Totino-Grace at Luverne
5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 23

Luverne often gets knocked in the state rankings for its schedule, which is largely composed of teams from the nontraditional hockey region of southwestern Minnesota. The No. 14-1A Cardinals (9-1-0) entered last year’s state tournament with an unbeaten record, yet weren’t seeded by the opposing coaches. That makes the “big games” on Luverne’s schedule doubly important for making a mark. The first of those games came on Dec. 6 against St. Paul Academy and resulted in the Cardinals’ only loss. Next up is No. 19-1A Totino-Grace (3-5-0), which defeated the Cardinals in double overtime in last year’s state consolation final.

This isn’t the same Totino-Grace team, however. The Eagles were decimated by graduation and the early departure of eight of their top 10 scorers. Perhaps not surprisingly, scoring goals has been an issue for the Eagles, who average just 2.25 per game. Totino-Grace has scored more than three just once, a 6-4 loss to East Grand Forks to open the season. Blake Vagle (4-4-8) and Ryan Johnson (4-1-5) lead the Eagles in goals.

Luverne has had no issue scoring. The Cardinals tallied double-digit goals four times and average an astounding 9.4 per game. Chaz Smedsrud (18-29-47) and Jaxon Nelson (18-21-39) are among the state’s top scorers, and both are underclassmen (Smedsrud a junior, Nelson a freshman).