St. Cloud Cathedral’s top line has been a big reason the Crusaders made it all the way to the Minnesota Class A boys state high school championship game on Saturday. The trio of Joey Gillespie, Andrew Dwinnell and John Hirschfeld combined for 88 of the team’s 144 total goals.

Those three players connected on all of the Crusaders’ goals as No. 3 seed Cathedral beat top-seeded and defending champion Hermantown 3-1 at Xcel Energy Center for the school’s second boys hockey championship.

“Our first line was better than anyone else’s first line,” St. Cloud head coach Robbie Stocker said. “I don’t mean that to sound arrogant in any way, shape or form, but the way they play is proof of how tenacious they are.

“If they were under the radar on anybody, I would imagine that’s not the case anymore.”

Dwinnell scored twice and Gillespie once for Cathedral, which finished the 26-4-1 and won its first title since 2019. The Crusaders were making their 12th state tournament appearance.

Alexander Francisco scored a goal for Hermantown (20-9-2) with the goalie pulled in the final minutes. The Hawks were playing in their 13th state championship game and finished runner-up for the ninth time.

The Crusaders’ top line connected for the game’s first goal when Dwinnell and Hirschfeld swooped in on a 3-on-2 rush, with Gillespie driving the net through the slot. Hirschfeld sent a pass over a Hermantown stick, and Dwinnell blasted home his 28th goal of the season.

Dwinnell picked up his 29th goal after a nice feed from Gillespie in the slot, and Gillespie picked up his 32nd goal of the season after a nice pass from Hirschfeld to make it 3-0 in the third period.

“In my opinion, it’s three Division I hockey players that all deserve a look from coaches around here,” Stocker said. “They proved it day in and day out. They owned every matchup that they had throughout the entire season and they produced in every single moment that was in front of them.”

Crusaders goaltender Nick Hansen improved to 19-0-1 this season. The last time these two teams played each other, St. Cloud didn’t have Hansen in net and lost 3-1 in January.

Hansen held his ground Saturday and was lights out in the second period, stopping all 11 of the Hawks’ shots on goal. His biggest save came on the penalty kill late in the second when he stopped an initial point shot before sliding across to rob Will Esterbrooks on a Grade A chance.

“It was just a shot from the point that bounced out to me, and the goalie made a hell of a save,” Esterbrooks said. “I don’t know. I tried to shoot it quick before he could slide over, and he got his hand on it. Not much else.”

Hansen followed it up with three quick saves in the opening minute of the third period to keep the Crusaders up one. Ultimately, he stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

“Goalies can’t score goals, but his presence — the confidence, and just the steady leadership he brings — does lead to goals,” Stocker said. “What he brings to the group elevates everybody’s play, work ethic, and just the positivity of the group. The leadership that he brings, pushed us along.”

“We set our goals at the beginning of the season, and the number one goal was to win the championship,” Stocker said. “I think every team says that at the beginning of the year, but this group truly believed in it and dedicated themselves to doing this.”

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As hockey fans converge on the X in St. Paul, nearby restaurants see one of their busiest weekends of the year

FORT MYERS, Fla. — If Byron Buxton had his way, Opening Day wouldn’t be in three weeks. It would be much, much sooner.

The Twins center fielder certainly looked Opening Day-ready on Saturday. Buxton electrified the crowd with a home run and a pair of triples, driving in four runs in Minnesota’s 10-7 win over the Yankees at Hammond Stadium. It’s a feat that no Twins player has accomplished in a regular-season game.

“You have a game like this, this is when (you’re), ‘All right, I wish the season started tomorrow,’” Buxton said. “Especially after I guess the way I was feeling before the off day. To come back out and have the game I did, it felt good.”

Buxton said he swung over a few sliders and a few changeups and referenced a high fastball that he struck out on against Boston reliever Cam Booser on Wednesday. It was a pitch, he said, he had gotten to two days before that.

“Just those inconsistencies are what I’ve been working on to try to not miss that pitch as much,” Buxton said.

He certainly didn’t miss anything on Saturday.

He took a ball out to left-center field in the first inning for his first home run of the spring, cleared the bases with a triple in the second and added another triple two innings later.

And oh yeah, all this came against Nestor Cortes, a former All-Star.

“He was high-flying. He was swinging the bat good. Running the bases like we know he does,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “ … I think he lit up today. He was moving like himself. He’s been moving like himself, but I think today he felt like himself.”

Baldelli said Buxton inquired about a fourth at-bat, but the Twins pulled him in the fifth inning, promising him plenty of at-bats on Sunday against the Nationals. Saturday was the first game of a back-to-back for Buxton. It will be the first time the center fielder has played on consecutive days this spring.

“It’s fun to see him with so much joy, so happy, performing great, playing center field,” teammate Carlos Correa said. “It’s where he belongs.”

Jeffers away from team

Catcher Ryan Jeffers has stepped away from the team for the time being after he and his wife, Lexi, said goodbye to their second child prematurely.

At their 20-week anatomy scan, the couple learned that their son’s heart was no longer beating. The couple shared the news on Instagram, accompanied by a black and white photo of them holding their baby boy, whom they named Mason Michael.

“All our hearts are obviously with Ryan and Lexi right now,” Baldelli said. “The most difficult of situations that any human, any person can even imagine.”

Briefly

Edouard Julien, who was hit on the wrist with a pitch in Friday’s game, seems to have avoided serious injury, and Baldelli said he is scheduled to play on Monday against Atlanta. … The Twins will host the Washington Nationals on Sunday as part of their annual Minnesota Day celebration at Hammond Stadium. … Pablo López is set to start that game with Jhoan Duran also slated to pitch.

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The numbers said Filip Gustavsson was one of the best goaltenders in 2022-23, his first full season in the NHL, which is why Wild general manager Bill Guerin signed him to a three-year, $11.25 million contract extension.

Gustavsson was 22-9-7 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .931 save percentage, second only to the Bruins’ Vezina Trophy winner, Linus Ullmark, and the Wild started the season with a promo spot about the team riding the “Gus Bus” in 2023-24. But while Gustavsson has shown flashes of that brilliance this season, the young Swede hasn’t been nearly as good as he was last year.

The Wild have been banged up all season, especially on the blue line, which certainly has played a part in Gustavsson’s season. He’s 17-15-4 with a 3.26 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. But the play in front of him hasn’t been the only issue.

After holding the NHL’s highest-scoring team to one regulation goal Friday in Denver, a 2-1 overtime loss that ended with a power-play goal by Valeri Nichushkin, Gustavsson acknowledged his erratic play.

“That’s unfortunately been the whole thing, all year,” he said. “I had a few good games, and I had some very bad ones.”

Maybe Gustavsson’s first two games were an omen. In the opener against Florida at Xcel Energy Center, he stopped 41 shots to shut out the defending Eastern Conference champion. Two nights later, he stopped only 26 of 33 shots in a 7-4 loss at Toronto.

Gustavsson has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 games this season but has surrendered five or more goals eight times. In maybe the defining game of the Wild’s season, he allowed six goals in a 6-1 loss to Nashville, their closest competitor for the Western Conference’s last wild card spot, on Jan. 25 at Xcel Energy Center.

“Coaches and teammates hate that because they don’t know what they’re going to get from you,” Gustavsson said.

John Hynes, who replaced Dean Evason as coach on Nov. 28, didn’t disagree.

“I think he’s right on with what he’s talking about,” Hynes said after Friday’s game at Ball Arena. “I think he’s played some really good hockey in my time here, but I think there’s been some inconsistencies, and it was nice to see him be able to play that type of game.”

The Wild won 11 of their first 14 games under Hynes, and Gustavsson started 10 of them, going 8-2-0 with a 1.87 goals-against average and .931 save percentage Nov. 28-Dec. 27. Over the next 15, was 6-7-1 with an .881 save percentage and 3.94 GAA, a run that included surrendering five goals on 16 shots in the Wild’s 10-7 victory over Vancouver on Feb. 19.

Marc-Andre Fleury, meanwhile, has been hot. He started a 5-2 victory over the Coyotes in Tempe, Ariz., on Thursday and is 6-2-0 with a .921 save percentage and 2.16 GAA in his past 10 appearances.

Gustavsson was strong Friday in Denver. The Avalanche, who have scored an NHL-best 239 goals this season, lit the lamp just 42 seconds into the first period but were held without a goal for more than 60 minutes until Nichushkin’s 4-on-3 overtime winner with 11 seconds left in their power play.

The question now, Hynes said, is “what’s the next one gonna be like? That’s something that we’ve talked with him about. He knows that.”

It’s unclear who will start in net for Sunday afternoon’s game against Nashville at the X, the first of nine straight games against conference rivals, each a chance for the Wild to stay in the playoff hunt over their last 18 regular-season games.

“You’re not gonna be able to make a strong push over the course of the next week if you’re not getting the type of goaltending we got from Fleury last night and Gustavsson tonight,” Hynes said.

Said Gustavsson, “All I can do is try to be more consistent in the future, and that’s what I’m working on.”

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