Eden Prairie, Wayzata lead 9 teams to state on big night of hockey finals

Eden Prairie knocked off Minnetonka in overtime and Wayzata held off Benilde-St. Margaret's to highlight a big night of section boys' hockey finals, in which nine teams ended up getting berths in the state tournament.

Complete stories, box scores and schedules are on our boys' hockey hub.

Eden Prairie boys' hockey players entered the locker room after their 4-3 overtime victory Wednesday against Minnetonka saying "never a doubt" with a typical mix of teenage humor and bravado.

But doubt loomed in the second period as the underdog Skippers buried three goals in 62 seconds and built a 3-1 lead in the Class 2A, Section 2 championship game at the Eden Prairie Community Center.

"We were reeling," said Eagles' coach Lee Smith, who called a timeout to re-group. "I just wanted to get through the period without any more damage."

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Character guy, clutch scorer, loving big brother, beloved captain … there are all sorts of adjectives that fit snugly on Wayzata's Kohl Sauer.

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The end result was never in doubt for top-seeded St. Thomas Academy as it won its fifth straight Class 2A, Section 3 title with a 6-1 victory over No. 2-seed Rosemount Wednesday at St. Thomas Ice Arena.

The Cadets (13-4-3) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period and used a pair of goals in 33 seconds in the middle frame to extend the lead for good.

It's the sixth section championship in seven years for the Cadets, who joined the section when it moved to Class 2A for the 2013-14 season. They're 6-2 in section finals since the class jump.

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Cam Boche scored three goals, including the game-winner, to lead the top-seeded Cougars. He put them ahead for good 4:04 into the third period. The senior also scored late in the first period and sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 29 seconds left.

Jack Malinski and Ben Portner scored 1:07 apart in the third period to help the Cougars extend their lead to three goals with 5:29 left in the game.

More on that game and details on Wednesday's other five section finals, including Delano's 5-1 victory over Breck School and Hill-Murray's return to state.

Wednesday's box scores

Video highlights from section finals

High school boys' hockey hub

Star Tribune high school sports page