Fourteen teams have now reserved a spot in next week’s prestigious Minnesota Boys Hockey State Tournament after seven section championship games were played in dramatic fashion Thursday night across the State of Hockey.
Among the seven to clinch a spot in The Tourney is Chanhassen, which improved to 23-5 by pulling off a shocking upset of previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Minnetonka. Teams that clinched Thursday night:
- Rochester Century/John Marshall: Upset Lakeville South 4-1 in Section 1AA
- Chanhassen: Stunned Minnetonka 2-1 in Section 2AA
- Centennial: Upset Maple Grove 5-1 in Section 5AA
- Grand Rapids: Back in state for the first time since 2017 with a 3-2 double OT win over Andover in 7AA.
- Mahtomedi: Defeated Southwest Christian/Richfield 3-2 to win Section 4A
- Alexandria: Toppled Northern Lakes 6-1 to claim Section 6A
- Warroad: Took down East Grand Forks 4-3 in double OT to win Section 8A
Two more section title games will be played Friday night:
Section 3AA championship
- #3 St. Thomas Academy vs. #5 Cretin-Derham Hall
- Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m. at Braemar Arena
Section 4AA championship
- #1 Hill-Murray vs. #3 White Bear Lake
- Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m. at Aldrich Arena
Here are the seven teams that clinched Wednesday night:
- Edina: Hornets defeated Wayzata 4-1 in the Section 6AA title game
- Elk River/Zimmerman: 3-0 shutout over upstart Buffalo/Annandale to win Section 8AA
- Northfield: 4-1 victory over Dodge County in the Section 1A championship
- Orono: 4-1 win over Minneapolis to win Section 2A
- New Ulm: Topped Marshall 4-2 to clinch Section 3A
- St. Cloud Cathedral: 4-1 win over Monticello to claim Section 4A
- Hermantown: Blanked Hibbing/Chisholm 4-0 to win Section 7A
The state tournament brackets will be revealed on Saturday morning.
