Girls' hockey state tournament hits the quarter-century mark in Minnesota

Skiing has crossed the finish line and the dance teams have kicked their last kick.

Two state tournaments down — three, if you classify Alpine and Nordic skiing as separate meets — and two more coming into view this week.

The 25th girls' hockey state tournament begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday at Xcel Energy Center (consolation games are at Tria Rink in St. Paul).

Class 2A starts Thursday. Edina, the No. 1 seed, will be shooting for its third straight crown. Andover earned the No. 2 seed, Brainerd No. 3, Maple Grove No. 4 and Minnetonka No. 5. White Bear Lake, Farmington and East Ridge, which is making its first tournament appearance, round out the field.

The tournament kicks off with the Class 1A quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Undefeated Warroad (26-0-1) earned the No. 1 seed in 1A. The Warriors, runners-up to Breck as year ago, are making their fourth straight tournament appearance and 10th overall. Breck was selected as the No. 2 seed, Mound Westonka No. 3, Proctor/Hermantown No. 4 and Rochester Lourdes No. 5. Mankato Loyola, St. Paul United and Fergus Falls fill out the field.

Brackets and game times are here.

The countdown to the 75th boys' hockey state tournament begins in earnest this week with the start of the section playoffs. A quick breakdown of what we know so far:

Section 1: Hastings earned the No. 1 seed. The stingy Raiders are 19-4-1 this season after winning just 20 total games in the previous three.

Section 2: A beast of a bracket. Defending state champ Minnetonka is seeded No. 1 and Chaska is No. 2, followed by Eden Prairie, Prior Lake and Holy Family.

Section 3: St. Thomas Academy is seeded No. 1 while South Suburban Conference champ Rosemount is No 2.

Section 4: As so often is the case, the top two seeds are White Bear Lake and Hill-Murray.

Section 6: The top seed went to No. 1-ranked Edina. Benilde-St. Margaret's is No. 2, Wayzata No. 3.

Section 7: Are No. 1-seeded Andover and No. 2 Duluth East headed for a second straight section championship game showdown?

Section 8: Moorhead is No. 1, followed by Roseau and Brainerd.

Of the metro-area sections, Section 4 is tough at the top with No. 1 seed Totino-Grace and No. 2 Mahtomedi. Monticello earned the top seed in Section 5. Section 2 hasn't been formally announced, but defending state champion Orono is the likely No. 1 seed.