MAPLEWOOD — After sharing the Suburban East Conference title, it was White Bear Lake that prevailed in the more pressing match-up in the Section 4AA semifinals.
The second-seeded Bears started quickly with three first-period goals and held off third-seeded Stillwater 5-1 on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Aldrich Arena.
Stillwater finishes the season with a 15-10-2 record while the Bears (19-7-1) advance to face top-seeded Hill-Murray in the finals on Friday, March 1.
The Pioneers (17-8-2) trailed by two goals after the first period before scoring four unanswered goals to defeat Gentry Academy 4-2 in the earlier semifinal on Wednesday.
This marks the sixth time in the past seven season that White Bear Lake and Hill-Murray will meet for the section championship.
The Ponies created opportunities throughout the evening, but White Bear Lake goaltender Leo Gabriel was sharp while finishing with 28 saves.
Tyler Lalonde broke through five minutes into the game for the Bears, scoring on an assist from Dylan Buetow for a 1-0 lead.
“You’re always looking for a bounce,” Ponies coach Greg Zanon said. “They got a bounce on the first goal.”
Stillwater was buzzing on the power play midway though the period, but Will Distad seized an opening and scored a short-handed goal for the Bears at 9:18. Then with just 17 seconds left in the period, Nolan Roed scored the first of his two goals to build a 3-0 advantage.
“It was tough,” Zanon said. “I don’t think we ever really gave them anything. The goals they scored were through screens or from distance. Things happen like that, but the guys hung in there and battled.”
It was more of the same in the second period, with Stillwater carrying much of the play but with little to show for it. Luke Myers eventually broke through at 10:35 on assists from Brody Dustin and Jonas Kohn, but additional momentum did not follow.
“We looked at it as we had 34 minutes left and if it was two or three, we had to chip away at it,” Zanon said. “We came out of the second with one, but I think in our minds the way we were coming up and down the ice and able to break out of our zone we thought we’d be able to do it. We had multiple opportunities but it just didn’t go our way.
“The second period I don’t think they were in our zone for more than two shifts. After two it could have been tighter if we were able to capitalize — we had at least four grade-A opportunities we had, but were unable to get the puck in the net, but also give credit to Gabriel. He played one heckuva game and he made a lot of big saves. We just weren’t able to find the back of the net and that’s hockey, there’s always got to be a winner and loser.”
The next goal was going to be critical, but it was White Bear Lake that struck in the third with Blake Eckerle scoring on the power play at 3:33 to provide a 4-1 cushion. Roed added an empty net goal for the Bears in the final two minutes to provide the final margin.
“Obviously we had to play a little looser and get something started and they were able to get that power play goal and that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Zanon said. “Playing one-and-done hockey, everybody has to be pulling and be at their best to get those games. I think maybe we were just gripping the sticks a little tight and weren’t able to capitalize.”
One of just four seniors on the roster for Stillwater, goaltender Alex Reedy finished with 28 saves.
“It’s sad for the four seniors we have,” Zanon said. “You never like to end that way and for the guys that get to return it’s got to be a lesson for them of being prepared and ready to have our best.”
Stillwater was seeking its first appearance in the section finals since 2017. The Ponies finished 14-2 against section opponents, but 0-7-2 in nonconference games — most against top-10 ranked opponents.
“Going into this year we knew we’d be a young team with four seniors,” Zanon said. “We know we had one of the top five toughest schedules, definitely nonconference schedules. We think our future is very bright. We’re going to have some holes to fill, but the Bantam AA has some players coming up and our JV has guys ready to make that next step and contribute so our future is really bright for next season.”
Stillwater 0 1 0 — 1
White Bear Lake 3 0 2 — 5
First period — 1. WBL, Tyler Lalonde (Dylan Buetow) 5:08; 2. WBL, Will Distad (Jack Stanius) sh, 9:18; 3. WBL, Nolan Roed (Stanius, Tanner Olsen) 16:43.
Second period — 1. St, Luke Myers (Brody Dustin, Jonas Kohn) 10:35.
Third period — 4. WBL, Blake Eckerle (Nate Celski) pp, 3:33; 5. WBL, Roed (Olsen) en, 15:13.
Penalties — St, 2-4:00; WBL, 5-10:00.
Saves — St (Alex Reedy) 11-9-8—28; WBL (Leo Gabriel) 11-12-5—28.
Stillwater 8, Mounds View 2
At Maplewood, after dropping a conference game to the Mustangs late in the regular season, third-seeded Stillwater remained focused throughout their 8-2 victory over sixth-seeded Mounds View in the Section 4AA quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Aldrich Arena.
Blake Vanek notched the hat trick while Brody Dustin added a goal and totaled five assists for the Ponies, who held a 45-22 advantage in shots on goal.
“It was a tight first period, but I think we were playing well,” Stillwater coach Greg Zanon said. “It was just a matter of time and we eventually wore them out and capitalized on rushes.”
The Ponies defeated Mounds View 7-3 earlier this season, but the Mustangs (7-17-2) snapped Stillwater’s 13-game conference winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Feb. 13.
“That loss to them is the reason we (shared the conference title) and guys were upset about that,” Zanon said. “They came out and wanted a little vengeance.”
Cal Grilz and Carson Kingbay each scored a power play goal for the Ponies.
“We had a couple plower plays and that’s a big difference when you can win the special teams battle,” Zanon said.
Mounds View 1 1 0 — 2
Stillwater 2 3 3 — 8
First period — 1. St, Blake Vanek (John Karkula, Brody Dustin) 1:42; 1. MV, Johnny Conlin (Russell Eck) 3:32; 2. St, Cal Grilz (Luke Myers, Brody Dustin) pp, 15:42.
Second period — 3. St, Dustin (Conor McGlynn, Myers) 2:01; 4. St, Carson Kingbay (Blaine Batchelor, Will Kane) 10:15; 5. St, Vanek (Dustin, Myers) 10:59; 2. MV, Aiden Bale (unassisted) sh, 16:21.
Third period — 6. St, Kingbay (Kane, Dustin) pp, :49; 7. St, Vanek (Dustin, Myers) 8:15; 8. St, Trey Fredenberg (Vanek, McGlynn) 13:55.
Penalties — MV, 2-4:00; St, 3-6:00.
Saves — MV (Sam Moen) 9-6-x—15 and (Owen Lee) x-4-10—14; St (Alex Reedy) 6-7-5—18.
Contact Stuart Groskreutz at stuart.groskreutz@apgecm.com
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