Kiwanis Festival Day 2 roundup: Century/JM wins again, sets up championship game Friday vs. Eagan
Dec. 28—(Editor's note: This roundup will be updated throughout the day, as Festival games are completed.)
A year after Rochester Century and John Marshall both went winless at the Kiwanis Festival, the first-year Century/JM co-op is a win away from hoisting the championship trophy.
The Panthers' 4-2 victory against Fargo South/Shanley on Thursday night gives Century/JM a 10-1-0 overall record this season and a 2-0-0 mark at the Kiwanis Festival. The Panthers will meet fellow tournament unbeaten Eagan at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Graham Arena I. The winner will win the Gold Division championship.
"You tell the guys, you only get 25 (games) a year and you try to minimize them as each one being important," Century/JM co-head coach Matt Erredge said, "but if there's a trophy involved, I think it's going to be a little extra for us to play for and hopefully we're up to the task."
Eagan is new to the Festival this year. Century last won a Kiwanis championship in 2019, the second of a back-to-back run for the Panthers. JM's only Festival title came in 1997.
Thursday, Century/JM built an early lead against South/Shanley — the defending state champion in North Dakota — and made it hold up.
"One of the things you talk about when you play in this tournament is playing different teams," Erredge said, "and we're getting three good suburban teams. The idea is to start building our identity as a team that can win all types of games. We can win close games, we can finish games if we're up. We can come from behind, but from the get-go tonight I think we just had a good energy and a good effort to start. That's been key for us, a good first period leading to a good game."
Kyle Lappi made 27 saves in goal to earn his ninth win of the year and second in as many days.
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the opening period on late goals from Brock Clarey (on a power play) and Ole Fevold, both coming in the final 2:40 of the first.
The Bruins cut their deficit in half on an Aaron Meyer power-play goal three minutes into the second, but Century/JM answered. Aiden Emerich scored with 1:08 to play in the second to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead after two.
Bennett Pronk scored his fifth goal of the season 3:26 into the third to extend the Panthers' lead to 4-1. Clarey and Emerich both had a goal and an assist for Century/JM, while sophomore forward Calvin O'Reilly had two assists, one on both of the Panthers' first-period goals.
"Calvin has a really good hockey IQ," Century/JM co-head coach Josh Klingfus said. "He's learning a lot from (linemates) Ole and Brock, so that helps a lot, playing with two veteran guys who got a lot of ice time for JM last year. They're kind of showing him the way and he's fit in really nicely on that line."
South/Shanley (5-5-0 overall) pulled back within two on a Adrian Fillipi goal three minutes later, but that was all the offense the Bruins could manage against Century/JM's defense and Lappi.
South/Shanley closes tournament play at 2 p.m. Friday against Dodge County.
"Our depth showed up tonight, we played a good 200-foot game," Erredge said. "Even though we gave up a goal on the penalty kill, we were really good on the kill. The guys had a lot of energy for a second game in two days and we have to bring it again tomorrow."
CENTURY/JM 4, FARGO SOUTH 2
Century/JM 2-1-1 — 4
Fargo South 0-1-1 — 2
Century/John Marshall: Doc Emerich 1 goal, 1 assist; Jonathan Burmester 1 assist; Ole Fevold 1 goal; Brock Clarey 1 goal, 1 assist; Calvin O'Reilly 2 assists; Justin Sutton 1 assist; Bennett Pronk 1 goal. Goalie: Kyle Lappi 27 saves-29 shots.
Fargo South/Shanley: Aaron Meyer 1 goal; Landon Hale 1 assist; Adrian Fillipi 1 goal; Andrew Kankelfritz 1 assist. Goalie: Landon Walter 19 saves-23 shots.
Senior goalie Jackson Roethler was outstanding, making 27 saves, and his teammates gave him all the goal support he'd need in a 4-1 win against East Ridge in the final Kiwanis Festival Gold Division game of the day Thursday.
Roethler stopped eight shots in the first period, 11 in the second and eight in the third en route to his sixth win of the season. The Wildcats improved to 6-5-0 overall and halted a brief two-game losing skid.
Standout senior forward Gryff Funke led the way offensively, recording his third hat trick of the season and having a hand in all four Wildcats goals. Funke is now tied for the state lead in goals, with La Crescent-Hokah's Wyatt Farrell, both with 24. Funke is also fourth in the state in points, with 36.
Not far behind him in that category is teammate and junior forward Brett Ludvigsen, who is sixth in the state in points (31). Ludvigsen had a goal and an assist Thursday night, while Jeremiah Peterson-Gordon, Aiden Nelson and Bronson Freerksen all had one assist each.
Zach Hart scored the lone goal for East Ridge (1-9-1 overall).
Dodge County has a quick turnaround, with a 2 p.m. game Friday against Fargo South/Shanley to close Festival play. East Ridge is scheduled to meet Rochester Mayo at 4:15 p.m.
DODGE COUNTY 4, EAST RIDGE 1
Dodge County 2-1-1 — 4
East Ridge 0-1-0 — 1
Dodge County: Gryffon Funke 3 goals, 1 assist; Brett Ludvigsen 1 goal, 1 assist; Jeremiah Peterson-Gordon 1 assist; Aiden Nelson 1 assist; Bronson Freerksen 1 assist. Goalie: Jackson Roethler 27 saves-28 shots.
East Ridge: Zach Hart 1 goal; Blake Kohnen 1 assist. Goalie: JT Drum 19 saves-23 shots.
Eagan scored 52 seconds into the game and kept rolling from there, beating Rochester Mayo 8-1 in the first game of the day in the Kiwanis Festival Gold Division boys hockey tournament on Thursday at Graham Arena.
Lance Murray scored the game's first goal, in the first minute, then added assists on three other Wildcats goals to finish with a game-high four points.
Senior forward A.J. Clark recorded a hat trick for Eagan (6-6-0 overall), which won for the fourth time in six games.
Mayo's lone goal was scored by Colin Baudoin, with an assist from Connor Dahl.
The Spartans (1-9-0 overall) wrap up play in the Kiwanis Festival at 4:15 p.m. Friday against East Ridge.
Eagan faces Rochester Century/John Marshall in the final game of the Festival, at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
EAGAN 8, MAYO 1
Mayo 1-0-0 — 1
Eagan 3-3-2 — 8
Mayo: Colin Baudoin 1 goal; Connor Dahl 1 assist. Goalie: Mikah Nelson 22 saves-30 shots.
Eagan: Brylee Koenck-Proeung 1 goal; Charlie Forester 1 assist; Eddie Moore 1 goal, 1 assist; Cullen O'Leary 1 assist; Lance Murray 1 goal, 3 assists; Grayson Robbins 1 assist; Ben Steinke 1 goal, Blake Prouty 1 assist; AJ Clark 3 goals; Garrett Kocon 1 goal. Goalie: Jack Schneiderham 13 saves-14 shots.
This one was all La Crescent-Hokah, from the start to the finish.
Wyatt Farrell scored 56 seconds into the game to start the Lacners on their way to a second consecutive victory against a Section 1, Class 1A opponent, an 8-1 win against Austin in the opening game of Day 2 of the Kiwanis Festival at Graham Arena IV.
The Blue Division championship could well come down to a tie-breaker.
If Luverne and La Crescent-Hokah both win on Friday, both teams would finish the Festival with 3-0 records. In that case, the fewest goals allowed tie-breaker will be implemented. Through two games, La Crescent-Hokah has allowed one goal, while Luverne has surrendered five.
Luverne faces Austin at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Graham Arena IV, with La Crescent-Hokah following against Lourdes.
The Lancers (11-1-0 overall) built leads of 3-0 after one period and 5-1 after two.
Austin's lone goal came in the second period, when sophomore forward Eli Krueger scored his first varsity goal on a nice passing play with Gavin Brekke.
That was all the offense Austin could generate, though, as it dropped to 3-7-0 overall.
The Lancers had a balanced attack, led by senior Noah Gillette, who scored two goals and assisted on two. Farrell scored twice and had one assist, while sophomore defenseman Drew Peters had a goal — on a heavy shot from the blue line — and an assist.
Charlie Wieser made 11 saves in goal to earn the victory.
Austin ends its Festival play at 3:30 p.m. Friday against Luverne.
La Crescent-Hokah closes the Festival at 5:45 p.m. Friday against Rochester Lourdes.
La CRESCENT-HOKAH 8, AUSTIN 1
La Crescent-Hokah 3-2-3 — 8
Austin 0-1-0 — 1
La Crescent-Hokah: Wyatt Farrell 2 goals, 1 assist; Alex Von Arx 1 goal; Noah Gillette 2 goals, 2 assists; Michal Stojka 1 assist; Colton Holzer 1 goal, 1 assist; Drew Peters 1 goal, 1 assist; Tobias Sajdok 1 goal. Goalie: Charlie Wieser 11 saves-12 shots.
Austin: Eli Krueger 1 goal; Gavin Brekke 1 assist. Goalie: Daran Plunkett 28 saves-36 shots.
Rochester Lourdes' special teams were clicking from the get-go Thursday, leading the Eagles to a much needed 4-2 win against Windom on Day 2 of the Kiwanis Festival, Blue Division.
Lourdes snapped a four-game losing skid by scoring three special teams goals and by getting 10 saves from sophomore goalie Anton Ackley. Lourdes outshot Windom 34-12 in a battle of teams nicknamed the Eagles.
Lourdes improves to 3-7-0 overall, while Windom drops to 2-8-0.
Senior captain Peyton Loeslie sparked Lourdes with a power-play goal 7:32 into the game. That put Lourdes up for good; but just more than 2 minutes later, Loeslie struck again. This time it was a short-handed goal — Lourdes' first of the season — making it a 2-0 game.
Windom responded with a special teams goal of its own, Karson LaCanne converting on a power play just 50 seconds after Loeslie's second goal, to make it a 2-1 game.
Lourdes pulled away in the second period, though, with a power-play goal from A.J. Ritter 1:35 into the period, then an even-strength goal by Colin Quimby with 2:06 to go in the period.
Ian Nelson's goal 5:26 into the third pulled Windom within two, but it's as close as it would get.
For Lourdes, Loeslie added one assist for a three-point game, while defenseman Vinny Harens had two assists and junior captain Jack Roe had two assists.
Windom has a quick turnaround to wrap up its time at the Festival, facing Albert Lea at 1:15 p.m. Friday. Lourdes faces Section 1 rival La Crescent-Hokah at 5:45 p.m.
LOURDES 4, WINDOM 2
Windom 1-0-1 — 2
Lourdes 2-2-0 — 4
Windom: Karson LaCanne 1 goal; Andrei Rivera 1 assist; Ian Nelson 1 goal; Luke Anderson 2 assists. Goalie: Adam Dahna 30 saves-34 shots.
Lourdes: Peyton Loeslie 2 goals, 1 assist; Jack Roe 2 assists; A.J. Ritter 1 goal; Sam Kleinschmidt 1 assist; Vinny Harens 2 assists. Goalie: Anton Ackley 10 saves-12 shots.
Maddux Domagala scored 52 seconds into the game, then again just more than two minutes later to start Luverne down the path to a comfortable 8-3 win against Albert Lea in Blue Division play.
The Blue Division championship could well come down to a tie-breaker.
If Luverne and La Crescent-Hokah both win on Friday, both teams would finish the Festival with 3-0 records. In that case, the fewest goals allowed tie-breaker will be implemented. Through two games, La Crescent-Hokah has allowed one goal, while Luverne has surrendered five.
Luverne faces Austin at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Graham Arena IV, with La Crescent-Hokah following against Lourdes.
Thursday, No. 15-ranked Luverne (10-0-0) controlled play and the scoreboard from start to finish. The Cardinals led 4-1 after one and 6-1 after two.
Six Luverne players had multi-point games, led by Patrick Kroski (two goals, one assist) and Landyn Lais (one goal, two assists). Tyler Arends made 30 saves in the victory.
Jacob Kolker had a goal and an assist for Albert Lea, which drops to 3-7-1 overall this season. Albert Lea faces Windom at 1:15 p.m. Friday in the final Festival game for both teams.
LUVERNE 8, ALBERT LEA 3
Luverne 4-2-2 — 8
Albert Lea 1-0-2 — 3
Luverne: Owen Sudenga 2 assists; Landyn Lais 1 goal, 2 assists; Patrick Kroski 2 goals, 1 assist; Blaik Bork 2 goals, 1 assist; Levi Gonnerman 1 assist; Carter Como 2 assists; Maddux Domagala 2 goals; Henry Hartquist 1 assist; Alexander Schlosser 1 assist; Elliot Domagala 1 goal. Goalie: Tyler Arends 30 saves-33 shots.
Albert Lea: Connor Pirsig 1 assist; Archie Nelson 1 assist; Evan Anfinson 1 assist; Sam Stay 1 goal; Jacob Kolker 1 goal, 1 assist; Erik Stieler 1 goal. Goalies: Ledger Stadheim 9 saves-14 shots; Tanner Nelson 9 saves-12 shots.
