Century/John Marshall soaking in the entire Tourney experience
Mar. 7—ST. PAUL — There's something to be said for being here.
The Xcel Energy Center scoreboard
didn't read the way Century/John Marshall had hoped it would when its Class 2A boys hockey state quarterfinal game came to a close
Thursday afternoon.
Despite the 7-0 loss to powerful No. 2-seeded and No. 5-ranked Chanhassen, the Century/JM players were able to appreciate where they were — a place only 16 teams in the state get to go — and what it took to get there.
"It's unreal here," Panthers senior defenseman Brody Josselyn said. "You hear all the stories, and come here as a fan, but it doesn't hit you until you actually see it."
It was a whirlwind 24-48 hours for the Panthers, who take a 22-5-2 record into today's 11 a.m. consolation semifinal against No. 3 seed Centennial at 11 a.m. at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.
It's been a whirlwind week, actually, since Century/JM beat Lakeville South 4-1 last Thursday in the Section 1, Class 2A championship game.
Wednesday, the Panthers had a morning pep fest at John Marshall, followed by a quick skate at Graham Arena. From there, they were treated to lunch at Hollandberry Pannekoeken, followed by an early afternoon joint pep rally with the state tournament-bound Rochester Raiders adapted floor hockey team at Century. Then the Panthers bus pointed north toward St. Paul, where a tournament banquet was held Wednesday evening.
After whatever sleep the players could get, it was an early morning. Many of the Panthers were on the bench by 10 a.m., when the doors opened at the Xcel Energy Center, taping their sticks and watching the Century/JM student sections fill up.
"Yeah, it's unreal. It's once in a lifetime for most of us," Century/JM senior center and captain Aiden "Doc" Emerich said. "It's a special few that get to come here more than one time, but we just tried to soak it all in and take advantage of all the things you get to do here."
Josselyn said much of the past week has been surreal, whether it's in school or out in the community.
"It's been insane," Josselyn said after practice at Graham IV on Tuesday. "The ticket craze and all that, too. It's surreal that so many people want to come watch us play."
Josselyn said he and his dad, Cory, would go to the state tournament almost every year to watch the games and to visit the annual Let's Play Hockey Expo. This year, it was happily more business than pleasure.
"Every game is electric, the crowd — just, that many people coming to watch a high school hockey game is insane," he said.
The Panthers have adjusted their goals now, but want to extend their season into Saturday and come home with a fifth-place trophy.
"I think we just have to put that game behind us," Emerich said. "Obviously, it wasn't the outcome we wanted, but we're fortunate enough to get another game, and that's the biggest deal. We'll go back to the hotel, regroup, maybe watch a little hockey and get set for tomorrow."
Century/JM's Ole Fevold and Owyn Tomminello had a couple of the better Hockey Hair moments during player introductions Thursday.
Fevold, a junior forward who has naturally curly brown hair, dyed his hair blonde and had it puffed up into a blonde afro, straight out of the 1970s.
Tomminello, a senior defenseman, skated toward the TV camera with a smile on his face and his blonde hair spiked up. As he neared the camera, he moved his hand from the back of his head to the front, flattening his hair and changing his facial expression from a smile to an intense stare.
He drew laughs in the press box and cheers from the sellout crowd at the Xcel Energy Center. Tomminello's hair effort also became a hit on social media, with comments including "You BETTER have a personality with a name like that" and "how many times did he practice this in the mirror?"
Keep an eye out for the two Panthers stars when John King releases his All-Hockey Hair Team after the tournament.
Section 1, Class 1A champion Northfield will play for fifth place in the Class 1A state tournament on Saturday after holding off Section 3-1A champion New Ulm, 4-3, in a consolation semifinal Thursday afternoon.
This week marks the first time in 17 years that two teams from the Big Nine Conference are in the state tournaments, with Northfield in the Class 1A tournament and Century/JM in Class 2A.
It last happened in 2007, when Century finished third in Class 2A and Albert Lea placed sixth in 1A.
Northfield is at state for a second consecutive season; it didn't place in 2023, losing 2-1 in OT against Orono in the quarterfinals, then falling 3-1 to St. Cloud Cathedral in the consolation round.
Thursday, the Raiders jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Michael Steward and Kam Kaiser, only to see New Ulm rally to tie it 2-2 with 2 minutes to go in the second.
That tie lasted less than a minute, though, as Raiders captain Cayden Monson scored with 1:14 to play in the second to give Northfield the lead for good.
Ty Frank then scored 5:31 into the third, a goal that held up as the winner. New Ulm pulled within 4-3 with seven minutes to play, but couldn't get the tying goal past Raiders goalie Trey Shimota (16 saves).
—Century/JM co-head coach Matt Erredge played in the state tournament with Austin in 1993. The Packers were the No. 7 seed in Section 1 that, and they're believed to be the lowest seeded team from a section to qualify for state. Austin beat the Nos. 1, 2 and 6 seeds to win the section.
—Chanhassen scored three goals in the second period and three in the third on Thursday. Those are the only two times this season that Century/JM has allowed more than two goals in a period.
—Chanhassen third-line forward Jake Risch, a senior, was perfectly comfortable in front of the bright lights at the post-game press conference. Risch was on the other side of the camera when Chanhassen's football team won the Class 5A Prep Bowl last fall. Risch was running a camera as part of Chanhassen's student media team.
—The only official from south of the Twin Cities metro area who is working the tournament this year is Mankato's Ryan Swofford.
