Session 4 Recap: Lakeville South/Duluth East and Benilde-St. Margaret's/Edina

Game 7

Lakeville South Cougars 3 - 2 Duluth East Greyhounds

The Cougars had a tall task in facing the 2011 Runner-Up Greyhounds in the opening rounds. The Hounds have tons of talent, especially on their top line, and it didn't take long for the trio to make their mark in this game. Olson opened the scoring when he found a rebound and an open net, putting East up 1-0. Lakeville South found themselves in trouble when they took the first penalty, the Cougars didn't get caught chasing and got the successful kill. A late East penalty would give South a powerplay to start the 2nd period.

The Cougars came out with the man advantage, but didn't seem to get a good look at the net. Once the penalty expired, Trevor Olson found himself all alone with Schumacher, but a great backcheck by Cameron Jackson broke up Olson's breakaway. The Hounds missed connecting again when Toninato fanned on a two-on-one with Randolph. The high-speed game caught up to East though, as Lakeville South scored on a well executed three-on-two, tying the game at 1. Both sides had some great looks in the period to break the tie, but it remained 1-1 after 2 periods.

Still hanging around, Lakeville tooke the ice in the 3rd period with a purpose. It didn't take the Cougars long to strike, as a nice pass found John Wiitala all alone, who made no mistake and gave South their fist lead of the game. The goal definitely energized the Cougars, as they started skating with more confidence. East pulled Parker to try to get the equalizer, but turned the puck over to Kloos, who had a gaping net. A late 3-1 lead gave Lakeville some breathing room, which they need. East scored a very late goal, about 10 seconds left, but they came up just short in their comeback.

In a day of upsets, this one was monumental. Pundits had East tagged as the team to beat this year, considering their showing last year. Maybe East let it go to their heads, because they did not bring the effort needed to win a Quarterfinal matchup, let alone a State Title. Hounds went 0 for 2 with the state of Minnesota watching this season.

Game 8

Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights 3 - 2 Edina Hornets

The nightcap of Session 4 saw the Hornets come in as the seeded team against a very talented Red Knights team. Both squads came out skating and ready to play. Each team got an early powerplay chance, but nothing would come of the man advantages. Play started to favor the Hornets, as Edina continued to get pucks deep and forechecked hard. The Hornets build up a sizable shot difference but were unable to get anything past Quale. The teams went into the locker room tied at 0.

The opportunity was there for either team to take control of the game, and the Red Knights seized the chance to assert themselves. Besse scored on a great powerplay setup that found him all alone on the back door. The goal seemed to spring the Red Knights to life, as they took control of the shot count and started to get their offensive flow going. The Hornets, however, didn't get here by rolling over and dying. They just got back to work and were rewarded with a powerplay of their own. A quick Hurley goal tied the game at 1. Play seemed to even out after the goal. Both teams were playing well heading into the 3rd period.

It didn't take long to break the tie. Dan Labosky got in behind the Edina defense and scored 17 seconds into the period. The lead wouldn't last long, however, as Andy Jordahl ripped a shot past Quale to tie it at 2. Edina started to get the better of the play after teh Jordahl goal, tilting the ice towards the Benilde end. Justin Quale made some impressive saves, keeping Benilde in the game. A late penalty to Benilde gave Edina a chance to win the game, but the Knights dug their heels in and got a huge kill. Directly following the PK, Besse was able to feed Hor who ripped a shot past Benjamin to give the Red Knights a 3-2 lead. It would stand as the winner. Benilde will move on to play Lakeville South.