Teams
| By Jason Feldman The Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
Verona can put the first check mark on its list of goals for the season. The Wildcats, from about 10 miles southeast of Madison, Wis., are intent on returning to the Wisconsin state boys hockey tournament, after advancing to the state semifinals a year ago. They now know they can win three games in three days. Verona outplayed the Kansas City Jets in every way on Saturday, winning the Class A bracket of the Kiwanis/Think Mutual Bank Festival with an 8-1 victory at Graham Arena IV. The Wildcats scored three times in the first 4:10 of the game and never were threatened after that. Kansas City's goal came in the third period, when the game was on running time. "Kansas City is a big team, but we can move the puck and we have some speed," Verona coach Joel Marshall said. "We got some confidence with those early goals and kind of knocked the wind out of them right away." Brogan Baker led the way for Verona (10-1-0) with a goal and 2 assists. Seven players scored at least once for the Wildcats. Verona: Brogan Baker 1 goal, 2 assists; Zach Jones 2 goals; Charlie Parker 1 goal, 1 assist; Phillippe Fromberger 1 goal, 1 assist; Harry Seid 1 goal, 1 assist; Pat Stevens 2 assists; Zac Keryluk 1 goal; Alex Edwards 1 goal; Alex Jones 11 saves. Kansas City: Sam Cheesebrough 1 goal; Jeffery Anderson 1 assist. THIRD PLACE Northland Pines 5, New Ulm 2 Leif Offerdahl scored twice and Noah Weber had two assists for Northland Pines in the victory. Northland Pines (8-2-0) led 2-0 after one period and 4-1 after two. Brach Kraus had 27 saves for New Ulm (5-5-1). New Ulm: Blake Neumann 1 goal; Ethan Kraus 1 goal; Nick Larson 1 assist; Wyatt Peterson 1 assist; Brach Kraus 27 saves. Northland Pines: Leif Offerdahl 2 goals; Austin Ramesh 1 goal; Edward Zyhowski 1 goal; Dylan Weber 1 goal; Noah Weber 2 assists; Zach Kennedy 1 assist; Alex Kornely 1 assist; Jacob Stephan 10 saves. FIFTH PLACE Lourdes 7, WSFLG 3 Rochester Lourdes' top line combined for 13 points and the Eagles outshot the WSFLG (Wis.) Blizzard, 40-18, to capture fifth place. Senior forward Jason Samuelson led the way with a hat trick and three assists. Alex Funk added two goals and three assists, and eighth-grader Tucker Chapman, playing on the Eagles' top line for the first time, notched his first varsity goal and had one assist. No. 6-ranked Lourdes improved to 7-2-0, bouncing back with two wins after a loss to Northland Pines in Thursday's opening round. "We finished strong," Lourdes coach Josh Spaniol said. "We had seven goals and 40 shots, so the effort was there today. We have to shore up some things defensively and still have to become more of a team, but we had more jump today." Sophomore defenseman Griff Slightam, who scored in the third period, called the Eagles' loss on Thursday "a reality check" for the team. "We realized we can't just show up to the rink and play," Slightam said. "We came together more as a team the last two days. We played better as a defensive corps (Saturday), but this wasn't the best we can play." Chapman held his own on a top line with a pair of players who have four more years of varsity experience than he does. He scored his first varsity goal at the 9:11 mark of the second period to give Lourdes a 3-2 lead. Lourdes will now prepare for possibly the toughest stretch of its schedule. Starting Thursday, the Eagles will face Breck (No. 4, Class A), Eau Claire Memorial, Big Nine Conference-leading Mankato West, Duluth Marshall (No. 7, A), Holy Family Catholic (No. 15, AA) and Benilde-St. Margaret's (No. 5, AA) in a span of 23 days. "We'll have a good, hard practice (today), get our legs moving," Slightam said. "We need to start taking the body in practice and being more physical as a team. When you start taking the body, things are that much easier on the ice." WSFLG: Aaron Dietmeier 2 goals; Bryce Ryan 1 goal; Dakota Linke 1 assist; Jake Swenson 1 assist; Brandon Ryan 1 assist; Alex Hopkins 1 assist; Brandon Roufs 33 saves. Rochester Lourdes: Jason Samuelson 3 goals, 3 assists; Alex Funk 2 goals, 3 assists; Tucker Chapman 1 goal, 1 assist; Griff Slightam 1 goal; Nathan Roth 1 assist; Mason Carstens 1 assist; Griffen Buck 1 assist; Andrew Ellingson 8 saves (11 shots); Jack Burkel 8 saves (8 shots). SEVENTH PLACE Ashwaubenon 4, Dodge Co. 3, SO Craig Block and Matt Berkovitz scored shootout goals to lift Ashwaubenon, Wis., past Dodge County. The game will officially go as a tie on both teams records, as the score was 3-3 after regulation and after an eight-minute overtime period. Sam Robinson had the only goal for Dodge County in the shootout. Tanner Dufault had two goals and an assist for Dodge County (3-8-1). Dodge County: Tanner Dufault 2 goals, 1 assist; Spencer Senn 1 goal, 1 assist; Sam Robinson 2 assists; Mitch Sobotta 25 saves. Ashwaubenon: Jon Dietzen 1 goal; Jeremy Pasterski 1 goal; Matt Berkovitz 1 goal, 1 assist; Craig Block 1 assist; Ryan Wischow 26 saves |