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The Luverne boys’ hockey team traveled to St. Paul for the Minnesota State Hockey Tournament last week where the Cardinals faced some of the state’s toughest competition.
In the opening quarterfinal round March 8 Luverne faced No. 2-seeded Hermantown at the Xcel Energy Center, losing 6-0 to the defending state champions.
Luverne then faced No. 3-seeded Alexandria Area in a consolation semifinal game March 9 at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
The Cardinals fell to Alexandria 7-3, marking the end of their 2022-23 season.
Quarterfinal Hermantown 6, LHS 0
The No. 7-seeded Luverne boys’ hockey team took on No. 2-seeded Hermantown Wednesday, March 8, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
“Opening round of the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center is an experience like none other,” said head coach Phil Paquette.
Hermantown, the Class A defending champion, beat Luverne 6-0, outshooting the Cardinals 49 to 13 in the game.
Junior LHS goalie Tyler Arends stopped 43 shots in the game while giving up six goals to a strong Hawks team.
Luverne had 13 shots on goal in the game against junior goaltender Dane Callaway for the Hawks.
“Our boys battled with one of the best teams in the state,” Paquette said.
“An unfortunate flurry of three goals in one minute by Hermantown in the middle of the first period put us in a tough spot.”
Hermantown scored three goals in the first and third periods of the game. The second period had no scoring by either side.
“I was proud of our guys for sticking with it and continuing to battle,” Paquette said. “At that point it would have been easy to give up. … We had opportunities to score and put some pressure on Hermantown but couldn’t make it happen.”
Shooting for Luverne, sophomore Alexander Schlosser had one shot on goal, senior Brady Bork had two shots, sophomore Layke Miller had one shot, senior Brock Behrend attempted two shots, junior Elliot Domagala had two shots, sophomore Blaik Bork had one shot, junior Patrick Kroski had one shot, freshmen Maddux Domagala had two shots and junior Henry Hartquist had one shot on goal.
Consolation Semifinal Alexandria 7, Luverne 3
In the consolation semifinal game Luverne took on the No. 3-seeded Alexandria Area Cardinals Thursday, March 9, at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.
Last season Alexandria finished in fourth place at the state tournament, losing to Mahtomedi 4-2.
“Alexandria is a team that is led by seniors; they turned their season around completely midway through the year,” Paquette said.
“They play fast and physical hockey and came into the consolation round ready to roll.”
The game with Alexandria started with trading possessions and feeling out how each team matched up.
Alexandria did score early in the first period at 2:14 in the game. Luverne was able to hold off any other scoring opportunities to finish the first period down by one goal.
In the second period Alexandria scored two quick goals, the first at 2:05 and the second coming at 4:31.
The Cardinals didn’t back down after finding themselves in a three-goal deficit, scoring at 7:23 in the second period.
Junior Elliot Domagala scored the team’s first goal of this year’s state tournament appearance, assisted by junior Patrick Kroski and sophomore Blaik Bork.
Alexandria scored another goal in the second period to increase the lead to 4-1 after two periods of play.
In the third period Alexandria added three more goals, one on a power play, another on a short-handed empty net and the last at even strength.
Luverne was able to score twice in the third period, lessening the pain of the 7-3 loss.
“I would have liked to see a little more battle and attack out of our guys in the consolation game,” Paquette said.
“We were able to score a few goals but never really put a complete game together.”
Brady Bork closed out his senior year scoring a goal at 10:07 assisted by Kroski and Elliot Domagala.
Bork also became a viral sensation before the game when he scored a date to the prom on live television during the opening introductions.
Bork wrote on his hockey stick, “Hey Sarah, Prom?” Sarah Stegenga quickly replied on a hockey stick, “Yes” and posted it to Twitter.
On another high note junior Will Serie scored his first and only goal of the season at 15:40 in the third period. He was assisted by junior Owen Sudenga and Kroski.
Junior goalie Tyler Arends faced 40 shots on goal in the game from a quick and dangerous Alexandria team.
Luverne placed 20 shots on the Alexandria goalie in the game with three shots finding the net.
“The 2022-2023 season was awesome, thanks to a great group of players, coaches, parents and fans,” Paquette said about the season.
“We were able to learn throughout the season what makes us successful and do it well down the stretch.”
As for the playoffs, Paquette said it was about the experience more than the score.
“We played three complete games in the Section 3A playoffs, earning a trip to the state high school hockey tournament,” he said.
“This experience is unmatched and will not be soon forgotten by any of us.”
Looking forward to next year, Paquette said he is very optimistic.
“We return the majority of this team next season,” he said. “We hope that this experience pushes them to stay hungry and come back stronger next year.”