Cretin-Derham Hall senior Chuck Owens and his teammates came into this season’s Class 2A, Section 3 playoffs as just the No. 5 seed.
But the Raiders ended them the same way they have the past two seasons: as champions.
Owens got his team on the board first, scoring with 9:03 to play in the second period, and added an empty-netter late as the Raiders earned their third straight section crown with a 3-1 win over St. Thomas Academy in Friday night’s championship game at a sold-out Braemar Arena in Edina.
“The feeling couldn’t get any better every single time,” said Owens, whose team upset top-seed Eastview 3-2 in overtime in the section semifinals last Monday. “We’ve been doubted all year. Maybe no one believed in us. But you’ve got a group of 20 here that just want it so badly.
“We’re always going to go out there and give you our best. We’re going to play Raider hockey.”
Owens and company find out who they will face in the Class 2A state quarterfinals Thursday at Xcel Energy Center when the tournament pairings are announced Saturday morning.
St. Thomas Academy, the No. 3 seed, finished its season 17-9-2.
This marks the second straight year Cretin-Derham Hall (17-10-1) has beaten the Cadets in the section final. And Friday’s victory means Mike Randolph — the head coach at St. Thomas Academy since 2022 and previously the longtime head coach at Duluth East — will enter next season still tied with former Rochester Mayo coach Lorne Grosso (1966-2016) for the most victories in Minnesota high school hockey history with 707.
This despite the fact his team outshot the Raiders 36-22.
“They played very well,” said Randolph, whose team beat No. 2-seeded Rosemount 3-2 in the semifinals Monday. “They stuck to their game plan and converted on their chances. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. I’m very proud of the effort our guys put forth. Some nights the puck goes in the net and some nights it doesn’t.”
Cretin-Derham Hall junior goalie Owen Nelson made sure it didn’t very often Friday, coming up with some big saves.
“Nelly’s really stepped up at the end of the year,” Raiders coach Matt Funk said. “He’s been one of the best goalies in the state. The kids trust him. He got us here and he played great again tonight.”
Cretin-Derham Hall expanded its lead to 2-0 on a goal by sophomore Nate Chorlton with 15:43 to play in the third. The Cadets cut the gap back to one when sophomore Peter Murray scored just minutes later.
St. Thomas Academy went on the game’s only power play with 7:26 remaining, but the Raiders were able to kill it off.
“That was a huge momentum swing to kill that penalty,” Nelson said. “They’d just scored one, and it was so big for our penalty killers to clear the puck out of the zone for me and continue our momentum.”
“It was our goaltender, Nelly, he couldn’t have played better,” Owens added. “And the boys were buzzing all night. That’s just how it’s going to be when you’ve got guys who want it this bad. I’m at a loss for words right now.
“I just want to celebrate with the boys.”
Now the celebration continues into next week’s state tournament. The Raiders lost to Edina in the state semifinals a year ago. But Owens said his team is setting its sights higher this time.
“We expect a championship,” he said. “We know it’s going to be tough. But we got close last year. This year, we want to go all the way.”
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