The Wayzata boys and Lakeville North girls hockey teams made the most of trips to Warroad for Hockey Day Minnesota, each leaving town with a victory.
Lakeville North girls, Wayzata boys savor trip north for Hockey Day Minnesota
The annual event drew two Twin Cities schools to Warroad, and each of them left town with a victory.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 30, 2024 at 4:25PM
Wayzata boys coach Pat O’Leary made it sound like the nonhockey portions of the annual event went well, too.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Warroad did a phenomenal job. The hotel, food, whole setup was great.”
Wayzata, ranked second in Class 2A, defeated Moorhead 5-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Trojans scored goals 2 minutes, 1 second apart in the second period, taking advantage of the game being played outdoors at the Warroad Athletic Complex and striking while the sun was difficult for Moorhead’s goalie.
“We wanted to get as many shots as we could,” O’Leary said. “We got those two quick goals, it took the wind out of their sails and we took it from there.”
Carson Clark had three assists for Wayzata.
In the girls game, Class 2A, No. 7 Lakeville North held off Class 1A, No. 5 Warroad 4-3.
Lakeville North fell behind early, giving up a goal in the first minute to sophomore Taylor Reese. Reese also scored in the final minutes of the second and third periods, producing a hat trick.
“We responded [to that first goal] like a team that has been there before,” Lakeville North coach Buck Kochevar said. “I would have liked to have scored 10 seconds in on a two-on-one, but we responded really well and didn’t get down. They’re never going to be perfect.”
Addie Bowlby tied it 1-1 with 1:57 left in the first period, and Lakeville North led 3-2 in the third period when ninth-grade Panthers goaltender Kaia Weiland made a save against Reese on a two-on-one rush.
“That was turning,” Kochevar said. “She made that save with the sun in her eyes. We told the team to give her a tap and get going. We played just good enough in the third to get the victory.”
The Warroad boys, No. 1 in Class 1, defeated Roseau 6-2 in the other game of the day.
Minnetonka clamps down on Providence Academy in girls basketball
Minnetonka, ranked first in Class 4A girls basketball, turned its defense loose Saturday and defeated Providence Academy 73-48 in the Community Clash at St. Michael-Albertville High School. Providence Academy is ranked first in Class 2A.
The Skippers allowed only 14 points in the first half. They held Providence Academy guard Maddyn Greenway to 23 points; she’s averaging 32.7 points per game. Minnetonka coach Brian Cosgriff had a solution for her in Tori McKinney, a Skippers guard signed to play for the Gophers.
“It was a collective effort, but McKinney is the best defender in the state,” Cosgriff said. “It was a great matchup. Maddyn is really good offensively. McKinney is really good defensively. It was an exciting matchup.”
McKinney also scored 25 points, second on her team to Aaliyah Crump, who scored 27.
Numbers
5: Points by Aiden Grossklaus (three goals, two assists) in Woodbury’s 8-2 boys hockey victory over Forest Lake.
7: Points by Henry Lechner (four goals, three assists) in Holy Angels’ 5-4 boys hockey victory over Blake.
18: Seconds into overtime Easton Bosch scored in New Prague’s 5-4 boys hockey victory over Rochester Century/John Marshall.
51: Saves by Tegan Swanson in Eden Prairie’s 2-1 girls hockey overtime loss to Minnetonka.
60: Saves by Tyler Nesheim in Chaska’s 10-0 boys hockey loss to Minnetonka.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
