There’s something about the state tournament that usually brings out the best in the Mahtomedi boys hockey team.
Unfortunately for the Zephyrs, they ran into a buzzsaw that is defending state champion St. Cloud Cathedral on Wednesday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center, and they suffered a 3-0 loss in the Class A quarterfinals.
As disappointing as the result was for Mahtomedi, however, the fact that it reached the state tournament in any capacity was a victory in and of itself. It proves the Zephyrs were much better than their 11-16-2 record might suggest.
That said, Mahtomedi couldn’t get anything going against St. Cloud Cathedral, which took the next step in their quest for a repeat.
It only took the Crusaders a few minutes to jump ahead early in the first period as senior Jaeger Wood dug a puck out below the red line, then found senior Joey Gillespie, who cashed in to make it 1-0.
The lead grew for St. Cloud Cathedral midway through the second period when freshman Bo Schmidt taking matters into his own hands. After possessing the puck in the neutral zone, he muscled his way up the ice with a reverse check, then finished the job by firing a snipe top shelf to make it 2-0.
In desperate need of a response, the Zephyrs earned a power play midway through the third period, positioning themselves to get back into the game.
Instead, the Crusaders put the game away for good when senior John Hirschfeld drove the net on the penalty kill, then found Gillespie on the door step for a shorthanded goal that stretched the lead to 3-0.
Though it certainly wasn’t the result Mahtomedi was looking for, the future appears to be bright for the program, with a number of underclassmen getting experience in the state tournament that could pay off down the road.
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