Mahtomedi takes down Cougars at state hockey
Mar. 9—ST. PAUL — A three-goal burst in the second period pushed Mahtomedi past Mankato East/Loyola 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the Class A boys hockey tournament Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.
The Cougars had a few good chances early in the first period. Aiden Prochaska hit Andrew Sorbo with a perfect pass at the blue line, but as Sorbo closed in on the goal, his shot went just wide.
Jayton Frederick and Gavin Shae also had good scoring opportunities but couldn't solve the goaltender.
Mahtomedi got stronger as the period went on, and it took a couple of big saves by Caelin Brueske, both fully stretched across the crease, to keep it scoreless at the first intermission.
Mahtomedi scored at 1:10 of the second period, Cater Haycraft picked up the puck behind the net and tried to wraparound. Brueske got part of the shot, but the puck slipped between his pads and trickled into the net.
The Cougars came back with a couple of flurries, including a pair of shots by Parker Anthony from just outside the crease, but the goaltender was able to stop each of them.
At 8:04 of the second period, the East/Loyola defense lost track of Nick Beiersdorf alone in front of the net, and Brueske had little chance to stop the point-blank shot.
Mahtomedi got another goal with 7.8 seconds to play in the period, converting a 2-on-1 breakaway.
The Cougars took advantage of a power play to get on the board at 7:18 of the third period. Anthony won a battle in the corner and fed to Prochaska at the top of the circle. The senior captain snapped a low wrist shot that cleanly beat the goaltender to cut the deficit to 3-1.
However, Mahtomedi got the goal back with 4:23 to play on a rebound.
Mahtomedi (17-11-1), the third seed in the tournament, will play Warroad in the tournament semifinals. East/Loyola (17-11-1) plays Monticello in a consolation game at 9 a.m. Thursday at Mariucci Arena.
Follow Chad Courrier on Twitter @ChadCourrier.
