Championships for both classes will take place on Saturday. The Class A semifinals will feature Hermantown against Mahtomedi and St. Cloud Cathedral versus Warroad. 

For those wanting to watch the action live, the games can be streamed here and are available over the air on KSTC Ch. 45 or on the KSTP 5 apps, which are available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV or on your smart phone. 

Day 1 recaps below... 

No. 1 Hermantown 6, Alexandria Area 0

First period

• Joshua Kauppinen nets the first goal of the game exactly four minutes into the opening period. Hermantown 1, Alexandria 0
• Dynamite give-and-go from Grady Olson to Leonard Kompelien gave Alexandria a Grade-A scoring chance, but the shot at the goal was saved by Dane Callaway to keep the score the same. 
• Hermantown takes a 1-0 lead into the second period. Action picked up as the Hawks outshot Alexandria 14-12.

Second period

• Hermantown junior defenseman Henry Peterson gets a power-play goal off a feed from junior forward River Freeman at 8:23. Hermantown 2, Alexandria 0.
• Peterson gets his second of the night at 15:30. Junior forward Charlie Marchand and sophomore forward Bode Madill with the assists. Hermantown 3, Alexandria 0.
• Sophomore defenseman/forward A.J. Francisco with another for the Hawks just 36 seconds later at 16:06. Peterson and Freeman with the assists. Hermantown 4, Alexandria 0.

Third period

• Marchand scores at 4:54 off assists from Madill and junior defenseman Jack Slattengren. Hermantown 5, Alexandria 0.
• One more for good measure. Freeman scores at 15:32. Ford Skytta and Peterson with the assists. The Hawks will advance to the semifinals. Hermantown 6, Alexandria 0.

No. 4 Mahtomedi 5, No. 5 Orono 2

First period

• We're all knotted at 0-0 after one period of play. Mahtomedi with a slight edge on shots on goal with 17 to Orono's 16. Looking like it'll be a good one here. 

Second period

• Mahtomedi on the board first with a power play goal from Max Strecker at the 8:31 mark of the period. Mahtomedi 1, Orono 0
• Orono strikes back with a power play goal by Joey Mugaas just two minutes, nine seconds after the Zephyrs took the lead. Mahtomedi 1, Orono 1

Third period

• With 8:14 remaining, Orono's Brooks Fegers tipped a shot from the blue line in for a goal. The officials immediately waived it off due to a high stick and after reviewing the replay they determined there was no high stick and the goal was good. Orono 2, Mahtomedi 1
• Defending champs answer with Jake Hodd-Chlebeck speeding up the right wing and burying a short-angle shot for his 26th goal of the season. Orono 2, Mahtomedi 2
• Just 18 seconds later the Zephyrs get another when Gene Wegleitner wins draw, secures the puck and goes five-hole for the lead. Mahtomedi 3, Orono 2
• Orono pulls the goalie, commits a cross-checking penalty and then Mahtomedi scores an empty-net goal on the delayed penalty. Mahtomedi 4, Orono 2
• One more to ice the cake as Hodd-Chlebeck adds an empty-netter. Mahtomedi 5, Orono 2

No. 2 Warroad 8, New Ulm 1

First period

• Warroad senior forward Murray Marvin-Cordes gets a backhanded shot past New Ulm senior goaltender Bryer Hoffman at 11:20. Senior forward and North Dakota commit Carson Pilgrim with the assist. Warroad 1, New Ulm 0. 
• Warroad with the 1-0 lead after one period of play. The Warriors killed off a New Ulm power-play chance without any trouble late in the period. Warroad is outshooting New Ulm 12-3 so far. 

Second period

• Quick one for Warroad. Pilgrim fires a shot from the left circle for his 30th goal of the year just 15 seconds into the period. Junior forward Taven James and senior defenseman Will Hardwick with the assists. Warroad 2, New Ulm 0.
• Marvin-Cordes with his second goal of the day already on a 2-on-1 breakaway at 5:24. James and Hardwick with the assists. Warroad 3, New Ulm 0. 
• Warroad sophomore forward Dominic Anthony somehow carries the puck behind the net and lifts the puck past Hoffman's helmet and off the post for a goal at 9:25. Goal wasn't called on the ice but is good after review. Marvin-Cordes and Hardwick with the assists. Warroad 4, New Ulm 0. 

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— 10,000 Takes (@10k_Takes) March 6, 2024

• The onslaught continues. Warroad senior defenseman Ryan Lund fires one in from the front of the net off a pass from senior forward Peyton Sunderland at 10:45. Warroad 5, New Ulm 0.
• Make it five goals now for the Warriors this period. Pilgrim scores his second of the day off an assist from Marvin-Cordes at 11:26. Warroad 6, New Ulm 0. 
• Dominant period from Warroad. The Warriors are outshooting New Ulm 27-4 and have spent most of the game in their own zone. Killed off another penalty there at the end of the period without any threat. New Ulm has a lot of work to do if it hopes to make things interesting here in the third period. 

Third period

• Anthony scores lucky No. 7 for Warroad off assists from sophomore forward Ryan Shaugabay and sophomore defenseman Thomas Grapentine at 5:33. Warroad 7, New Ulm 0.
• New Ulm is finally on the board. Junior defenseman Talan Helget gets one through the glove of Warriors senior goalie Ben Norris off an assist from senior forward Austin Uecker at 6:41. Warroad 7, New Ulm 1. 
• It's a hat trick for Marvin-Cordes, who scores a short-handed goal unassisted at 8:12. Warroad 8, New Ulm 1. 
• That's a wrap. Really strong win from Warroad, which will advance to the semifinals. Warroad closes with a 37-6 advantage for shots on goal. 

No. 3 St. Cloud Cathedral 5, Northfield 1

First period

• Quick action! St. Cloud Cathedral junior forward John Hirschfield scores unassisted at 0:18 in the first period. St. Cloud Cathedral 1, Northfield 0.
• Northfield senior forward Cayden Monson answers with an unassisted goal at 3:56. St. Cloud Cathedral 1, Northfield 1.
• Tied 1-1 after one period of play. Pretty evenly matched game so far. Northfield with a slight edge on shots on goal (8-6). 

Second period

• St. Cloud Cathedral senior forward Landon Swenson scores on the rebound off a shot from senior defenseman Thomas Rosenkraus at 9:34. Senior forward Cole Hwang also with an assist. St. Cloud Cathedral 2, Northfield 1.
• St. Cloud Cathedral junior forward Joey Gillespie fires a shot from the top of the left circle past Northfield junior goalie Max Frank on the power play at 10:38. Hirschfield and sophomore defenseman Griffin Sturm with the assists. St. Cloud Cathedral 3, Northfield 1. 
• Those two goals in a span of 1 minute, 4 seconds were a big momentum swing for St. Cloud Cathedral, particularly the second, which came on the power play after Northfield picked up a cross-checking penalty. St. Cloud Cathedral with a 19-13 advantage on shots on goal and a 3-1 lead as we head to the third period here at the X. 

Third period

• St. Cloud Cathedral senior forward Andrew Dwinnell scores power-play goal off assists from Sturm and Hirschfield at 6:29. St. Cloud Cathedral 4, Northfield 1.
• Gillespie scores off assists from Hirschfield and Sturm at 11:31. St. Cloud Cathedral 5, Northfield 1.
• That's a wrap. St. Cloud Cathedral with four unanswered goals in its 5-1 quarterfinal win over Northfield. It'll advance to play Warroad in the semifinals at 11 a.m. on Friday back here at the X.