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Top games: Warroad faces East Grand Forks in matchup of top-10 teams in Class 1A

By Heather Rule, SportsEngine, 12/12/22, 10:45AM CST

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Dec. 13: The Green Wave takes a two-game shutout streak into a game with goal-producing Warriors.


Photo by SportsEngine

We task our reporters with identifying several intriguing games throughout the state to assemble our Top Games of the Week. The matchups are presented in no particular order, and when there are additional games we want to highlight, we’ll include them with brief notes.

East Grand Forks vs. Warroad

7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 13

A section and Mariucci Conference rivalry between Warroad and a rejuvenated East Grand Forks is on tap to begin this week. Warroad, at 5-0, is scoring 5.60 goals per game and sits No. 2 in the Class 1A coaches’ poll released Dec. 7. Warroad came away with a pair of 6-3 victories over the Green Wave last season. 

The Warriors kept its undefeated season going with a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 16-2A Grand Rapids over the weekend. The Warriors put up 48 shots on net and overcame a 2-0 first-period deficit before Murray Marvin-Cordes’ overtime winner at 4:59.

Marvin-Cordes (five goals, two assists) is part of Warroad’s dynamic top line featuring senior and University of Minnesota-Duluth commit Jayson Shaugabay (five goals, nine assists) and junior center Carson Pilgrim, who leads the team with nine goals (three on the power play) and 16 points. Shaugabay has 86 career goals and 220 points in 84 career games.

The Green Wave finished 9-18 last season, their first sub-.500 effort in more than a decade. The year ended with losses in seven of their last eight games, including the Class 1A, Section 8 semifinal to eventual state runner-up Warroad.

East Grand Forks has bounced back to start this season, with a 4-2 record good enough for a No. 6 ranking in Class 1A as of the Dec. 7 coaches’ poll. They’ll take a two-game shutout winning streak into this matchup with Warroad.

Junior goaltender Chase Mero (3-0) earned the shutouts with his 0.67 goals-against average and .957 save percentage. He splits time in net with junior Lucas Wavra (1-2, 3.53 goals-against average, .817 save percentage). Last year’s top scorer, junior Brock Schultz, is back with a team-high four goals and eight points. Thirteen of his teammates have scored points so far this season.


Mahtomedi vs. Hill-Murray

7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 15 

It’s a couple of perennial hockey powerhouses representing each class, plus a Metro East Conference rivalry game.

Mahtomedi, ranked No. 3 in Class 1A, took third place at state last year, while No. 9-2A Hill-Murray took third in the Class 2A tournament. The Pioneers won a pair of one-goal games between these two teams last season.

Offense has been plentiful for the Zephyrs in their 5-1 start, scoring nearly five goals a game. Senior forward Charlie Drage, one of the team’s top scorers last season, has four goals and seven assists at the top of the stats sheet.

But the Zephyrs clearly have depth on their lines with 14 players who’ve found the back of the net, plus 17 players with at least a point. Junior Charile Brandt (3-1-0) and senior Andrew Reister (2-0, 0.50 goals-against average) have split time in net after the graduation of Ben Dardis.

The Pioneers are 2-2, with loses to No. 1-1A Hermantown and in overtime to No. 2-2A Wayzata. Hill-Murray lost a lot to graduation last year, including a pair of Mr. Hockey finalists, but this is a team that always seems poised to make a good run and compete against top teams.

Senior Jack Erickson (1.60 goals-against average, .939 save percentage) stabilizes things in net coming off an 18-win season. Senior captain Brady Ingebritson has a pair of goals, one shorthanded, and two assists so far. Senior forward Caden Sampair (two goals) and sophomore defenseman Graham Greeder (two assists) have three points each through four games.


Wayzata vs. Andover

2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 17 

In what would have been a No. 2 vs. No. 3 matchup last week, Andover, with losses to Benilde-St. Margaret's and Rogers, has slipped to No. 6 in the latest rankings. Still, a game between the defending Class 2A champion Huskies and an undefeated Wayzata squad out of the Lake Conference is a top-10 affair this week.

These teams skated to a 2-2 tie last season in Plymouth with a pair of Cayden Casey first-period goals for Andover before Wayzata tied the game in the second period.

The Trojans this year have only surrendered one goal in each of their past four games. They also haven’t let in-game scoreboard adversity get to them.

In the opener, they let a 2-0 lead turn into a tie game in the second period before Jake Mattson’s game winner in the third period to seal a 3-2 win over Moorhead.

Against Hill-Murray on Dec. 8, the Trojans allowed the Pioneers to tie the game with 35 seconds left in regulation before Rhys Wallin scored at 6:39 of overtime for the 2-1 win.

Benilde-St. Margaret's trailed 2-0 before cutting it to 2-1 in the second period. The Trojans answered only 12 seconds later to regain a two-goal lead en route to a 4-1 win. 

Wayzata has scored first in every game except against Duluth East, where the Trojans tied the score with three seconds left in the first period. Freshman Jacob Kvasnicka leads the team in points (11) and assists (nine).

The Huskies take their two-game losing skid into the week, having scored only one goal in those two defeats to Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Rogers. They’ll first look to bounce back with a Northwest Suburban Conference game at Champlin Park on Thursday.

Andover is just 1-for-25 on its power play this season. Early this season, they’re a .500 team in a few ways: 3-3 record this season, 1-1 in conference play, 1-1 when they score first and 2-2 when they allow the first goal. Senior forwards Gavyn Thoreson (five goals, three assists) and Cooper Conway (five goals, two assists) lead the way on offense.


Other games to keep an eye on

Lakeville South vs. Lakeville North, 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 13. A classic intercity and South Suburban Conference rivalry game in the south metro. The No. 8-2A Cougars won all three meetings last season, including a three-goal third period for a 4-1 decision in the Class 2A, Section 1 championship.

St. Cloud Cathedral vs. Little Falls, 7:15 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 15. Also a relatively close-proximity matchup between Class 1A, Section 5 opponents. The No. 16-1A Crusaders travel to No. 8-1A Little Falls. Cathedral last defeated Little Falls on Jan. 21, 2020. Little Falls swept the home-and-home series last season.


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