Entering the final weekend, four teams have a shot at the regular-season championship of the Upper Midwest High School Elite League. The final weekend of games – played at Fargo, ND and Eau Claire, WI – will determine the champion of the league’s 10th season.
Just three points separate the first four teams in the standings after First-place Team Northwest lost two out of three games in Week Six.
Northwest lost 8-0 at Shattuck on Wednesday night, then opened the weekend with a 5-3 loss to Team Southeast. Entering the final period tied at 2-2, Northwest took the lead on Ross Luedtke’s goal early in the period. But two Southeast goals in a span of 1:21, along with an empty-netter, sent Northwest to its second straight loss. Northwest salvaged the weekend, and preserved a two-point margin in the standings, with a 6-3 victory over Team Northeast on Sunday. Patrick Steinhauser and T.J. Roo scored in the first 1:03 of play, and Northwest went on to build a 4-1 first-period lead. Roo and Grant Besse each finished with a goal and an assist, while Drew Brevig, Ryan Jaremko and Jonny Brodzinski each had a pair of assists.
Team Wisconsin moved into a tie for second place with an impressive three-game weekend sweep. Playing in Brainerd, Wisconsin opened with a 4-2 win over Great Plains on Saturday morning. Brad Navin scored a pair of goals, while Paul Byrne and Trevor Okeson each chipped in two assists. On Saturday night, Navin had another two-point game (1G, 1A) and goalie Saxton Soley made 37 saves in a 3-0 shutout of Team North. Sunday morning, Soley was again spectacular, stopping 47 of 48 shots in a 3-1 win over Team Southwest. Navin, Kyle Lee and Cliff Watson each scored for Wisconsin, which will play its final three games this weekend in Eau Claire.
For Team North, the loss to Wisconsin was part of a 1-2 weekend that left them tied for second, two points out of first. The weekend began with a 5-1 win over Team Southwest as Brainerd’s Matt Pohlkamp scored twice in his home arena. Jordan Heller added a goal and an assists, while Duluth East’s Jake Randolph had two assists. Following the loss to Wisconsin, North ran into a hot goalie and lost 4-2 to Team Great Plains despite outshooting Great Plains 50-27. Judd Peterson and Josh Archibald had the only goals for North.
Team Southeast fought its way into title contention with a three-game sweep that left it three points out of first place. In the Elite League’s Tuesday showcase game, Taylor Fleming of St. Thomas Academy had two goals and two assists in a 7-4 win over Team Northeast. Tony Barbato of Cretin-Derham Hall added a goal and two assists. On Saturday, Southeast exploded for three third-period goals to come from behind and beat Team Northwest 5-3. Joseph LaBate had a goal and an assist, and Michael Zajac picked up two assists. Southeast completed its sweep on Sunday with a 6-5 victory over Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Again Southeast came from behind with three goals in the third period, and Apple valley’s Hudson Fasching scored the game-winner with less than four minutes remaining. A.J. Reid had two goals and an assist for Southeast.
Team Southwest lost two of three to fall to fifth place. Losses to Wisconsin and Team North were sandwiched around a 3-1 win over Great Plains. Minnetonka’s Thomas Schutt scored a pair of goals in the win, and goalie Andrew Ford of Eden Prairie stopped 32 of 33 shots.
Shattuck-St. Mary’s opened the week with an 8-0 whitewashing of Team Northwest. Teddy Blueger scored a pair of goals and Nicholas Weberg picked up four assists in the victory. Weberg then scored two goals in a 4-2 win over Team Northeast, with Tanner Sorenson adding in two assists. Shattuck missed a chance for a three-game sweep, losing 6-5 to Team Southeast despite Sorenson’s four-point game (3G, 1A).
Team Great Plains received one of the best goaltending performances of the year when Grand Forks Red River goalie stopped 48 of 50 shots in a 4-2 win over Team North. Brandon Tendeland of West Fargo had a goal and an assist in the win. Earlier in the weekend, Great Plains fell 4-2 to Wisconsin despite goals from John Simonson and Casey Fugleberg, and lost 3-1 to Team Southwest, with Simonson getting the only goal.
Team Northeast had an 0-3 weekend, losing 7-4 to Team Southeast, 4-2 to Shattuck and 6-3 to Team Northwest. Eric Freschi of Bloomington Jefferson had a pair of goals in the Northwest game.
NOTES: Southwest Youth Arena in Fargo will host five Elite League games this weekend, including the North vs. Northwest game at 9 am Sunday that should determine the league champion. Five other games will take place in Eau Claire, where a sweep by Team Wisconsin could give them their first-ever Elite League regular season title. Tony Cameranesi continues to lead the league in scoring despite just one goal in his past three games. Cameranesi is tied with Wisconsin’s Brad Navin and Kyle Rau of Team Southwest for the lead in goals with 15. Shattuck’s Kyle Hayton has a 1.89 goals-against average and .936 save percentage, both tops in the league. Great Plains goalie Michael Bitzer, a junior from Moorhead, has seen 40 or more shots in six of his last seven games, but still maintains a .933 save percentage and 2.71 goals-against average.
