Mahtomedi routs New Ulm in Class 1A boys' hockey state quarterfinal

The first wave of Mahtomedi goals weren't pretty.

Mahtomedi's JD Metz was whacking and hacking at the puck like a machete-wielding explorer in the Amazon. Twice in the first period, Metz was rewarded with goals for getting to what Zephyrs coach Jeff Poeschl called the "dirty areas" of the rink.

"He's just got that tenacious, this-puck-is-mine kind of attitude when he is in front of the net," Poeschl said about Metz after No. 1-seeded Mahtomedi beat New Ulm 6-0 in Wednesday's Class 1A state quarterfinals.

Tom Paradise followed Metz's trailblazing lead, converting a loose puck in the crease into a first-period goal as the Zephyrs (22-6-1) built a 3-0 lead.

Then Mahtomedi switched personalities. Suddenly the Zephyrs' goals were, as the kids say, filthy. None was better than Joe Paradise's dash untouched from center ice to the New Ulm's goal, where he angled a shot from close range into the upper reaches of the net. The loss dropped the unseeded Eagles to 17-9-1.

"I just put a move on the goaltender and shot," Paradise said. "I was surprised the goalie bit on it that hard."

Tom Paradise, Joe's twin brother, showed he could be both gritty and pretty, converted a series of dizzying passes with Adam Johnson into a one-touch shot into an open net. Gorgeous.

"I like them all," Poeschl said with a smile.