Shakopee rolls into the boys hockey state tournament with victory over Holy Family

Shakopee hockey teammates didn’t see junior goaltender Owen Lunneborg before their Class 2A, Section 2 title game against Holy Family on Thursday at Edina’s Braemar Arena.

“Before the game, we don’t even find him,” senior forward Cooper Simpson said. “He is somewhere getting locked in.”

But they heard him after the first period.

“Goaltending is the hardest position in sports,” Sabers coach Calvin Simon said. “After the first period, he was throwing up. He was like, ‘I do it all the time,’ so I wasn’t going to get mad. I just told him to get a drink of water.”

Lunneborg resumed being Shakopee’s rock. He stopped all 12 Holy Family shots in the first period and stayed on point for the game with 32 saves, leading Shakopee to a 4-0 victory and the first state tournament appearance in program history.

The Sabers will learn their seed Saturday when the state tournament brackets will be revealed at 10 a.m. on NSPN.tv

Shakopee (21-5-1) scored three times in the first period. Senior forward Zach Docteur scored at 8:18 of the opening period, his seventh goal this season. Senior defenseman Jack Kultgen added a power-play goal at 14:22 for a 2-0 lead. Simpson added his 47th goal of the season and fourth of the playoffs at 16:41. He was recently named a Mr. Hockey Award semifinalist; the award goes to the top senior skater in the state.

Neither team scored in the second period. Victoria-based Holy Family (20-8) pulled its goalie for an extra skater and first-year coach Zack Friedli used his timeout wisely.

A year ago, Friedli was on Chanhassen’s coaching staff and helped secure the Storm’s first state tournament appearance in program history. But Lunneborg wouldn’t be beaten Thursday. He continually doused the Fire’s flames.

“We had winning it in the backs of our minds,” Lunneborg said. “All the games leading up to this, we worked on championship habits. It was a great game. The boys made it easy for me.”