FTP playoff prediction record: 105 out of 129 correct | 81.4%
SECTION PLAYOFFS
Section 1AA
Championship
(3) Lakeville North (10-15-2) vs. (1) Lakeville South (18-9-0), 7PM | Rochester Rec Ctr
Quick note: Lakeville South outscored North 9-1 in two regular season games (4-0, 5-1).
South is led by a freshman, Kyle Osterberg, with 19 goals and 44 assists. Sophomore Alex Harvey is the team's leading goal scorer with 25 goals and 23 assists. Justin Kloos, another sophomore, is tied for second in team goals with his senior brother John. They both have 24 goals on the season.
North has a very good sophomore of their own in Nate Arentz. He leads North in scoring with 19 goals and 11 assists. Senior Tyler Goss has 12 goals for the second most on the team, senior Derek Wypyszynski is third with 11 goals. North does not score like South does and the Panthers goaltending and defense has not proven to be good enough to slow South down.
Prediction: Lakeville South 5, Lakeville North 1
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Section 4AA
Championship
(2) White Bear Lake (17-9-1) vs. (1) Hill-Murray (24-2-1), 6PM | MN SF Coliseum
Quick note: Hill-Murray defeated White Bear Lake twice during the regular season, 4-3 and 5-0. 2008-2009 semifinals: HM 5, WBL 4 in OT; 2007-2008 championship: HM 2, WBL 1. With this rivalry, you know it will be a good game.
Prediction: Hill-Murray 4, White Bear Lake 2
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Section 5AA
Championship
(3) Maple Grove (15-9-3) vs. (1) Blaine (20-4-3), 9PM | MN SF Coliseum
Quick note: In two regular season games, Blaine and Maple Grove tied once, 4-4, and Blaine won later 7-2. Maple Grove does not have a strong enough defense to slow Nick Bjugstad and the Bengals down. Dan Harper provides leadership and more experience in goal.
Prediction: Blaine 5, Maple Grove 2
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Section 3A
Championship
(4) Litchfield/D-C (16-9-1) vs. (3) New Ulm (14-10-1), 7:30PM | Gustavas Adolphus
Quick note: These two teams played twice during the regular season. New Ulm buried LDC 9-2 in the first game at New Ulm on January 14th. In the second game, it took two goals in the last 1:13 by New Ulm to come back and tie Litchfield/D-C 6-6 at Litchfield on February 25th. 11 goals in game one, 12 goals in game two. Don't expect a defensive struggle in this championship game but it may come down to which goaltender is the hottest at the right time.
Prediction: Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 6, New Ulm 4
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Section 4A
Championship
(2) Mahtomedi (22-5-0) vs. (1) St. Thomas Academy (22-5-0), 7PM | Aldrich Arena
Quick note: St. Thomas Academy is looking to avenge a 4-1 loss to Mahtomedi in the Section 4A championship last year. In two regular season games this year, these two teams split wins with exact same score, 6-3. Pick your favorite team with the best top three players: Mahtomedi with Brandon Zurn-Charlie Adams-Ben Marshall or STA with Christian Isackson-Justin Crandall-Zach Schroeder. This should be a great back-and-forth game.
Prediction: St. Thomas Academy 4, Mahtomedi 3
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Section 5A
Championship
(2) Duluth Denfeld (14-11-2) vs. (1) Hermantown (24-3-0), 7PM | Cloquet Rec Center
Quick note: The Hunters and the Hawks have met once this season, February 9th, at Heritage Arena. It took overtime but Hermantown won 5-4. Freshman Zach Thompson saved 48 out of 53 Hermantown shots. The Hermantown goaltenders split time and and saved 23 of 27 Denfeld shots. Senior and Mr. Hockey Finalist Adam Krause was held to just one goal in the game. Hermantown has too much fire power and they will probably have 50+ shots in this game too. The bad news for Denfeld is that I don't think Thompson will be able to duplicate the success he had in the previous game and that was a game that Denfeld still lost.
Prediction: Hermantown 7, Duluth Denfeld 2
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Section 6A
Championship
(2) Sartell-St. Stephen (18-7-2) vs. (1) Alexandria (20-6-1), 7PM | St. Cloud MAC Arena
Quick note: Alexandria and Sartell-St. Stephen, Central Lakes Conference foes, met twice this season. They tied 5-5 in the first game back in December in Alexandria. On February 4th in Sartell, Alexandria prevailed 4-1. In that game, senior Thomas Williams scored all four goals for the Cardinals. Sophomore goaltender Erich Murphy saved 25 Sartell-St. Stephen shots to pick up the win in goal. In the 5-5 tie, Williams had just a goal and 2 assists. Williams has 35 goals on the season, 29.2% of Alexandria's regular season goal production. Alexandria has four skaters with 10 or more goals on the season, Sartell-St. Stephen has six. If Sartell-St. Stephen can stop Williams from scoring and their top six goal scorers can produce three or more goals, they should be on their way to the X next week.
Prediction: Alexandria 4, Sartell-St. Stephen 3
