Over this past weekend was the mark of a Minnesota tradition, the state hockey tournament. Teams from across the state battled against their rivalry sections to win or meet an end to their season. The best teams from each section in class A and AA compete to win the title of being the best team in the state.

The event took place at the Xcel energy center, home of the professional hockey team known as the Minnesota Wild. Notable players from the tournament include Senior from Prior Lake Alex Bump, who scored a whopping 5 goals in the first quarterfinal game against Cretin Derham Hall, just shy of a double hat trick.

Sartell Senior Hadi Rahal says, “I’m impressed by seeing how much talent Minnesota has to offer, especially players like Alex Bump. Those players really had an impact on the course of the state tournament”.

Bump was one of the 10 finalist for the honor of Mr. Hockey, an award given to the best senior hockey player of the season. Voted by fans across the state for one of ten finalists, the highest number of votes were awarded to Roseau Senior Max Strand, who had accumulated 161 total points in the 73 varsity games he has played according to Youth Hockey Hub.

Sartell’s very own senior goaltender Brandon Bonach was asked to give some thoughts on playing against Max Strand from the Sartell v Roseau section playoff game. 

Bonach states, “It was a high energy game, there was a lot on the line. Roseau had some great players, but a player like Max Strand stands out. Knowing now he was Mr. Hockey, I was put in later in the game and got hyped up when I shut him down on a breakaway.”

Sartell battled hard but in the end lost with a final score of 2-7, which ended their first season in class AA. While the team didn’t make it far in playoffs, the team won the central lakes conference for the first time in Sartell history. There will be high expectations for Sartell’s growing program in the future seasons. 

The state tournament brings together the best of Minnesota hockey. Fans from their respective towns gather together to march to Xcel to support their teams. It really is an atmosphere unlike any other. Not only does it bring in fans who play or have played hockey, but it also brings in fans who want to be a part of the atmosphere. 

Sartell Senior Alex Otkin describes his experience while attending the tournament: “The student sections really turned out, some towns had their section going all the way up to the nosebleeds, cool to see the school spirit. It was a great experience, I definitely expect to return to watch the tournament at some point in the future”.

The winner of the class A bracket was the Hermantown Hawks, a suburb west of the city of duluth, winning a tight 3-2 victory over the Warroad Warriors. Both teams battled hard, but the roster depth and experience of Hermantown’s team prevailed in their program’s third state title. 

In AA, a fierce competition between the superpower teams of Andover and Maple Grove battled into double overtime. Andover’s Logan Gravink scored the game winning goal to give Andover its first ever AA title. Two weeks earlier, Andover’s girls hockey team won against Minnetonka for the AA title, giving Andover a sweep as the best boy’s and girl’s hockey programs in the state.

With a great hockey season wrapping up, fans will be excitedly waiting for next season to roll around and see what the new year brings.