The section playoffs in boys’ hockey are well underway in Minnesota. On Feb. 20, many teams will enter the early stages of their respective section tournaments with tough quarterfinal matchups. Here are five we are keeping an eye on.
Wayzata at Edina
Time/Location: 7 p.m. at Braemar Arena
Section situation: It’s the 5-4 matchup in Section 6AA.
Records/Previous meetings: The Trojans are 14-9-2 while the Hornets are 12-9-4. Edina won the first two meetings, including a 3-2 win on Nov. 23 and a 4-0 triumph on Jan. 18. In their most recent meeting, the two Lake Conference opponents played to a 1-1 tie on Feb. 13.
Wayzata player to watch: Gavin O’Connell (18 assists)
Edina player to watch: Jackson Borst (13 goals)
Minnesota River at Mankato East
Time/Location: 7:30 p.m. at Mankato All Seasons Arena
Section situation: It’s the 5-4 matchup in Section 1A.
Records/Previous meetings: Minnesota River is (14-10) while Mankato East posts an 11-13-1 record. The two teams met once this season. Mankato East won 8-3 on Dec. 21.
Minnesota River player to watch: Shawn Lehtinen (18 goals)
Mankato East player to watch: Layten Liffrig (29 goals-30 assists)
Owatonna at Rochester Century
Time/Location: 7 p.m. at Rochester Graham #4
Section situation: It’s the 5-4 matchup in Section 1AA.
Records/Previous meetings: Owatonna (19-6) comes in as the No. 5 seed. Rochester Century (19-4-2) is the higher seed at No. 4 and comes in with a pair of wins over the Huskies this season.
Owatonna player to watch: Dom Valento (22 assists)
Rochester Century player to watch: Joey Malugani (37 goals)
Princeton at St. Francis
Time/Location: 7 p.m. at East Bethel Arena
Section situation: It’s the 5-4 matchup in Section 5A.
Records/Previous meetings: Princeton (12-12-1) is the No. 5 seed and defeated St. Francis 8-7 on Jan. 9. Meanwhile, St. Francis (15-9-1) is the fourth-seeded team in the section and won the second matchup during the regular season by a 6-2 margin on Feb. 7.
Princeton player to watch: Dylan Cook (45 assists)
St. Francis player to watch: Cody Strate (24 goals-30 assists)
Holy Family at Chaska
Time/Location: 7 p.m. at Chaska Community Center
Section situation: It’s the 5-4 matchup in Section 2AA.
Records/Previous meetings: This will be the first time these two schools meet during the 2019-20 season. Holy Family comes out of the Wright County Conference with a 12-13 record while Chaska is a Metro West Conference squad with a 14-9-2 record.
Holy Family player to watch: Lucas Jorgenson (32 assists)
Chaska player to watch: Jimmy Snuggerud (15 goals-19 assists)