Blaine had enough of watching rival Centennial skate away with the past two section championship trophies. The Bengals did something about it Thursday.

A five-goal second period broke the game open as Blaine defeated the Cougars 8-1 at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood, winning the Section 5 title for the first time since 2011.

“We came back this year and took it to Centennial so that’s pretty fun,” said senior forward Easton Brodzinski, who experienced the disappointment of Centennial’s 2-1 section final victory last year.

Brodzinski and Alex Penn each scored twice while junior forward Riley Tufte scored one goal and added four assists. The Bengals extended their unbeaten streak to 17 games.

Riley and fellow junior forward Luke Notermann scored their 27th goals this season in the first period. Notermann’s rebound goal got the Bengals rolling. Tufte, who stands 6 feet 4, used his reach to convert a wrap-around goal.

Blaine (22-5-1), which won a pair of one-goal games against Centennial (17-10-1) earlier this season, took control with goals from Penn, Tanner Vescio and Brodzinski less than two minutes into the second period.

The Cougars, two-time defending Section 5 champions, were awarded a two-man advantage for one minute, 31 seconds in the second period but failed to score.

“We were hoping to get a few there and try to cut their lead in half by the end of the period,” Centennial coach Ritch Menne said. “But it seemed like anything we did wrong, they capitalized on.”

First Report

Blaine roared back to the state tournament with a 8-1 victory against rival Centennial in the Class 2A, Section 5 championship game played Thursday night at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

Junior forward Riley Tufte scored one goal and added four assists for the Bengals, who make their first trip to state since 2011.

Riley and fellow junior forward Luke Notermann scored their 27th goals this season in the first period. Notermann’s rebound goal got the Bengals rolling. Tufte, who stands 6-foot-4, used his reach to convert a wrap-around goal.

Blaine’s five-goal second period put the game out of reach. Alex Penn set the tone with a goal just 53 seconds into the period. Tanner Vescio and Easton Brodzinski made it 5-0 and Centennial (17-10-1) changed goalies.

The Cougars, two-time defending Section 5 champions, got awarded a two-man advantage for one minute, 31 seconds in the second period but failed to score.

Jordan Turnquist scored on the power-play for Blaine and built a 6-0 lead. A second goal from Penn pushed Blaine’s lead to 7-0. Centennial avoided a shutout with Colton Berg’s power-play goal at 11:28 of the second period.

Blaine (22-5-1) beat Centennial in both previous meetings this season, each time by one goal. The Bengals improved to 16-0-1 since their most recent loss.

Blaine’s 2011 state tournament appearance concluded a run of six consecutive.

Centennial went 9-2-1 in its final 12 games this season. The Cougars ended Blaine’s season with a 2-1 section final victory last year.


Photo gallery: Blaine 8, Centennial 1