State: Preview

I feel like the brisk, snowy, April days were just last week. Now, only 8 teams remain and it’s the last week of the 2023 season.

BSM is the heavy favorite, but, I have to believe we could see an upset of some sort this year. It would only be appropriate in “The year of the upset….”

We have some interesting Matchups on Tuesday and I am excited to see some of these teams play, especially some that I haven’t been able to see much during the regular season.

Shakopee (#3) v Chisago Lakes (RD): This is a really fun matchup. Two teams that have never played each other (I don't think) and a relatively unique battle of athletic grinder teams. Both teams have some skilled players but toughness and athleticism is the name of the game for both of these squads - and before you jump down my throat in the comments, this is a compliment. Shakopee has definitely played the tougher schedule and while they have had some interesting games that were closer than expected they find ways to win and make the big play when it needs to be made. They are built on defense this year with all-American defenseman Tanner Bachelor and goalie Weston Brosam (had a sick goalie goal in the section final). They get stops when the need stops. If they aren’t playing well offensively, their defense keeps the game close. Championships are won with defense - Shakopee’s is as good as any.

I haven’t seen a ton of Chisago this year but it starts at the face-off X with them and Mason Mehsikomer’s 89% win percentage. Their offense gets a lot of opportunities and they have capitalized. Kadin Melin has 87 points and Ben Kerkow has 57. Olson and Phillips are both in the 30s. They have plenty of firepower and multiple guys who can score. This will be such an interesting matchup against one of the best defenses. This will be by far the toughest defense Chisago has faced and I think Shakopee’s face-off guy, Hellerud, is under-rated. He may not be the quick clamp fast break type but he has the ability to tie guys up and make it a physical battle to neutralize some of the better FOGO’s this year.

Also, Shakopee LSM Jacob Lee is one of the most under-rated poles in the state. He amazing off the ground and does a great job disrupting teams in transition. Look for him to make an impact.

Lakeville North (#2) v Cretin-Derham Hall (RD): Another interesting matchup of offense vs defense. Lakeville North is the original electric factory this year with their high powered offense and ability to win face-offs. They have 6 guys on offense who can all dodge, feed and score. Defending them is a nightmare because they move the ball and hit open shots. They have all-American face off guy Owen Power who will probably win 90% of his draws and is a threat to initiate early offense. With his face-off skills, North can score multiple goals in seconds and go on crazy runs. The attack unit of the Piscatello twins and Winship are incredibly skilled but also add an element of speed and chaos to their ride.

CDH is build on defense around their goalie, Eddie Kielkopf. He had a slow start to the season but has been on an absolute tear. He has put the team on his back in the playoffs and will need to stand tall again against one of the best offenses in the state. They have athletes at defense and midfield to hopefully slow the Panthers down. They will need a clean clearing game and ball control on offense as they will most likely lose most of the face-offs. That being said, they lost every face-off against Eagan and still were able to pull through.

Mahtomedi (#5) v Prior Lake (#4): This is a battle between two teams that figured something out mid-year. Both teams struggled early on and have been on a tear as of late. This is a matchup that used to be played in the regular season, but, the last few years they have not played. They faced each other in the 2017 state tournament and Mahtomedi won a barn-burner of a game 13-12. I would not be surprised if we see fireworks in this game as well. I think both teams are similar and match up well.

Mahtomedi will lean on their all-state face-off guy, Owen Tacheny, to control the ball and give possessions to their offense. The Zephyr’s goalie, Tommy Peer has been on a tear to anchor a defense that has posted a 4.69 goals against this season. They haven’t given up more than 7 goals in the last 11 games. While their defense is dominating, what is most impressive to me is the production of their first midfield line of Wendorf, Magnusson and Dmitri. These guys have combined for 122 points this year and will be the key to initiating offense and generating good looks against a good Prior Lake defense.

Prior Lake had to replace a ton of leadership from last year and a lot of new guys in the lineup have found their stride and we are seeing the Lakers back in the state tournament for the 7th year in a row. The prior lake defense has turned a new leaf and has done a great job over the last month. They are getting great goalie play from Luke Bloomer and their poles are aggressive, can cause turnovers and lead transition. Offensively, they will lean on all-American Ben Mickett who is a match-up nightmare for teams. He has the ability to take over game and what I appreciate most about him is that he can make those around him better. He is willing to distribute the ball and take what the defense gives him.

Benilde-St.Margaret’s (#1) v Moorhead (RD): A round 1 rematch for the third season in a row, these two teams have become awfully familiar with each other playing in both the regular season and playoffs since the 2021 season.

Moorhead will need to lean on their goalie Colin Baumgartner who has been great this season and looked phenomenal in their section final game against STMA. I think big the mid-season loss to BSM becomes a big stepping stone for the Spuds to go into this game with a little bit more perspective on who BSM is and maybe won’t be as shellshocked with their speed and skill. Oliver Judd is a do it all middy for Moorhead and will need to find a way to balance possessions at the X. If he can get a couple goals in transition off the face-off this will be key to giving the spuds a spark and get some quick goals as they will need to keep pace with the BSM offense. Moorhead will need to hone in on the gameplan they had to beat Shakopee early in the season to bring that toughness on the defense end to get possessions back and slow the game down. They look to keep the game close for as long as possible and build on momentum.

BSM is the heavy favorite here and honestly, for all the “moorhead got bad luck” seeding talk, I think BSM could say the same. Moorhead is not the worst team in the tournament so BSM is probably thinking they got some bad luck having to play a motivate Spuds team. BSM is loaded everywhere and it stars with their All-American LSM Caio Stephens. Not only is he skilled but he is a huge energy guy for the Red Knights and brings a spark to their team. He is automatic off the ground and makes life miserable for the opposition between the boxes. He is usually good to score a goal or two. More possessions for the red knights means the ball is in the hands of Carsen Brandt and Gus Bell more, which is not favorable to any team. These guys are elite and work so well together. The Brandt to Bell connection is the best in the state. Defensively, they have all-state caliber poles and goalie too with many of them heading to play Division 1 lacrosse after HS. Bourget, Conner, Murphy and Johnson-Nixon all seem to contribute with Axel Esco and his 6’6” frame anchoring between the pipes. Oh yeah, they also have 2 lines of elite middies as well.