State Tourney Insiders: Sights and sounds from the hockey semifinals

3:57 p.m.

Go-ahead goal reviewed

Ryan Shaugabay's goal at 10:37 of the third period that gave Warroad a 3-2 lead in the early Class 1A semifinal went to a review. It was called no goal on the ice, but once Warroad coach Ryan Hardwick saw the video replay he said he hoped they'd call it a goal "because you could see the goalie made a save… but [the puck] was never at rest at any point."

"At any point in time, the goalie didn't have any control of it," Hardwick said. "But I think the big question was the ref's whistle."

What kind of explanation did St. Cloud Cathedral coach Robbie Stocker get after the call?

"He said he hadn't blown the whistle yet. And he said that that's what they told him up top," Stocker said. "I've got to check the rulebook and see exactly what that is. I think in the NHL, it's intent to blow the whistle and coming to your mouth. But we don't get paid to make those calls, they do."

It created a little adversity for the Crusaders, Stocker said, but they responded.

"We had to push through as a group and never get too high or too low on anything like that," Stocker said. "So, we still felt like we had an opportunity to tie it. We had plenty of time."

Said junior Joey Gillespie: "Our biggest thing is, we've just got to put whatever bad happened behind us. We just got to move on, keep moving, forget about it."

HEATHER RULE

3:53 p.m.

Coach's 'craziest game' list gets an update

St. Cloud Cathedral coach Robbie Stocker said it was just one year ago, when the Crusaders beat Little Falls 5-4 in overtime in the Section 5 championship game, that he coached in the "craziest hockey game I've ever been a part of," Stocker said. "And I didn't think that I was going to top that because I've been around the game for a long time and played in some pretty crazy games."

He marveled Friday that it took barely a year for a crazier game to happen to him. The Crusaders survived a reviewed goal by Warroad that was originally waved off, got the game-tying goal with 1:09 left, then won in overtime when John Hirschfeld, who had scored the tying goal, knocked in the puck for a 4-3 victory.

"It only took a year and some change to top it," Stocker said. "That was probably the craziest game I've ever been a part of. Very fun."

JIM PAULSEN

3:51 p.m.

Diving effort pays off

St. Cloud Cathedral's Cole Hwang tied the game 2-2 against Warroad in the second period, but it was Landon Swenson who made the play happen with his diving pass to the middle. Hwang didn't expect it.

"I did not," Hwang said. "But he made a great play. Dove-swatted it across, and I just happened to pick it up. But yeah, I didn't expect it."

HEATHER RULE

3:45 p.m.

Overtime is a familiar spot for Warroad

Not only was Friday's game the eighth overtime contest for Warroad this season (the Warriors are 4-4), but it was the third consecutive year that the Warriors' state semifinal game reached overtime. Warroad defeated Mahtomedi in overtime in the 2022 semifinal and then took a double-overtime victory over Orono last year.

The result for Warroad was different this time around. Warroad coach Jay Hardwick acknowledged being on both sides of these games.

"They've all been unbelievable games," Hardwick said. "That just shows that once you get past Wednesday, you're going to be in for good hockey Friday and Saturday, Class 1A. And that just speaks to how many quality teams there are."

HEATHER RULE

3:37 p.m.

St. Cloud Cathedral standout hits it big

If the same player is going to tie the game and then win it in overtime with a pair of goals — only 2:02 apart on the scoreboard — it might as well be the team's leading scorer.

St. Cloud Cathedral junior John Hirschfeld, whose 81 points lead the team, scored his 26th goal of the season with 1:09 left in regulation in the semifinals against Warroad. The Crusaders were on a 6-on-4 advantage with a power play and pulled goaltender. Hirschfeld moved with the puck around the Warroad defense and fired a backhand shot into the net.

For his encore, he pounced on a loose puck and scored his 27th goal of the season (tied for second on the team) early in overtime to send his team to the state title game.

"I had some room on the first one and took advantage of it, and put it through his arm," Hirschfeld said. "And then the second one … got the puck to the middle, and we all crashed. There was a nice rebound and finished it."

St. Cloud Cathedral coach Robbie Stocker said Hirschfeld stayed tenacious because it's the type of player he is, the hardest-working guy on the team.

"He doesn't take a drill off, ever," Stocker said. "Like yesterday, I had to tell him, 'You can't work this hard in practice, because we have the state semifinal tomorrow.' Which, as a coach, that's a great problem to have. And we've got a lot of guys like that on this team, which is probably why we've been so resilient with whatever adversity has been thrown at us this season."

HEATHER RULE

1:35 p.m.

Dated Edina-Grand Rapids rivalry renewed

The Class 2A semifinal between Edina and Grand Rapids renews a state tournament rivalry that raged during the 1970s.

From 1969 through 1980, all but one season ended with either Edina/Edina East or Grand Rapids playing for a state championship; Edina and Edina East won five state titles in the stretch, Grand Rapids won three. From 1974 through 1976, either Edina East (even then known as the Hornets and clad in recognizable green, white and gold) or Grand Rapids (the Indians then, the Thunderhawks now) was the state champion: Edina East in 1974, Grand Rapids in 1975 and 1976.

After meeting for the first time in a state tournament setting in 1972 (a 3-1 Grand Rapids victory in the first round), the teams didn't meet again until 1978. Edina East won 6-5 in the semifinals that year, rallying from a 4-2 deficit after two periods with four goals in the third period.

Perhaps their most memorable game came in 1978. Edina East, on an unassisted goal by Tom Carroll at 1:06 of the second overtime, pulled out a 5-4 victory over Grand Rapids.

Edina's championship game is remembered for Hornets coach Willard Ikola's decision to eschew the rotating goalie system he'd used in the postseason and stick with Gary Aulik. Aulik had shut down powerful Roseau, which featured Neal Broten, Aaron Broten and Butsy Erickson, 5-3 in the semifinals.

Grand Rapids, backstopped by goalie Jon Casey, won the championship in 1980.

The teams did not meet again in the state tournament until 2007, a 3-1 Grand Rapids victory in the quarterfinals.

JIM PAULSEN

10:51 a.m.

Semifinals Friday is bustin' out all over

Welcome to semifinal Friday! This is the day that's widely considered to be the best of the tournament. Soak it all in, hockey fans.

In the afternoon session, it's the Class 1A quarterfinals with all of the top four seeds having advanced from Wednesday's quarterfinals. First up, it's No. 3 seed St. Cloud Cathedral vs. No. 2 seed Warroad. Cathedral defeated the Warriors 3-2 early in the season — very early, November — despite Warroad outshooting the Crusaders 43-25 in the game. Griffin Sturm scored at the very end of the overtime period.

Friday's second game features a rematch from last year of familiar foes: top-seeded Hermantown vs. defending state champion Mahtomedi, the No. 4 seed. These two teams have quite the history, at the state tournament and in the regular season. They've faced each other regularly since the 2015-16 season, with Hermantown dominating the head-to-head record, at least in the regular season.

Hermantown is 10-2 vs. Mahtomedi since 2015-16, including 9-0 in the regular season. The two losses for the Hawks have come in the state tournament: the 2020 Class 1A title game, which was Mahtomedi's first state championship, and last year's semifinals. The game last year ended thrillingly as Mahtomedi upset then-defending champion Hermantown 2-1 in the state semifinals. The game-winner came off Charlie Drage's stick in the final minute of regulation.

Hermantown's only state tournament victory over Mahtomedi was in the 2018 third-place game, a 4-0 shutout.

This season, Hermantown kept its regular-season success against the Zephyrs going with a 5-1 win on Dec. 16. The Hawks used a four-goal second period, starting with goals at the :15 and :40 marks of the period, to help coast to victory. Five different Hermantown players scored goals in that game.

The Class 2A semifinals, starting at about 6 p.m., start with No. 2 Chanhassen trying to make the state championship game in its first-ever state tournament trip. The Storm will need to weather the unseeded Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders, who knocked off third seed Centennial in the quarterfinals. Later, top-seeded Edina faces No. 5 seed Grand Rapids, which won Thursday's nightcap with a buzzer-beater goal to break a 1-1 tie with White Bear Lake with less than two seconds remaining in regulation.

It was an ending that gave perfect meaning to the phrase "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat." White Bear Lake is still in search of its first state quarterfinal victory after 20 state tournament trips spanning decades.

HEATHER RULE