Bauer NIT semifinal game notes

By Elite League Media Services

In a rematch of last year's final, Minnesota Red and Shattuck-St. Mary's will meet at 1:30 Sunday in the championship game of the Bauer National Invitation Tournament.

Minnesota Red defeated Minnesota White 5-1, while Shattuck earned the right to defend their crown by beating Michigan 7-1. Minnesota White and Michigan will play for 3rd place at 11:00 a.m.

Minnesota Red 5, Minnesota White 1

Minnesota Red, led by its contingent of northern Minnesota players, defeated Minnesota White 5-1 in Saturday's first semifnal.

Brock Nelson and Brett Hebel of Warroad, along with Adam Knochenmus of Roseau, formed a potent line that dominated much of the game, and Thief River Falls goalie Zane Gothberg stopped 22 shots to lead Red's victory.

Nelson – a University of North Dakota recruit – scored the game's first goal late in the first period, picking up a loose puck in a scramble and sliding a low shot past White goalie Jacob Meyers. Hermantown's Adam Krause – headed for UMD – made the lead 2-0 in the second period, and the Nelson line struck again early in the third period when Hebel tapped in a loose puck on the power play for a 3-0 lead. Caleb Herbert and Max Gaede scored to run the lead to 5-0 before Brett Patterson scored to ruin Gothberg's shutout. White goalie Jacob Myers stopped 55 of 60 shots.

Shattuck-St. Mary's 7, Michigan 1

Shattuck moved into the title game with a decisive win over the all-star team from the Michigan Development Hockey League.

Jimmy Mullins scored a pair of goals, and Daniel Elsner had a goal and two assists to pace Shattuck. Mullins' first goal was a power-play tally, assisted by James Polk and Tanner Sorenson. Shattuck then added three goals in the second period, and built a 7-0 lead in the third period before Austin Hervey scored an unassisted goal for Michigan. Shattuck outshot Michigan 47-29.

In the consolation bracket, Culver Academy lost a 4-1 lead in the third period, but Max Terhar's goal with 4:35 remaining gave Culver a 5-4 win over Wisconsin. Pierre Leblanc had a pair of goals for Culver, who led 4-1 early in the third period before Wisconsin got goals from Simon Leahy, Joe Haydock and Joe Fiala to tie the game.

In the other consolation semifinal, Derrick Schartz scored two goals and goalie Mitch Suson made 54 saves to lead the Dallas Jr. Stars past Manitoba 5-1. Dallas and Culver will play Sunday for the consolation championship, while Manitoba meets Wisconsin in the seventh-place game.

TOURNAMENT NOTES: The victory was Culver's first of the season, evening their record at 1-1. Players from the Dallas Jr. Stars and Culver Academy attended Saaturday night's game between the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars in St. Paul. Max Gardiner of Minnesota White leads the NIT in scoring with four points, while teammate Archie Skalbeck, Minnesota Red's Brock Nelson, Shattuck's Jimmy Mullins and Michigan's Patrick Brown are all tied for the tourney lead with three goals.