A teammate down, Chanhassen forges on in boys hockey postseason

Chanhassen is getting the unexpected breaks a good hockey team needs for playoff success.

Other than Tyler Smith's collarbone.

Smith, a junior forward, suffered the season-ending upper-body injury Feb. 18 at Delano. He ranks fourth on the team with 38 points and even higher among coach Sean Bloomfield's all-time favorites.

"You could feel the lack of confidence in our group after Tyler got hurt," Bloomfield said.

Then the Storm received some fitting assistance. A forecasted major snow event convinced teams throughout the metro area to alter their section playoff schedules. In Class 2A, Section 2, that meant starting quarterfinal games on Feb. 21, two days earlier than previously scheduled.

Bloomfield welcomed having less time for moping. Smith was injured on a Saturday, and the Storm got right back to work Monday, changing up line pairings for a game the following day against Bloomington Jefferson.

Chanhassen, opened in 2009, made program history even before players hit the ice at Victoria Recreation Center. This was the first boys hockey home playoff game.

A 9-0 romp over Jefferson rebuilt the team's confidence. Jack Christ and Gavin Uhlenkamp, who are tied for the team lead with 45 points, each scored. So did third-leading point-getter Caden Lee, who has a team-best 25 goals. Goaltender Kam Hendrickson stopped just seven shots to record his ninth shutout of the season.

"He's a competitor at all times," said Bloomfield, who compared the netminder's drive to former Chaska defenseman and Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year Mike Koster. Bloomfield was on the Chaska coaching staff for nine seasons before taking the Chanhassen job in 2021.

Hendrickson split time as a starter with Holy Family last season. Bloomfield said he has become one of the guys at Chanhassen.

Forward Micah Saxon is also fitting in well as Smith's replacement. He skated with the first line throughout the Storm's 2-1 overtime victory against Eden Prairie in the section semifinals. The victory sent Chanhassen to its first section final and pushed the good vibes into the stratosphere.

Then came another scheduling break. Chanhassen enjoyed a five-day buffer between the semifinals and championship game — ample time for letting the emotional waves recede.

Beating Minnetonka at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Braemar Arena in Edina would put Chanhassen in its first boys hockey state tournament. The two teams met Dec. 10, a 4-1 Storm victory.

That success provided a glimpse of the team's potential.

"We talked afterward that we can 100 percent play with and beat anyone in the state if we play the right way," Bloomfield said. "It was also one day in December. Still, we hoped we would see them again."