Session 6 Recap: Moorhead/Hill-Murray and Lakeville Souths/Benilde-St. Margaret's

Game 11

Moorhead Spuds 1 - 2 Hill-Murray Pioneers (Overtime)
Moorhead came out fast, hitting anything that moved and trying to direct the pace of play. They wouldn't score a whole lot of flashy goals, but they have a nose for the net. The tough play in front led to a deflected shot and the first goal of the evening. The hitting really picked up in the middle of the frame. Bodies were flying everywhere. A lot of the big hits were laid by the Pioneers. Both teams had a few more chances in the period, with Conrad Sampair having the best look on a breakaway, but Bitzer made the save. The period would end with just the one goal scored.

The hitting continued through the 2nd period. It almost seemed like these two teams were conference rivals the way they were going after each other. The two goalies (Dugas and Bitzer) put on a clinic, both recording bigtime saves. As the 2nd wore on, it looked like Hill-Murray got stronger. The Pioneers got their forecheck going, cycling the puck well and gettting shot opportunities. The Pioneers had plenty of great chances, but it was the Michael Bitzer show late in the period. His performance kept the score 1-0 after 2 periods of play.

The Pioneers understood that it was going to take everything they had to crack Bitzer, so when they came out in the 3rd, they threw everything at him. All of the play was deep in the Spuds zone. All Moorhead could do was ice the puck over and over again, as Hill-Murray was winning every race to a loose puck. The Pioneers knew what they needed to do, as they took any and every shot they could get a look at. The strategy finally paid off as a rebound from Charlie Sampair's shot was scooped up by Conrad Sampair and put behind Bitzer to tie the game at 1 apiece. The Pioneers continued their assault, but this game would be heading to overtime.

Hill-Murray continued their onslaught in the extra time. Moorhead couldn't find the answer. The Spuds mustered one total shot in the 3rd period and the overtime combined. They were never in the game when the 3rd period started. It ended early in OT when Conrad Sampair made a power move to the front of the net and tucked it right under Michael Bitzer. Conrad Sampair scored both goals for Hill-Murray, as they move on to play for the Class AA Championship on Saturday.

Game 12

Lakeville South Cougars 1 - 10 Benilde-St. Margaret's Red Knights

The Red Knights saw what happened to Duluth East last night and didn't want to make the same mistake of letting South hang around. They got the perfect start, scoring early in the period to put Lakeville behind the 8-ball early. The road for Lakeville didn't get any easier when Grant Besse ripped a shot over the shoulder of Schumacher to put Benilde up 2-0. It got worse for Lakeville when Justin Quale slammed the door shut on Kloos. The Red Knights, in transition, sprung Labosky, who made it 3-0. Once the snowball started, it was nearly impossible to stop. The Red Knights hammered home two quick goals to stretch their lead to 5. Lakeville looked completely defeated as they went to the locker room in a 5-0 hole.

Benilde came out with a little less intensity. That didn't mean that they were done scoring. Grant Besse scored another goal that was almost an exact copy of his first, only this time he victimized Hunter Ziniel. The Red Knights would strike again against a defeated Cougars team when Jake Horton made a good move to the slot and foundthe back of the net. The Red Knights started to roll all 4 lines, with the top line getting extra breaks to get the 4th line guys some extra ice time.

The scoring didn't stop in the 3rd period either. Hunter Ziniel misplayed the puck, allowing Hale to take the biscut to the net. Anders Jecha came in after the goal to finish the night out as the Red Knights goalie. Labosky would add a shorthanded goal to complete his hat trick, rolling the score up to 9. Lakeville would finally get on the board late in the game, breaking the shutout. It would mean less when Benilde would score again to make it 10-1.

Benilde-St. Margaret's rolled up Lakeville South with 5 goals in the 1st period. Unfortunately, the Cougars were never in this game. They were just overmatched in this game by a Red Knight team out for blood.