St. Thomas Academy has a less-than-stellar 7-11 record playing in the Gold Division of the Schwan Cup hockey tournament since 2008.

The Cadets, however, seem primed to improve that mark after an impressive 4-1 victory over Duluth East in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Schwan Cup tournament Monday night in at Ridder Arena. 

St. Thomas Academy held a 33-18 advantage in shots and dominated the puck possession with its superior speed and deft passing, continuously cycling through the Greyhounds’ zone and blasting shots from all over the ice. 

The Cadets might have been solid on offense, but they need to improve their play on defense, coach Tom Vanelli said. 

“We’ve got to get a little more physical,” Vanelli said. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re a finesse team, but we’ve got to finish our checks.”

Vanelli also pointed to what he said was the turning point of the game - a blocked shot by senior forward Alec Broetzman - as evidence the Cadets can take advantage of gritty plays. 

“Sure enough, we block a shot, get an odd-man rush, and it changes the game,” Vanelli said. 

Broetzman’s play allowed senior forward Peter Tufto to slip fellow senior Danny Weihrauch the puck on a 2-on-1 break, and Weihrauch tapped it home to extend the Cadets’ lead to 3-1 with 11:16 to play in the third period. 

Tufto, who finished with a goal and three assists, said St. Thomas Academy can find success by playing with more physicality on the ice. 

“Being a small team, we’ve got to hit more,” Tufto said. “We started to do that later in (this) game.”

Tufto has 11 goals and 12 assists through eight games for the Cadets (8-0-0), ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches poll.

St. Thomas Academy is aware it needs to balance its skills with toughness, Broetzman added. 

“We can move the puck, and we can move our feet,” Broetzman said. “And when we play with grit, that’s when things start to happen.”

Broetzman, who has nine goals and 15 assists this season, and Tufto are both three-year members of the St. Thomas Academy varsity team - a team that finished second (2012) and fourth (2013) in the Schwan Cup’s Gold Division. 

Tufto said starting this year’s tournament with a victory bodes well for the Cadets’ future success.

“If we play (tomorrow) like we did in the latter half of (this) game, we’ll do well,” he said.

First Report

Senior forward Peter Tufto led St. Thomas Academy with a goal and three assists as the Cadets rolled to a 4-1 victory over Duluth East in the Gold Division quarterfinals of the Schwan Cup hockey tournament at Ridder Arena on Monday night. 

Tufto’s slick passing during a 2-on-1 break led to the Cadets’ game-clinching goal, as his deft dish to senior forward Danny Weihrauch resulted in a goal that extended the lead to 3-1 with 11:16 to play in the third period.

Weihrauch also had an assist for St. Thomas Academy, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches poll.

Senior forward Alec Broetzman recorded a goal and an assist and senior forward Christiano Versich also tallied a goal for St. Thomas Academy. 

Senior goaltender Matt Snow made 17 saves for the Cadets. 

Duluth East senior forward Brian Bunten scored the lone goal for the No. 12-2A Greyhounds, batting a bouncing puck past Snow to tie the game 1-1 at the 7:14 mark of the second period. 

St. Thomas Academy moves on to the semifinals, where the Cadets will face the either Minnetonka or Edina on Tuesday at 8 p.m. 

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