Aaron Ness of Roseau wins Mr. Hockey award

Roseau's Aaron Ness joked that his speech Sunday wouldn't be as good as that of Joe Phillippi because the Hill-Murray goalie found out well in advance that he was the winner of the Frank Brimsek Award as the state's top senior netminder.

While that is technically true, and Ness earns points for modesty, those in the hockey know figured that Ness being named the 2008 Mr. Hockey winner -- a distinction announced Sunday at a banquet at RiverCentre in St. Paul -- was merely a formality.

That's how dominant Ness, a defenseman, was this season. He entered the state tournament with 26 goals and a reputation for being a smooth skater and an unselfish teammate. While it hardly ended the way Ness wanted -- defending champion Roseau came in undefeated as the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A state tournament before losing in both the semifinals and third-place game -- there are bigger and better things awaiting him.

Ness accelerated his academics this year, essentially cramming both his junior and senior years into one grueling year. He has eight classes at school and is also earning 3.5 credits online. The point of the fast pace is being able to join the Gophers in the fall instead of waiting another year.

"I'm ready to move on and take from this season all the fun I had," Ness said. "I can't wait to get to Minnesota to get with the team and start playing."

Roseau coach Scott Oliver spoke in glowing terms of not only Ness' ability but also what he has meant to his hockey-loving community. While some have questioned why Ness would speed up his graduation to leave a year earlier than he had to, Oliver said it's a matter of a player being ready for a new challenge.

"He played three years of varsity hockey and made three trips to state. He turned down the USHL, he turned down Ann Arbor," Oliver said. "Nobody has been more loyal to Roseau than Aaron. He's ready for the next level."

Phillippi received his hardware for winning the Brimsek Award on Sunday, and all 10 finalists for the Mr. Hockey award were honored at the banquet. Phillippi and Ness, per tradition, received Wild jerseys with their names and numbers on the back.

• Hill-Murray senior forward Ryan Furne had a dominant three games, finishing the Class 2A tournament with five goals, including two in Saturday's 3-0 championship victory over Edina.

"He's a guy who doesn't hardly say a word," said Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner, whose description was confirmed during an interview with Furne. "He's a leader by his actions."

• Hill-Murray played seven games at Xcel Energy Center this season: three in a holiday tournament, one during the Feb. 9 "Hockey Day in Minnesota" and three at state. The Pioneers went 6-1 in those games and finished 27-3-1 overall.

• Edina was trying to win its seventh state title, which would have tied a state record shared by Roseau and International Falls. Edina's last title came in 1997. (Edina East also won three titles).