Evan Wanner received the puck in the neutral zone and raced across the blue line, with the championship on his stick, the junior forward produced a moment of magic that will last a lifetime.
Wanner’s shot whizzed past Minnetonka goaltender Chase Jerdee, and mayhem ensued as he sprinted the length of the ice to the Spuds student section. He ripped off his helmet and hurled it into the crowd, having just secured Moorhead’s second consecutive state title.
The Spuds withstood an offensive onslaught from the Skippers and prevailed in the Class AA state championship Saturday night at Grand Casino Arena.
Moorhead’s offense came into the night scoring 5.83 goals per game. The Spuds needed that production and then some to recover from a three-goal third-period deficit.
Moorhead entered in search of back-to-back Class AA titles after coming up short in all eight of its trips to the championship game before 2025. Minnetonka arrived as winners of eight straight state tournament games, having won the championship in each of its last two appearances: 2018 and 2023.
The Spuds put themselves behind the eight ball because of a Drew Kortan penalty for cross-checking, which took place after the whistle. It resulted in a Skippers’ power play 1:16 into the title game.
Minnetonka capitalized on the early gift on a Danny Browning cross-ice pass to Jordan Johnson, who placed the puck into a wide-open left side of the net.
The Skippers scored a second midway through the first period via Ethan Sturgis, whose shot a foot above the goal line slid right through the legs of Will Arnold.
Skippers’ sophomore Cash Hardie skated into the zone, gliding left, and whipped a shot toward the far corner that beat the glove of Arnold. Minnetonka, 11 minutes into the championship, had lit the lamp three times on seven shots.
An efficient, clinical start to the night for Minnetonka, while it took until the 8:37 mark in the first period for Moorhead to get its second shot on goal.
The Spuds were handed a lifeline early in the second period as Sturgis went into the box for hooking. On the power play, Joey Cullen fired a quick cross-ice pass to Zac Zimmerman for a Grade-A chance he could not convert, hitting side netting, and the Skippers killed off the penalty.
Undaunted by the deficit, Moorhead’s Max Cullen probed the Skippers’ defense, played a pass back to Tyden Bergeson, who ripped a shot on net. Jerdee was unable to squeeze the shot, saw it sit in the crease, where Michael Herman’s quick stick slapped it home halfway through the second period.
The Spuds’ glimmer of hope was short-lived as the Skippers added to their tally before the frame concluded.
Hardie chipped it into the slot where Max Aronson was wide open and zipped it by Arnold to restore Minnetonka’s three-goal lead with 1:26 to go in the second period.
The Skippers were their own worst enemy in closing out the title game, as Liam Schultz was penalized for roughing with 11:00 to play in the contest.
Moorhead quickly shifted the puck around Minnetonka. It was Bergeson whose backdoor pass cut open the Skippers’ defense as Joey Cullen swept it into an open net for the Spuds’ first power-play goal of the tournament.
Momentum had completely shifted as Moorhead sustained extensive offensive zone pressure as the clock ticked under 7:00 in the championship. It was a shot from the point by Brandon Mickelson that got rerouted out in front by Zimmerman’s stick, giving Jerdee no chance and pulling the Spuds within a goal.
The Skippers handed Moorhead a prime opportunity to complete the comeback with its second penalty of the period, as Cameron Merrick was penalized for hooking.
The Spuds did not score on the power play, but after pulling Arnold with 1:37 to go, Moorhead cashed in via Zimmerman, who slotted home the tying goal with 35.6 seconds left, his second of the game.
Both teams managed three shots on goal in overtime, but did not do enough to beat either goaltender, so a full-intermission and ice resurfacing took place before double overtime.
Jerdee was tested twice in the first three minutes of the second overtime and answered the bell with two crucial saves.
Evan Wanner walked off the Class AA state championship in double overtime with a swift wrister past Jerdee, returning Moorhead to the summit of Minnesota high school hockey.
The only other time in state tournament history both state title games went into overtime was in 2011. In Class AA, Eden Prairie defeated Duluth East, 3-2, in triple overtime, and in Class A, St. Thomas Academy bested Hermantown, 5-4, in overtime.
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