Undefeated Minnetonka stunned by Chanhassen in section championship

Minnetonka finishes the season 25-1-2.
Undefeated Minnetonka stunned by Chanhassen in section championship
Undefeated Minnetonka stunned by Chanhassen in section championship /

In one of the most stunning upsets in Minnesota high school hockey's recent history, the defending state champion and undefeated Minnetonka Skippers fell to Chanhassen in the Section 2AA championship game Thursday night. 

Section championship week always delivers thrills in the State of Hockey, and Chanhassen (23-5) delivered with a 2-1 victory over Minnetonka, an undefeated (25-0-2 before running into the Storm) team ranked No. 1 and fueled by nine Division I recruits. 

KFAN's Zach Halverson captured the intense, emotional final seconds of the game at Braemar Arena in Edina. Here it is: 

Minnetonka had outscored its last 11 opponents by a combined 78-6 before Chanhassen got two goals from Andy Earl in the first period and Kam Hendrickson had more than 30 saves to hold the Skippers at bay. 

For Chanhassen, its the boys' first trip to the state tournament in school history, and it avenges a 3-2 overtime loss to Minnetonka in their only meeting during the regular season. Chanhassen was one of only three teams able to force overtime against Minnetonka, with state powers Edina and Wayzata being the others. 

7 teams clinch spot in state hockey tournament, 9 more to come


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen.  His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011.  Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play.  Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers.  Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.