Boys' hockey: Blaine routs Centennial to reach state

Blaine had enough of watching rival Centennial skate away with the past two section championship trophies. The Bengals did something about it Thursday.

A five-goal second period broke the game open as Blaine defeated the Cougars 8-1 at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood, winning the Section 5 title for the first time since 2011.

"We came back this year and took it to Centennial so that's pretty fun," said senior forward Easton Brodzinski, who experienced the disappointment of Centennial's 2-1 section final victory last year.

Brodzinski and Alex Penn each scored twice while junior forward Riley Tufte scored one goal and added four assists. The Bengals extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games.

Riley and fellow junior forward Luke Notermann scored their 27th goals this season in the first period. Notermann's rebound goal got the Bengals rolling. Tufte, who stands 6 feet 4, used his reach to convert a wrap-around goal.

Blaine (22-5-1), which won a pair of one-goal games against Centennial (17-10-1) earlier this season, took control with goals from Penn, Tanner Vescio and Brodzinski less than two minutes into the second period.

The Cougars, two-time defending Section 5 champions, were awarded a two-man advantage for one minute, 31 seconds in the second period but failed to score.