Hudson, the top seed in the boys Division 1 bracket, captured the crown for the second straight season with a 6-2 win over third-seeded Edgewood in the title game.
The Raiders were first to find the net for the only goal scored in the first period. Zach Kochendorfer converted on a shot with less than a 20 second remaining before the first intermission. Mathew Mauer and Brody Dietz were credited with assists.
Edgewood tied the score at 1-1 at the 9:45 mark of the second period on an unassisted goal by Parker Murn, which started a scoring spree. Nineteen seconds later, Carson Strapon scored for Hudson on a goal assisted by Alex Pottratz at 10:04 to give the lead back to the Raiders.
The game was knotted again at 2-2 following an unassisted goal by the Crusader’s Cody Menzel just seven seconds after Hudson regained the lead. The Raiders took the lead at 3-2 at the 13:24 mark of the second period on a goal by Mauer with assists from Carter Mears and Dietz. Mears added a goal assisted by Brecken Meyer at 15:05 to give Hudson a 4-2 advantage heading into the second intermission.
Hudson added two goals in the third period. The first was at 3:08 by Max Giblin with assists credited to Dietz and Harry Ross. Reese Richardson closed out the scoring with a goal at 6:47 in the period.
Aiden Tepper-Engh received the win in goal for the Raiders with 12 saves. Rowan White made 18 stops in goal for the Crusaders. Hudson outshot Edgewood 24-14 in the game.
Hudson (26-3) won the championship for the sixth time in their 13 State Tournament appearances, and Edgewood (25-4) finishes runner-up in its sixth experience at State.
Top-seeded Rice Lake defeated the former two-time defending champion St. Mary’s Springs 4-3 to win the Division 2 championship.
The Warriors scored first with a goal before a minute elapsed in the game. Twenty-six seconds into the game, Lucas Peters scored with assists from Jake Engebritson and Nathan Carroll. The Ledgers tied the score at 6:46 into the period on a goal by Ian Sabel assisted by Jonathon Korb. Rice Lake regained the lead at 2-1 when Jace Fitzgerald score off an assist by Adam Timm at the 12:40 mark of the period.
Another quick goal to start a period tied the game as Korb scored for the Ledgers with assists from Josh Austin and Dayne Deanovich just 14 seconds into the second period. However, the Warriors scored on a power play with 56 seconds remaining in the period to take a 3-2 lead. Teagan Scheurer scored the go-ahead goal with another assist from Timm and Cole Fenske.
The Warriors took a two-goal advantage early in the third period. Fenske scored 36 seconds into the period on the power play with a third assist dished out by Timm and by Fitzgerald. The Ledgers pulled the goalie and scored to cut the deficit to one at 4-3 with 1:20 remaining in the game. Austin Westergaard was credited with the goal on assists from Josh Austin and Connor Schramm.
Ian Krance won in goal for the Warriors with 29 saves, and Hayden Rising also made 29 saves for the Ledgers. The teams were nearly even in shots on goal with the Warriors having a slight advantage at 34-32. Rice Lake was 2-for-2 on the power play in the game.
Rice Lake (18-7) wins the program’s first championship in its fourth State Tournament appearance, and St. Mary’s Springs (22-6) is runner-up in its third State experience.
The second-seeded D.C. Everest co-op rolled to the girls championship with a 5-0 win over the fourth-seeded Onalaska co-op in the title contest.
Samantha Federici scored a hat trick in the game for the Storm, including the first goal of the game at 6:04 into the first period. She was assisted by Mackenzie Bautch and Madi DePuydt. Federici scored again at 9:38 on an unassisted short-handed goal to give the Storm a 2-0 advantage.
The D.C. Everest co-op scored twice in the second period. The first was by Gabi Heuser with an assist from Tristan Wicklund at the 12:23 mark in the period. In the final minute of the second frame, Federici added her third goal at 16:19 with assists from Hannah Baumann and Dru Sabatke.
Heuser added her second goal on an empty net score at 15:31 of the third period to close out the scoring. Laura Crawford and DePuydt each received assists on the play.
Chloe Lemke earned the win in goal, not allowing a goal in 16 chances for the Hilltoppers. Diane Hanson started in goal for Onalaska and made eight saves. The Hilltoppers outshot the Storm 16-13 in the game.
The D.C. Everest co-op (22-3) wins the program’s first title in its fourth State appearance in this configuration. A different set of schools in the co-op won three titles. The Onalaska co-op (24-5) finishes runner-up in its first appearance in the current co-op configuration.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
