Quantcast
skip navigation

Class 1A preview: Thief River Falls vs. Alexandria, 8 p.m. Wednesday

By Star Tribune, 03/06/18, 8:01PM CST

Share

After just two victories in their first 11 games, Thief River Falls had only three losses in the past 17 games.


Thief River Falls goaltender Nick Corneliusen, from a game played during his junior season in 2016-17. Photo by Tim Kolehmainen, Breakdown Sports USA

Thief River Falls (No. 5, 16-10-2) vs. Alexandria (No. 4, 17-10-1), 8 p.m.

Scouting the Prowlers: After just two victories in their first 11 games, Thief River Falls had only three losses in the past 17 games. Sparking the turnaround, and a mostly dormant offense, was moving senior Brady Anderson from defense to forward. Anderson, with a hat trick in the section final against East Grand Forks, has 16 goals. Senior Aaron Myers (27 goals, 47 points) is the team’s top scorer. Senior Nick Corneliusen (2.00 goals-against average, .930 save percentage) has steadily improved, culminating with a shutout in the section final.

Scouting the Cardinals: Workhorse defenseman Jack Powell, a 5-11, 175-pound senior, excels in one-on-one battles in the corner, where he treats opposing forwards as delicately as a farmhand tosses bales of hay. “He’s a fitness freak,” fifth-year Alexandria coach Ian Resch said about Powell. Junior forward Ben Doherty, who missed a large chunk of the season because of injuries, is one of the state’s most gifted playmakers; he had 44 assists as a sophomore. Jakob Stender, a freshman forward with 14 goals, figures to be the Cardinals’ next elite talent.

Worth knowing: Doherty and junior forward Jack Westlund are legacy state tournament players, as their fathers, Jeff Doherty and Todd Westlund, played in the 1990 state tournament for Burnsville.

LOREN NELSON

Related Stories

  • Five reasons Edina became a state champion

  • By DAVID LA VAQUE, Star Tribune 03/11/2024, 9:30am CDT
  • The 14th state championship for Edina/Edina East featured, of course, a hot goalie, but it also came with a list of intangible reasons for success.
  • Read More