Senior goalie Spencer Olson had 26 saves as No. 3 seed Anoka upended No. 2 seed Centennial 6-2 in the Class 2A, Section 5 semifinals at Champlin Ice Forum on Saturday.

After falling twice to the Cougars in the regular season, the Tornadoes were ready for a tussle in the postseason.

"We have not beat them (Centennial) in two years," Anoka coach Todd Manthey said. "We're the little guy at the beach and they're the big muscle guy kicking sand, and it's time we stand up and play."

The game was a defensive battle for the first 14 minutes, until Jared Wilber redirected a shot off the pads of Centennial goalie Nathan Fellows and into the goal to put the Tornadoes ahead 1-0.

One minute later, Blake Neumann took advantage of a cross-checking penalty on the Cougars' David Poppke to score a power-play goal and stake Anoka to a 2-0 lead. Neumann finished the night with four points (2 goals, 2 assists).

Penalties were Centennial's Achilles' heel in the second period. Cody McLean received a five-minute major for hitting Travis Hudek from behind, and the Tornadoes took advantage to extend their lead. 

Neumann notched his second score, then assisted - along with Isaac Johnson on a goal from Tyler O'Neill one minute later.

And when Nathan Radke was send to the penalty box, the Tornadoes had a 5-on-3 advantage which Jack Giddings capitalized on by scoring to push Anoka's lead to 5-0.

"Our penalty kill wasn't great tonight, and Anoka's power play was terrific," Centennial coach Ritch Menne said. "They executed, and we didn't."

Tyler Nyman cut into the deficit when the Cougars got back to full strength, scoring to make it a 5-1 game. 

Anoka then committed back-to-back penalties (for elbowing and tripping) midway through the second period to give Centennial a 5-on-3 opportunity. However, the Tornadoes didn't cave under the pressure as Olson remained solid in net.

"To be honest, I was really scared of Centennial's power play," Olson said. "They've scored a lot of goals on me before, but I had faith in my defensemen and I think they had faith in me."

Olson conceded only one goal the rest of the game, when Dylan Klehr scored late in the third.

Menne spoke highly of his seniors following the game.

"They're a great group of guys with terrific leadership on and off the ice," Menne said. "They will be great husbands and dads some day, and I'm extremely proud them."

Anoka faces No. 4 seed Maple Grove in the section championship at Aldrich Ice Arena in Maplewood on Thursday at 7 p.m.


Blake Neumann (19) scored two goals and had four points for Anoka in the today's win over Centennial. Photo by Cheryl Myers

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