March Madness is here in February! The Boys Hockey Sections start this week, and again AM1360 KRWC will be your home to all the Wright County Hockey teams throughout the sections and state. Below is a preview for Section 8AA.
The Favorites:
#1 Seed: Moorhead Spuds, 12-12-1.
Key Players: Tyden Bergeson(19 goals.), Zach Zimmerman(40 pts.),and Mason Kraft(34 pts.)
About the Spuds: Moorhead received the #1 seed due to their tough schedule and some big wins. The Spuds are hot, winning four of their last five, with their only loss to #2 in AA Hill Murray 6-5. Big question for them is goaltending.
Mason Kraft, above, does a lot of little things for the Spuds.
#2 Seed: Roseau Rams, 18-6-1.
Key Players: Noah Urness(42 goals, 80 points.), Jack Halvorsen(29 goals.), and Alex Ballard(38 pts.)
About the Rams: The Rams are a high flying, highlight reel team that can light the lamp at every time, led by Urness. Like Moorhead, do they have enough goaltending? Also coming in hot with four wins in their last five.
Noah Urness, above, is one of the top scorers in the state.
#3 Seed: Sartell Sabers, 18-6-1.
Key Players: Tony Colatrella(33 pts), Baylor Stebbins(27 pts) and Noah Hacker, G.(1.96 gaa and 5 shutouts.)
Noah Hacker, above, has five shutouts this season for the Sabers.
What about the Bison and STMA? The Knights were knocked out in the play in round by Brainerd, 5-2. For Buffalo, they could be a very dangerous team! They almost upset #2AA Edina twice,and have one of the top goalies in the state in Max Varner. Eli Tiernan leads the team with 21 goals.
Max Varner, above, is one of the top goalies in the state.
The Rest of the Section: #4 Seed, Elk River, Bemidji #5, Buffalo #6, St. Cloud #7, and Brainerd #8.
The Bottom Line: Moorhead and Roseau are the favorites and they split the two games they played during the season, but both teams need to play better defense to advance to state. For Sartell and Buffalo, if they can find some scoring, they have the goaltending to surprise. Should be a fun section to watch and could be unpredictable.
Section 8AA Bracket:
https://www.mshsl.org/tournaments/2024-section-8aa-hockey-boys-tournament
