Wow. All I can say after four days of watching the second largest high school state tournament behind only Texas football. Lucky how our spring break coincided with the Minnesota State Hockey Tournament, at least for me. My alma mater was playing in their third straight Tournament and were seeking the title. I knew a lot of people on this year’s team and had watched many of their games during the winter. I knew that if they played like they had been, they had a chance.

First game vs. Blake School. Marshall jumped out to a 4-1 lead midway through the second period with goals about 30 seconds apart from Dano Jacques and Zach Mausolf. Jacques had not played well until his goal and Mausolf was playing with a torn MCL. Unlikely candidates to score, but great stories when they did. Early in the third, Blake scored twice within 7 seconds to make the game interesting, but the Toppers held on for a 4-3 win.

Second game vs. St. Thomas. A rematch of last year’s title game which St. Thomas won 4-3. The Hilltoppers got two goals from Dano Jacques during regulation, who turned his goal in the first game into a stepping stone. The second came with 3 minutes left in a 2-1 game to force the game to OT. The first overtime was played without a goal, but then up stepped Dano to the plate. As the second OT opened, he gained possession of the puck near the blue line and let fly with a slapshot. This slapshot was no ordinary slapshot though, it was a shot that had already beat the Tommies goaltender twice this game. Dano let rip, and everyone in the Xcel saw the net twing and the red light come on. As the Toppers chased Dano, who had completed a hat trick, down the ice, I thought to myself the boys were going to be State Champs.

Third game vs. Hermantown. All Duluth-area final. The two teams had played to a 1-1 tie in Hermantown earlier in the regular season. All tied at 1 after one period, then Hermantown took control, scoring the next three goals en route to a 4-1 vicotry and a State Championship. Marshall outplayed the Hawks, but their goalie was equal to the task. After making 48 saves in the regular season game, Nathan Hardy made 33 saves in the title game to lead his team to victory. The Toppers just couldn’t beat him, and that was the difference in the game.

Well done boys. I am glad to have watched you play and glad to have known various members of the team. You played like champions down there and brought back second-place hardware. Not too shabby. That was my spring break, and the only thing I’d change is Nate Hardy’s skill between the pipes. He single-handedly took a State title away from my Marshall Hilltoppers.