State Tourney Insiders: Sights and sounds from Day 2 of the Minnesota boys hockey state tournament

David La Vaque, Heather Rule and Jerry Zgoda will spend the rest of the week tracking down moments and memories at the boys hockey state championships at Xcel Energy Center. Come back often to see what they found.

6:13 p.m.

Cretin-Derham Hall junior Owen Nelson’s goalie mask tells a story.

And what a story it is.

It’s wrapped in team colors purple and white and honors his grandparents, Vietnamese refugees who left their homeland with nothing in 1979.

They built a life in St. Paul that 45 years later put starting goalie Nelson center stage in the Raiders’ thrilling 4-3 comeback, double-overtime victory over Centennial in Friday’s Class 2A afternoon quarterfinal. Cretin-Derham Hall rallied to win after trailing by three goals early in game.

“I told him when you want a new wrap, I want you to pick something that means something to you,” said Owen’s dad Mike.

His mask includes the symbol for the ship Skyluck that smuggled his grandfather Chan Ly, his grandmother Don Ly, three children, a brother and extended family and 2,600 other refugees to Hong Kong and a new life four years after Saigon fell.

It also includes his grandfather’s favorite Bible quote and the phrase “You Shall Not Pass” in Chinese lettering.

“I just asked my grandpa for something to put on my helmet,” Owen said. “Something small enough to fit on my helmet and something meaningful for him and hockey.”

Owen admits it has multiple meanings, including a message for the puck.

The back of his mask remembers Cretin-Derham Hall classmate and teammate Cormick Scanlan, who died on Christmas Day 2022 from stroke complications. It reads: Live Like Mick.

“It’s all about my culture for me,” Owen said about his mask.

The mask made its debut midway through the season.

“It’s holding up pretty good,” he said. “I love it.”

Thursday afternoon, Centennial scored three goals in the first 10 minutes, then didn’t score on Owen Nelson again. His Raiders scored four unanswered goals, including the winner 12:23 in double overtime.

Mike Nelson met Owen’s mom Hong when they were in high school.

Owen’s grandparents were sponsored to come to America and Minnesota by Hope Lutheran Church in St. Paul in 1979 and never left. They lived in the church for a time. They spoke no English. His grandfather learned the language and completed an 18-month course to become a machinist.

His grandfather, now 74, worked for Northwest Airlines for eight years and still wears a company jacket to watch his grandson play.

“I love this country,” Chan Ly said.

JERRY ZGODA

12:27 a.m.

White Bear Lake’s Chris Anderson played for his alma mater, served as an assistant coach for 16 years and moved to head coach this season — long enough to know about the program’s historical difficulties with the state tournament quarterfinals.

The Bears fell to a perfectly imperfect 0-20 record in the quarterfinals since 1945, the state tournament’s first year.

Anderson talked after the 2-1 loss Thursday to Grand Rapids about the costly mistakes as much as the losing streak.

“The quarterfinal thing isn’t a thing for us,” Anderson said. “We don’t talk about it.”

Jack Stanius tied the game 1-1 with 1:34 to play. But Grand Rapids wasn’t done. Nathan Garski scored with 1.2 seconds remaining. All Anderson could do was apply a fresh coat of paint to a depressing mural of repeated failures on the biggest stage.

“We felt we controlled most of the game,” Anderson said. “We dominated the faceoff circle. But one mistake, a turnover, ends up in the back of the net.”

DAVID LA VAQUE

9:35 p.m.

Edina sophomore Casey Vandertop confirmed that his hat trick was “definitely” the fastest he’s scored as a hockey player. He recorded three goals in a span of 8:06 on the game clock in Edina’s offensive second period.

“I mean, it’s the only multi-goal game I’ve had this year,” Vandertop said. “I was just putting the puck on net, and it was going in. A lot of credit to my linemates, too. They got me the puck in the right spot. Just put it on net.”

Vandertop was one of a few underclassmen who recorded points and contributed to the team’s quarterfinal victory. That’s not news to Edina coach Curt Giles.

“They’ve been playing like that all year for us,” Giles said. “That’s no lie.”

Giles added that his underclassmen “adapted extremely well” to feeling the pressure of adapting to the difference in size and speed of juniors and seniors. But Edina’s sophomores have contributed in a lot of good situational minutes on the ice this season, Giles said.

“As you can see tonight, first game in the state tournament, the underclass group was awfully good,” Giles said. “But, they’ve been good. They’ve contributed substantially the entire year.”

HEATHER RULE

Edina was only up 1-0 after one period of play. The Hornets knew what kind of game it was going to be based on their meeting in December with Elk River/Zimmerman, a team that will “shut you down as much as they possibly can,” Giles said. The key for his players, he added, was not getting frustrated and continuing to play their game.

“Hopefully good things will happen, and they did in the second,” Giles said.

Giles said the team talked about the it’s first-period performance at intermission. With the Elks being a team good in the transition game, Giles said, the Hornets wanted to get pucks deep and play in Elk River’s end of the ice in the next two periods.

“It took us a while to get that going and get started,” Giles said. “So, I don’t think we played extremely well in the first period. We played well enough to get out of there with a 1-0 lead. But I wouldn’t say we played extremely well.”

HEATHER RULE

The Hornets defeated Elk River/Zimmerman 4-0 in the Edina Holiday Classic on Dec. 15. The second period, by goals, was the best for Edina in that game as well. Freddie Schneider also scored in that game as Edina recorded two goals in the second period in December and five more on Thursday night.

“The second period was a struggle for us against them this year,” said Elks senior co-captain Kole Mears. “Killed us.”

It’s Edina’s speed that sets them apart, Mears said. His fellow senior co-captain Braden Hansberger said that teams facing Edina in the tournament need to focus on closing the neutral zone if they want to have success versus the Hornets.

“They move the puck really well,” Hansberger said. “So, if you get in their face and try to shut them down, that’ll probably get it done.”

HEATHER RULE

Elk River/Zimmerman coach Ben Gustafson noted Edina’s “speed and skill” led to nice plays in the second period. But he loved the way his team competed in the third period. The Elks scored twice after the Hornets made it a 6-0 game.

“We challenged our kids after the second period to go out there and try to win the third period,” Gustafson said. “Which they did. And I couldn’t be more proud of them for that.”

HEATHER RULE

8:14 p.m.

Don Berthiaume, an assistant captain on the 1984 St. Paul Johnson hockey team, gathered his boys for a 40-year reunion Thursday night just over the border of St. Paul’s East Side at the Crooked Pint in Maplewood.

Those Governors were the last St. Paul or Minneapolis public school team to win a state tournament game in the championship bracket.

Back in ‘84, the Civic Center boards were clear, Hill-Murray was the defending single-class state champions and the Pioneers and the Governors, regrettably, donned Cooperalls.

Hill-Murray, like Thursday’s gathering site, sits just over the border of St. Paul’s East Side. Several Pioneers played youth hockey for Johnson-area teams, including Mark Johnson, Steve Rohlik, Dave Schwartz and Phil Zelenak. The territorial rivals battled throughout their quarterfinal meeting. Governors senior forward Jimmy Hau gave his team leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Hill-Murray tied the game in the second period and the stalemate wasn’t broken until Greg Ohlander’s goal at 12:30.

Later in the game, Johnson goaltender Tim DuRose made an incredible glove save to deny a golden Pioneers’ 2-on-1 chance and preserve Johnson’s 3-2 upset victory. The game highlights are available here: Johnson vs. Hill-Murray 1984.

Berthiaume expected 14 former teammates to show up and raise a glass in honor of great memories and fallen comrades – including Hau.

One enduring memory: the Johnson student section dressing in Hawaiian garb.

DAVID LA VAQUE

7:17 p.m.

With 12:25 remaining in the second period, officials opted to take the first TV timeout to allow one of the linesmen to be treated for an injury. According to the TV broadcast, the linesman was bleeding and being tended to in the locker room. Play continued after the timeout with one linesman and two referees, but a few minutes later, there were two linesmen and two referees back on the ice.

HEATHER RULE

7:04 p.m.

Cretin-Derham Hall was upset as a No. 2 seed in the 2022 Class 2A state tournament. Last year, the unseeded Raiders knocked off second-seeded Maple Grove. Rinse-and-repeat this year, except that dispatching No. 3 seed Centennial required a four-goal comeback and double overtime to get the job done.

Funk said he and his team — which was a No. 5 seed in its section tournament this year — talked after that section final about how only eight Class 2A teams extended their seasons and got to keep practicing.

“So, you’ve got to come into it with a mentality that this tournament is extremely hard to get to,” Funk said. “I would say the section final is probably harder than anything you’re going to see in the state tournament. But to win it and to keep advancing, it takes a special group and all-out effort.”

Funk said the Raiders were “underprepared and overconfident” entering the tournament two years ago.

“When somebody’s seeded ahead of you, I think it’s easy to get up for and play your game,” Funk said. “With all the film that’s out there these days, it’s pretty easy to scout and get your team ready.”

Senior Chuck Owens said the Raiders have embraced “underdog, villain mentality” this season

“We love it,” Owens said.

They certainly held the belief they would win the quarterfinal game.

“Our coaches basically just said, ‘This game could go until 10 o’clock at night,’ ” Owens said. “ ’But at the end of the day, we’re going to win.’

“I think everybody truly believed it because the second and third and overtime and double overtime, we played our three lines, we played our three pairs of D. I mean, we were fresh. Not a lot of teams can really do that. We used our depth to our advantage.”

HEATHER RULE

6:53 p.m.

Less than five minutes remained in the second overtime before Cretin-Derham Hall scored the winning goal. So, when does the fatigue set in?

“In the second overtime, my left thigh was cramped up the entire time,” Searles said. “I couldn’t feel it.”

That didn’t stop him from getting out on the ice and playing in double overtime.

HEATHER RULE

Having already tied the game early in the third period, Max Anderson’s encore was finishing off a 2-on-1 play for winning goal in overtime. He scored at the end of the ice where the Centennial student section sat in the lower bowl. So, Anderson and his teammates headed down the ice to celebrate in front of the Raiders fans.

“Kinda blacked out on that one,” Anderson said, of his winner. “But once my good buddy Nate Chorlton fed me that one, I just kind of knew it was going in.”

Anderson broke out his selfie-stick celebration after his tying goal Thursday. He took off his glove, put it at the top of his hockey stick and skated down the ice holding it like a selfie stick. It’s not the first time he’s celebrated a goal that way.

“No, I pulled it out in sections, too,” Anderson said. “I saw it on TikTok. That’s where I found it.”

His game-tying goal in the section semifinals helped the Raiders to a 3-2 overtime victory and was the only other overtime win for the team this season.

Centennial and Cretin-Derham Hall entered the state tournament with one overtime win this season. Coincidentally, both came against Eastview. It was the second game of the season for Centennial and in the section semifinals for Cretin-Derham Hall.

Cretin-Derham Hall coach Matt Funk said the Raiders boys basketball team requested that selfie-stick celly from Anderson if he scored Thursday.

“So, they wanted to see it a couple times today,” Funk said. “I didn’t even see the second celebration. So, I don’t know what he did on the second one.”

Anderson’s reply: “Put a crown on my head.”

Funk let out a deep exhale on the bench while his team celebrated the victory on the ice. He was pleased with the way the winning play developed.

“When the puck’s on No. 4′s stick, something’s going to happen,” Funk said, adding that Anderson hit the crossbar “dead-on” earlier in the game.

“We talked about it to him between periods,” Funk said. “’Just keep shooting, good things are going to happen.’

“I think he’s starting to turn it on. And that’s a scary thing for anybody that’s playing us. If [No.] 19′s scoring. Look out.”

HEATHER RULE

6:30 p.m.

Centennial goaltender Easton Cody made a season-high 46 saves in Thursday’s Class 2A quarterfinal game against Cretin-Derham Hall. His teammate Harper Searles said Cody “held us in as long as possible” with the saves he made throughout the later stages of the game and overtime.

“It probably went longer than it should have due to him,” Searles said.

Cougars coach Ritch Menne said he’s seen this kind of play from Cody since the goalie was a child.

“And I told him that last week,” Menne said. “ ’Since you were 6 years old, you were meant to be here.’ So, I’ve seen Easton do this kind of stuff constantly.

“It’s nothing new to me. And people are seeing this from this unbelievably talented, athletic goaltender on a regular basis. And I hope he’s getting a lot of attention from people, because he sure deserves it.”

HEATHER RULE

3:48 p.m.

Thursday’s attendance set new records for both Class 2A sessions.

The first two quarterfinals drew an announced attendance of 19,765, a new record according to Minnesota State High School League archives. The old record was 19,232, a mark that stood since 2008.

The attendance for the evening session was 20,208. The previous record was 18,878 set in 2012.

DAVID LA VAQUE AND HEATHER RULE

11:14 a.m.

Hockey legend Lou Nanne is in the house for his 60th and final year providing commentary for the boys hockey state tournament.

His first was February 1964 at the St. Paul Auditorium. His last are these final three days of Class 2A games at the Xcel Energy Center. A Gopher, envelope salesman, North Star, an NHL general manager, wealth manager and fundraiser, frequent radio guest and now a TV analyst saying goodbye, starting with this morning’s Chanhassen versus Rochester Century/JM game.

Walking into the Xcel press box this morning to work with play-by-play partner Jim Erickson, Nanne said he’s feeling the love from those who have watched him all these years as the voice of the tournament.

In all that time he watched his son Marty score the winning goal for Edina’s 1984 championship team and called games involving his grandsons, Tyler and Louie.

“There’s many things to remember,” Nanne said. “Of course I’m going to remember my son and two grandsons playing in it. All the things I’ve seen along the way is so numerous. So much great hockey, so many great games. Unbelievable efforts these teams put out.”

When told 1964 is a long time ago, he said, “Tell me about it. I can’t tell you how long that was. It goes by so fast. That’s what I’ve been surprised by.”

Sixty-four years and now it’s almost time for a final state tournament tradition: a post-tournament gathering at nearby Mancini’s steakhouse after Saturday’s Class 2A championship game.

He was asked if he has made his reservations for the final dinner for a party of 25 or more.

“I don’t have to call, I put it over the TV,” Nanne said. “Late in the game, I say, `Get my table ready.’ But they know I’m coming.”

JERRY ZGODA

8:16 a.m.

What if one could make a date night out of the Minnesota boys hockey state tournament?

Start with an early dinner at Mancini’s Steak House, Tom Reid’s Hockey Pub, or any number of fabulous options along West 7th Street. Dining amid hockey fans satiates appetites for the menu items and the tournament vibe.

The night continues at the Xcel Energy Center, ground zero of the “State of Hockey.” With any luck, a northern team will be taking part in one of two evening session games. Those teams give the tournament its charm. Word is, Greenway’s 2019 St. Paul visit drank the nearby Gopher Bar out of beer. Is that true? As it says in the classic film “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Even if a northern team played in the afternoon, the buzz in the concourse remains palpable throughout the evening games. The chatter and laughter among old friends, the rowdy student sections and the pep bands are intoxicating. And if the sound does not get you, the aroma of the mini doughnuts will stimulate the senses.

And of course, the hockey is as good (more likely better) than anywhere in the United States. The passion radiating up from the ice, players’ tireless efforts and their speed and stick skills — those are the annual qualities drawing about 100,000 fans back to the X year after year. Your date will leave a bit overwhelmed but converted into a Minnesota high school hockey tournament fan.

DAVID LA VAQUE