RJ's five memorable moments from the state tournament

One more look back before looking forward: Overtime thrillers, some controversy, a little humor and two deserving champions were the highlights.

March 11, 2019 at 12:42PM
Edina forward Peter Colby celebrated his go-ahead goal against Eden Prairie in the third period of the Class 2A boys' hockey tournament title game Saturday night.
Edina forward Peter Colby celebrated his go-ahead goal against Eden Prairie in the third period of the Class 2A boys' hockey tournament title game Saturday night. (Brian Wicker — STAR TRIBUNE/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin celebrates their overtime win over Mahtomedi. ] LEILA NAVIDI ¥ leila.navidi@startribune.com
(Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

My five memorable moments from the boys' hockey state tournament:

5. Man down: One of the state tournament highlights for any player is the skate to the blue line for their TV close-up during pregame introductions. For St. Cloud Cathedral sophomore Jon Bell, that moment became a Twitter sensation when he slipped and fell in front over everyone before the semifinal against East Grand Forks. "All I can say about that: It's a high school meme. … It happens. Sometimes you fall.''

4. At last, an ending: Eden Prairie's Jack Jensen scored with 57 seconds left in the third overtime to give the Eagles a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Lakeville South. Had the game not been decided in that period, it would have been suspended until 8 a.m. the next day. "I wasn't aware of that,'' Jensen said afterward. "That's unbelievable. I'm even more speechless.''

3. A crown for St. Cloud: By ending Greenway's Cinderella run in the championship game, St. Cloud Cathedral won the Class 1A championship, the first hockey state title for a St. Cloud school. "This is a big, heavy burden off our area,'' Crusaders coach Derrick Brown said. "We can produce good hockey teams. … To have a state championship trophy going back on the bus with us going home to St. Cloud today, I don't think there's anything more special.''

2. Raiders, Zephyrs and, finally, Raiders: The game of tournament was Greenway's 3-2 crisply played overtime victory over Mahtomedi. The Raiders led 1-0 in the third period only to see the Zephyrs tie it at 7:22 and take a 2-1 lead 2:22 later. But Greenway, adopted by pretty much every fan in attendance except for its opponents, had the answer when Ben Troumbly tied the score on a power-play blast with 1:46 to go. In OT, Troumbly ended it in a hurry, converting his own rebound 23 seconds into the period. "I wasn't even thinking at the time,'' Troumbly said. "Afterward, it kicked in that we're going to the championship.''

1. Hornets find a way: For more than two periods in the Class 2A title game, Eden Prairie executed its game plan to perfection, holding Edina to seven shots on goal through 34 minutes and holding a 1-0 lead. But the Hornets struck with back-to-back goals by Kevin Delaney and Peter Colby 22 seconds apart before the Eagles' Clayton Shultz knotting the score 2-2 with 7:17 left in the third. Colby ended it in overtime, giving the Hornets' fourth win over the Eagles this season putting an exclamation point on a 27-2-1 season. "They're winners,'' Edina coach Curt Giles said. "These guys found a way to win. It wasn't their night in the first couple periods, but they never quit.''

about the writer

about the writer

Randy Johnson

College football reporter

Randy Johnson covers University of Minnesota football and college football for the Minnesota Star Tribune, along with Gophers hockey and the Wild.

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