State boys hockey: Chanhassen’s early blitz stops Cretin-Derham Hall in Class 2A semifinal

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If seedings are an accurate judge, Cretin-Derham Hall wasn’t supposed to be playing Friday night. Yet there the Raiders were in high school hockey’s grandest event.

A storm surge did them in.

Jack Christ scored twice, Gavin Uhlenkamp had three assists, and No. 2 Chanhassen halted the Raiders’ magical postseason run with a 6-1 win in a Class 2A state semifinal at Xcel Energy Center.

Kam Hendrickson made just 10 saves, only beaten by Cam Autrey off a rebound during a third-period Raiders power-play.

“We haven’t seen a team that deep and that good all year,” said Cretin Derham-Hall coach Matt Funk.

In its first tournament, the senior-heavy Storm (26-5-0) will face either top-seeded Edina or No. 5 Grand Rapids in Saturday’s 7 p.m. final. The Hornets led 4-0 after one period in the other semifinal.

“We have a lot of seniors, but we also have a lot of underclassmen that do key roles for us,” said Andy Earl, who had two assists for the Storm. “It’s truly a dream come true for everyone.”

As for the unseeded Raiders (18-11-1), they’ll play for third place with the second-best finish in the school’s six tournament appearances within reach. Cretin-Derham Hall won the 2006 title and finished fourth last year.

“Last year we got knocked out in the semis by a really good Edina team and then in the third-place game we didn’t go into it caring too much about it,” said senior goalie Leo Miller, who made 14 saves in the final two periods after replacing Owen Nelson, who had 11 saves. “… Going out on a win, hanging another banner or getting another medal is something special. Being the second-best Cretin team to come through this school in my senior year, ending on a win, there’s something to be said about that for sure.”

Seeded fifth in its section, Cretin-Derham Hall rolled off three straight upsets to reach the state tournament. The Raiders trailed 3-0 early in their Thursday quarterfinal before rallying to upset No. 3 Centennial 4-3 in double overtime.

It was déjà vu Friday. Then it got worse.

A neutral zone turnover led to the first goal for speedy Chanhassen.

Uhlenkamp, a Wisconsin commit, split a pair of Raiders defenders entering the offensive zone. Cutting across the crease, his backhand attempt was stopped by a sliding Nelson, but Christ, a Minnesota State Mankato commit, dashed in alone to easily pot the loose puck at 7:05.

Brayden Willis scored from below the left circle and, as his goal was being announced, Christ scored 24 seconds later and it was 3-0 Chanhassen.

“Even though we did it the night before, coming back from a three-goal deficit against that team and a goaltender like that would be hard to do,” Funk said.

The Storm has allowed 31 goals in its 29 games, including more than two only in a season-opening loss to Andover.

Tyler Smith deftly converted a feed from Willis to make it 4-0 with 36.3 seconds left in the opening frame, a period in which the Storm had 13 of the last 14 shots on goal.

Smith said the late goal “hyped us up a little bit,” but that the Storm had to settle down in the locker room between periods and keep playing their game.

“We just saw what Mahtomedi did to Hermantown, so it was really like gas pedal keep to the floor,” Earl said. The Zephyrs trailed by four goals early before falling 7-6 in overtime of a Class A semifinal.

Forced to the start the second period on a 5-minute penalty kill, the Cretin-Derham Hall defense largely kept Chanhassen out of Grade A scoring chance areas and Miller made four saves during the kill.

With a game yet to play, Funk knows how special a group he is coaching.

“There’s a lot of kids out there that want to be Raiders because of how these guys carry themselves. I don’t know if their parents want ’em to have the gold hair and all that stuff. These are really good kids that do the right thing, they’re great in the community, they get good grades, I think we have a team GPA of 3.77. … They’ll be defined by way more than a (state) semifinal loss.”

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Knife-wielding man injures two police officers trying to take him into custody in St. Anthony

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A man holding a knife injured two officers trying to take him into custody Friday, according to the St. Anthony Police Department.

Officers were called to an apartment complex at 2504 Silver Lane shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, the third time they had been called about a man who they believe was suffering from a mental health crisis. When the arrived, they found the man dressed in a robe and hood with a knife in his hand.

When officers tried to take him into custody in the courtyard, he tried to go for one officer’s weapon and injured two officers, one of whom had to seek treatment at a local hospital for a minor injury.

The man was taken to the hospital and held for a mental health evaluation.

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Authorities detail fatal shooting of motorist by Wright County sheriff’s deputy

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Authorities have identified a man shot and killed by a Wright County sheriff’s deputy in St. Michael following a traffic stop last weekend.

The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday that Jeffrey Chapman, 67, of Albertville, died of multiple gunshot wounds.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the deputy who shot him as Austin Feenstra, saying the deputy fired his department handgun. Feenstra has about 10 months of law enforcement experience, the BCA said. He is on standard administrative leave.

According to the preliminary investigation, Feenstra attempted to stop Chapman at about 4:45 a.m. Saturday when he saw him driving erratically, weaving and slowing down, and then suddenly accelerating. Chapman drove about two blocks before stopping for the deputy. He got out of his vehicle and began walking toward Feenstra. Despite Feenstra telling him to stop, Chapman continued walking toward him. Feenstra kept backing away but Chapman followed him.

At one point, Chapman took out a length of pipe from his waistband. Feenstra fired his gun and struck Chapman multiple times. Officers performed lifesaving efforts but Chapman died at the scene.

Crime scene investigators from the BCA found a 9-inch metal pipe and cartridge casings at the scene.

Initially, Feenstra reported over the radio that Chapman had a knife but saw when he was providing medical aid that it was actually a pipe.

The Wright County sheriff’s office doesn’t have body cameras, but a squad car camera captured a portion of the incident. BCA agents are reviewing all video as part of the investigation.

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State boys hockey: Mahtomedi’s rally falls just short in Class A semifinal overtime loss to Hermantown

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Mahtomedi was walloped by rival Hermantown in the first period of Friday’s Class A state semifinal at the Xcel Energy Center.

The Zephyrs trailed 4-0 after the period, a stanza in which they were outshot 16-5. What does a coach say in that locker room in that moment?

“You come in after being down 4-0, and go, ‘OK, we’ve got them right where we want them,’” Mahtomedi’s Jeff Poeschl joked.

Then, you get serious.

“Basically, I said we have a choice in front of us,” he said. “We can either roll over and die, just throw up our hands and pack up our stuff and go, or we can make a decision to make a game of it.”

His players chose the latter. And, for that, the coach couldn’t be prouder.

The defending state champs went down swinging — throwing haymakers, really — before falling 7-6 to the Hawks in overtime.

Yes, overtime.

Mahtomedi outscored Hermantown 6-2 over the final two periods of regulation, including a pair of goals with an empty net and an extra attacker in the final two minutes of the third, as Sam Harris found the back of the net with 1 minute, 52 seconds to play and Max Strecker equalized the contest 62 seconds later. Poeschl seemed to have a look of shock on his face.

“I don’t know how many thousands of people were here today, but they probably would’ve had the same expression on their face,” Poeschl said. “(Like), ‘This really happened?’”

Mahtomedi outshot top-seeded Hermantown 16-3 in the third frame and appeared to have all the momentum heading into the extra session. But Hermantown — a championship program in its own right — found a way to make a play when it needed it most.

Henry Martinsen forced a turnover in the Zephyrs’ defensive zone. AJ Francisco — who had a hat trick of his own for the Hawks — fed River Freeman, who put away the game-deciding goal to send Hermantown into the Class A final.

The Hawks will meet third-seeded St. Cloud Cathedral in Saturday’s title game at noon back at the X.

“Just the composure from these two to make that moment in that play, gassed, that was impressive,” Hermantown coach Patrick Andrews said. “I knew once we got into the overtime and out of that crappy third period, I just knew we were going to win. Because this team is so good at clawing.”

Clawing didn’t look to be a necessity given the way the game’s first 17 minutes transpired. But once Mahtomedi got on the board — which it did with Harris’ first of two goals midway through the second, momentum started to shift. Then Jake Hodd-Chlebeck scored on the power play to make it 4-2, and it was game on.

“That first one was huge,” Zephyrs defenseman Cole Swanson said. “Once we got the second one, we were rolling.”

Even when Hermantown would score to add more cushion, Mahtomedi’s resolve never seemed to wane. Every Mahtomedi charge brought louder roars from its massive student section.

“In the game, it feels like everyone is against you, almost,” said Hermantown’s Weston Bohlman, who scored in the first period. “You hear everything when Mahtomedi scores, obviously. And that can kind of get to you, because you feel like the whole arena is against you.”

And yet, the Hawks found a way, reversing the script from the last two state tournament meetings between these two teams — the semifinals last season and the 2020 title game, both of which Mahtomedi won in dramatic fashion.

“They’ve ripped my heart out in this exact same situation the last two times we’ve played in this tournament,” Andrews said. “So yeah, there’s doubts in the back of your mind that come creeping in, but you’ve got to push them down and trust the boys, and they fricken battled.”

Both sides did, adding another epic chapter to this rivalry’s saga.

“Note to self: Don’t give Hermantown a 4-0 lead. We knew we needed a better start than we had, but we were where we were, and now it’s just a matter of trying to climb back out,” Poeschl said. “But as far as the group goes, just so proud of their grit and their resiliency. To be able to score two goals with your goaltender pulled late just shows a tremendous amount of heart and belief that, ‘OK, we can do this.’ It’s just a fun thing when everybody is pulling in the same direction, and I was proud of the way my guys were able to turn things around today.

“Obviously, super disappointed that we weren’t able to finish it off, but proud of the way that they battled back.”

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