St. Cloud Cathedral vs. Warroad

7:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1

With five trips to the Class 1A state tournament in the past 10 years, St. Cloud Cathedral has made a splash on the small-school scene. The program capped its recent success with a third-place finish a season ago.

The No. 2-1A Crusaders look to continue swimming with the state's best behind Nate Warner (21-27-48) and Mack Motzko (11-22-33), who emerged as playmakers last year when the duo combined for 32 goals and 81 points as freshmen. Both played in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League this fall and are sure to provide St. Cloud Cathedral with some offensive firepower.

The Crusaders also look formidable on defense. They gave up 2.45 goals per game a season ago and return five of their top six defenders, including Jeron Hirschfeld, who tallied eight goals and 16 assists as a junior last season.

Warroad has the pedigree most aspire to gain. The Warriors own 21 section titles (eight since 2000), but success hasn't been the standard lately, as the team has finished with sub-.500 records and no state tournament appearances in each of the last two seasons.

That could change this year. Warroad returns a crop of young letterwinners, including 10 of their top 12 scorers. Carter Pelland (13-14-27) leads the group that looks to improve upon last season, which ended in a 5-1 loss to East Grand Forks in the Class 1A, Section 8 championship and an 11-16-1 overall record.