Minnesota state high school hockey tournament thrills again

SAINT PAUL , Minn. – There are few things in this great nation that compare to the grandeur and pure spectacle of the Minnesota State Boys High School Hockey Tournament. For those reading this article in Texas, imagine the state high school football playoffs. If you are in Indiana, think of the high school basketball tournament. For those of you reading elsewhere in the nation, or around the world, just imagine a weekend full of kids who have dreamed their entire lives of playing in this one tournament. To put it in perspective, the State High School Tournament gains a higher ratings share on television here than any of the major professional sports averages for their seasons, and a television deal that most NHL teams would only dream of. Few honors compare for hockey players in Minnesota, even when those players go on to have college and professional success. In a Sports Illustrated article that has become famous here in Minnesota, George Dohrmann summed it up best with an example from one of the most celebrated coaches in American history. “A few years ago a hockey columnist quoted former University of Minnesota and U.S. Olympic coach Herb Brooks as saying that winning a state championship for St. Paul’s Johnson High in 1955 was one of the best moments of his career. Upon reading it, Brooks called the writer and claimed he had been misquoted. Brooks said it was the best moment, better than coaching the Miracle on Ice team in the 1980 Winter Olympics.” While many of Minnesota’s best junior talent is being drawn to the US National Developmental League, it is still the desire of most Minnesota children to not only dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup, but instead to one day earn the gold medal with the blue ribbon for being a state champion. This year’s tournament featured ten players listed in the NHL’s central scouting report, with four on Edina High School’s roster alone, including Zach Budish, who ranks sixteenth. There are nine other Minnesota High School students listed in the report, but not playing in the tournament. After leaving the press box and sitting on the 200 level at the Xcel Energy Center, I found myself positioned directly between the student sections of Hill Murray and Eden Prairie High Schools. Listening to the two sides banter back and forth with loud cheers and civil taunts brought back all of the memories of having the oppositions fan base so close, yet never allowing it to spill over into anything more than a good verbal berating. This year’s tournament did not disappoint. In the Class AA bracket, the biggest schools in the state squared off against the heavy favorite of Edina High School. In the first round, unranked Moorehead High School beat the favorites in the biggest upset of the tournament. In other first round action, Blaine High School, Eden Prairie High School, and Cretin-Durham Hall all advanced to the semifinals. In the semis, Moorehead and Eden Prairie continued their journeys, while the other two schools were left to ponder next season. While the big schools battled, the small schools in the Single A bracket had their own drama unfolding. In the first round, the favorites won each game. Breck High School, the only metro area Class A school in the tournament, beat Rochester-Lourdes, Little Falls, Warroad, and Saint Cloud Cathedral all made quick work of their competition as well. In the semi finals, Breck upset the favorite in Little Falls and moved on to face perennial power Warroad in the finals. The championship games were sold out days in advance, and seats were selling on websites and through ticket scalpers for up to $300 a seat. However, despite all of the tickets being sold, only 15,967 people showed up in an arena that holds 18,568, the lowest total since 2002. The total attendance for the tournament was 116,789, the lowest total since 2003 (numbers from the Minneapolis Star Tribune). Despite the lower attendance, the championship candidates played on. Breck finished their run to the championship, as did Eden Prairie High. Breck played a fast paced game that Warroad did not seem to catch up with. Breck won the final 7-3. Eden Prairie shut out Cinderella story Moorehead to clinch the AA title. With the ending of the State Hockey tournament, all hockey eyes across the state of Minnesota will now turn back to their favorite college team, or to the Minnesota Wild. The tournament has a way of pushing higher level hockey and all other sports off of the front of the sports page in Minnesota. It even pushes national and world news off of the front page of the A section when the champions are crowned. Now begins the year-long wait until the tournament starts again next season, and all of Minnesota can start paying attention to the rest of the world again. The author can be reached at bryan.reynolds@prohockeynews.com