Adapted Floor Hockey State Tournament -Day 1 Recap

The Minnesota State High School League’s Adapted Floor Hockey State Tournament began on Friday, March 17 at Jefferson High School in Bloomington with 16 teams among two divisions matching up in quarterfinal play. With a trip to the championship semifinals on the line, check out how each team did below.

CI Division

• The first CI Division matchup of the day featured a back-and-forth battle between the top-seeded northern team, Maple Grove, and Stillwater/Mahtomedi. The Ponies held the lead through the first two periods of play, up 3-1 after the first and 7-6 after the second, but the Crimson bounced back in the third, outscoring their opponent 6-2 to claim the 12-9 win. Leading the Crimson was junior Alec Singh, who finished with five goals. Sophomore Mason Mora Clark was the top scorer for the Ponies, tallying seven of the team’s nine goals.
• The Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville Blazing Cats used an offensive explosion to defeat the White Bear Lake Area Bears, 27-7. Junior Riley Deutsch proved to be an offensive threat, scoring eight times and adding seven assists for the Blazing Cats. Teammate Angel Figueroa chipped in with six goals and three assists. Senior Cody Wagner paced the Bears on offense, scoring three times. In net for the Bears Arianna Haines recorded 18 saves.
• Dakota United advanced in the championship bracket, defeating St. Cloud 6-3. The Hawks were on the board first in the game, holding a 3-0 edge after the first two periods. They would double their lead in the third period, leading 6-0 before the Crush started their comeback efforts. St. Cloud would score three times towards the end of the third period but would run out of time, as the Hawks held on for the 6-3 win. The Hawks had five different players score in the game, with senior Thomas Christopherson scoring twice. Forward Kevin Dunham led the Crush with a pair of goals.
• The final team to advance to the championship semifinals was the New Prague/TCU/LSH/Belle Plaine/Jordan Trojans, as they topped the North/Tartan Polars 10-1. The Trojans got started on the right foot, scoring seven unanswered goals. They led 7-1 after the first period and then added two goals in the second and a final goal in the third. Senior Aaron Adamson led the offensive charge with five goals for the Trojans.  For the Polars, senior Leonardo Flores-Romero netted the team’s lone goal, being assisted by sophomore Gabe Donald.

PI Division

• Brainerd, who entered the tournament as the top-seeded team in the north, backed up their high ranking with a 9-0 win over St. Paul Humboldt. The Warriors presented a balanced scoring front, as four players ended with two goals each - Aiden Olsen, Summer Headlee, Khloe VanNorman, and Aiden Ulness. St. Paul Humbuldt’s goalie, McKenzie Green, was kept busy in the net, making an impressive 35 saves.
• -Anoka-Hennepin will take on Brainerd in tomorrow’s championship semifinals after they defeated Rochester 4-3 in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs and the Raiders were knotted at two goals apiece after the first. Anoka-Hennepin netted the only goal in the second period, holding a 3-2 advantage heading into the final frame. The Mustangs tied it up five minutes into the third with a goal from Connor Blair-Franz, but freshman Nevaeh Maxey-Thomas would score the game-winner less than a minute later for Anoka-Hennepin, helping them to the first-round win.
• Consistent scoring from the Robbinsdale/Hopkins/Mound Westonka Robins helped them reach the championship semifinals with an 8-0 win over Minneapolis South. The Robins scored twice in the first period, four times in the second, and twice again in the third. Leading the scoring efforts was junior Jose Leon Estrada, who finished the day with six goals. Senior goalie Ally Tyler stayed strong in net, making 53 saves throughout the game for Minneapolis South.
• In the final quarterfinal game of the night, the Dakota United Hawks advanced with an 11-0 win over the Maple Grove Crimson. The Hawks started strong with a five-goal first period, being led by sophomore Cayden Needham who scored four of those five goals. They followed that up with three goals in each of the next two periods, securing the win. Freshman Jae Bahma and senior Jordan Johnson also had multiple-goal games for the Hawks, with two apiece.