St. Cloud Crush Faces Tough Challenge In State Hockey Tournament

The St. Cloud Crush will play in the state tournament for the first time in its 27-year history this week.

St. Cloud earned the #7 seed in the upcoming Class A tourney and will face #2 seed Breck at Grand Casino Arena on Wednesday, February 18th. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m..

#7 ST. CLOUD CRUSH (18-9) vs #2 BRECK SCHOOL/GROVES ACAD. (25-1-1) 6 PM

The Crush rolled through the Section 6A playoffs by beating Northern Lakes 6-0 and Fergus Falls 5-2.

Offensively, the Crush is led by Reese Ruska's 24 goals and 19 assists, while Reeghan Stevens (32) and Liz Bell (28) have put up a lot of points this season.

Jordan Bovy has seen a majority of the minutes in net for St. Cloud. The junior has posted a 15-7 record with five shutouts and a 1.67 goals against average.

The Mustangs enter the state tournament on a 14-game winning streak and 19-game undefeated streak, with their only loss of the season coming on December 6th at Warroad.

Breck is led by Mackenna Schlieman's 48 points (21 goals, 27 assists) and Taylor Hall's 46 points, which include a team-high 23 goals.

Clara Milinkovich is the main netminder for the Mustangs and has a 21-1-1 record this season with a 0.71 goals against average.

#3 BLAKE (21-6) vs #6 MANKATO EAST (24-2-1) 8 PM

The Blake Bears earned a trip to the state tournament with a pair of nail-biting wins in the Section 4A tournament. First, Blake snuck past Minneapolis for a 1-0 win, then they beat Holy Angels 3-2 in overtime to punch their ticket to St. Paul.

The Bears feature a balanced attack, with nine players in double-digits for scoring this season. Makenzie Williams is the team's leading scorer with 18 goals and 32 points.

Janie McGawn played every game in net for Blake this season, posting a 21-6 record and a 1.28 goals against average.

Mankato East topped Hutchinson 5-1 and Minnesota River 2-1 in the Section 2A tournament. Their only loss to a Class A team this season came in a 2-0 road loss at Thief River Falls on January 23rd.

The Cougars averaged 6.4 goals per game this season and feature a lot of skaters with big numbers. Laina Peterson led the team with 36 goals and 59 points, while Ella Fugazzi has scored 57 points on a team with eight players who have scored at least 28.

Ilamay Draheim is 19-2 in net for Mankato East and has allowed just 1.05 goals per game.

#8 LUVERNE (19-9) vs #1 WARROAD (21-5-1)

Luverne won three Section 3A games to reach the state tournament, beating Morris/Benson 15-0; Fairmont 5-2 and Marshall 3-2.

Ellie Van Batavia leads the Cardinals with 67 points, including 42 goals, while Ella Apel has added a team-high 30 assists.

Emma Saarloos has played every game in net for Luverne, posting a 1.85 goals against average.

All five of Warroad's losses were against Class AA teams, with four of those losses coming on the road as well. The Warriors cruised through the Section 8A tournament with a 10-0 win over Crookston and a 5-0 win over East Grand Forks.

Jaylie French leads the Warriors with 51 points, while Olivia Anthony leads the team with 22 goals this season. Payton Rolli has played in all 27 games for Warroad and has a 1.26 goals against average.

#5 PROCTOR/HERMANTOWN (18-6-2) vs #4 DODGE COUNTY WILDCATS (20-6-1)

Proctor/Hermantown romped through Section 7A with a 9-0 win over Rock Ridge and a 5-1 win over North Shore. They beat Dodge County 5-1 back on December 20th in the teams' only meeting of the season.

The Mirage has four players with 30 points or more, led by Mya Gunderson's 20 goals and 35 pojnts. Lillian Clemons (7-1-1, 1.23 GAA) and Suri Langley (10-5-1, 1.94) have both spent time in net this season for Proctor/Hermantown.

Dodge County beat Austin 15-0 in the Section 1A semifinals before topping Albert Lea 3-2 in the final.

Maysie Koch leads the Wildcats with 22 goals and 51 points. Faith Humphrey charted a 1.50 goals against average this season in net.