South St. Paul Premier Tournament Preview

Let the Christmas-break tournaments begin! The South St. Paul Premier Tournament begins on Saturday with quarterfinal action. The semifinals are on Monday while the championship and placement games are on Tuesday.

Game times on Saturday are 1:00 PM, 3:15 PM, 6:00 PM, and 8:15 PM at Wakota Arena in South St. Paul.

Here is a quick preview:

Game 1: Hopkins (6AA) (2-5-0) vs. St. Paul Johnson (4A) (3-3-1)

Hopkins top 3 goal scorers:
#11 Archie Skalbeck (Senior forward) - 6 goals
#25 Tanner Holmquist (Sophomore forward) - 5 goals
#13 Kyle Dalton (Junior forward) - 3 goals
#10 Matt Hazuka (Senior forward) - 3 goals

Defense: Allowing 32.1 shots per game
Goaltending: Alex Fons 6 games, 3.50 GAA; Rob Weiner 1 game, 6 GAA

Wins over:
North St. Paul (5-3)
Buffalo (4-0)

St. Paul Johnson top 3 goal scorers:
#3 Mark Terry (Sophomore forward) - 7 goals
#16 Cory Ellis (Senior forward) - 6 goals
#15 Jay Dickman (Sophomore forward) - 3 goals

Defense: Allowing 23.4 shots per game
Goaltending: Brandon Hoffman 5 games, 2.00 GAA; Travis Kurth 2 games, 2.50 GAA

Wins over:
Rochester John Marshall (5-1)
Minneapolis East (5-1)
St. Paul Academy/MPA (8-2)
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Game 2: Anoka (5AA) (1-5-0) vs. Hastings (3AA) (3-5-0)

Anoka top 3 goal scorers:
#9 Kyle Thorpe (Sophomore forward) - 2 goals
#17 Andrew Olek (Junior defenseman) - 2 goals
#28 Tyler Hong (Sophomore forward) - 2 goals
#26 Tony Niederhaus (Junior forward) - 2 goals

Defense: Allowing 34 shots per game
Goaltending: Jeff Ramstad 2 games, 2.50 GAA; Cameron Blomlie 2 games, 5.50 GAA, Michael Lesmeister 2 games, 8.50 GAA

Wins over:
Irondale (4-2)

Hastings top 3 goal scorers:
#12 Nate Flynn (Sophomore forward) - 6 goals
#22 Max Fox (Senior forward) - 5 goals
#15 Austin Nelson (Junior forward) - 5 goals

Defense: Allowing 25.13 shots per game
Goaltending: Tommy Sieh 8 games, 4.30 GAA; Mike Porrez 1 game, 3.00 GAA

Wins over:
East Ridge (4-1)
Eastview (4-2)
Roseville Area (2-0)
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Game 3: Eagan (3AA) (5-1-1) vs. Robb. Armstrong (6AA) (3-5-0)

Eagan top 3 goal scorers:
#17 Ryan Lutz (Senior forward) - 6 goals
#16 Michael Zajac (Sophomore forward) - 4 goals
#19 Alec Merchant (Senior forward) - 4 goals

Defense: Allowing 25 shots per game
Goaltending: Tommy Bodeker 6 games, 1.50 GAA, Alex Cimochowski 5.00 GAA

Wins over:
Lakeville South (2-1)
Chaska/Chanhassen (5-2)
Lakeville North (1-0 in OT)
Bloomington Jefferson (4-3 in OT)
Hastings (8-3)

Robbinsdale Armstrong top 3 goal scorers:
#7 Tyler Johnson (Senior forward) - 11 goals
#15 Casey Olson (Senior forward) - 4 goals
#17 Danny Dmohoski (Sophomore forward) - 2 goals
#19 Jon Rodengen (Senior forward) - 2 goals
#8 Butch Iverson (Senior forward) - 2 goals

Defense: Allowing 33.25 shots per game
Goaltending: Michael Greenberg 4 games, 4.25 GAA, Mike Davies 4 games, 5.25 GAA

Wins over:
Hibbing/Chisholm (8-5)
St. Louis Park (3-2)
Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake (3-2)
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Game 4: North St. Paul (4AA) (2-4-0) vs. South St. Paul (4A) (4-3-0)

North St. Paul top 3 goal scorers:
#20 Zac McCarver (Sophomore forward) - 5 goals
#9 Adam Slagle (Senior forward) - 4 goals
#27 Nick Hinz (Junior defenseman) - 3 goals

Defense: Allowing 27 shots per game
Goaltending: Peter Toy 7 games, 3.33 GAA

Wins over:
St. Paul Como Park (8-1)
Simley (7-0)

South St. Paul Packers top 3 goal scorers:
#15 Austyn Young (Sophomore forward) - 9 goals
#17 Jesse Poznikowich (Junior forward) - 4 goals
#6 Matt Pilot (Sophomore defenseman) - 3 goals

Defense: Allowing 29.3 shots per game
Goaltending: Adam Wilcox 6 games, 2.67 GAA, Luke Palmquist 1 game, 4.00 GAA

Wins over:
St. Paul Johnson (4-3)
Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (2-1)
Henry Sibley (8-1)
St. Paul Como Park (7-4)