ST. PAUL, Minn. — In the Class 2A boys hockey state tournament semifinal, Moorhead sophomore forward Zac Zimmerman proved capable of an incredible shot and an incredible whiff.
In the first period, Zimmerman tucked a goal into a puck-sized opening over Edina goalie Chase Bjorgaard’s shoulder. It was a tight angle, close to the goal line, but he still put the puck into the top of the net.
In the final minute of third period, he whiffed on a centered pass, but he reloaded and put the puck through the five-hole to win the game for the Spuds.
“I saw the open net and then I whiffed,” Zimmerman said. But there was no time to think. He just had to get it on net. He did, and when he saw it go in?
“I blacked out.”
The No. 1 Moorhead Spuds (27-2-1) defeated the No. 5 Edina Hornets (21-7-2) 4-3 in the 2025 Minnesota (MSHSL) high school boys hockey state tournament Class 2A semifinals on Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.
Zimmerman’s first goal, as impressive as it was, was overshadowed by Edina junior forward Mason West, who had a hat-trick in the first period as the Hornets took a 3-2 lead after one period.
“Westy’s been really good for us all year,” Edina head coach Curt Giles said. “He’s just getting better and better.”
Goals were at a premium in the second half. After a free-flowing, shot-heavy first period, neither team generated much in its attack.
“It’s funny how that goes,” Giles said. “ It’s goal after goal after goal […]. Then all of a sudden you don’t want to make that mistake.”
After allowing three goals in the first period, Moorhead goalie Charlie Stenehjem shut out the Hornets.
“Goalie is such a mental sport, and when you come back to the locker room and you have 20 guys around you saying that it's not a big deal, and that we’re going to keep moving forward and that everything is going to be ok, it opens your mind up completely,” Stenehjem said.
The Spuds, ever so slightly, began to control the game in the second and third period. Senior forward Brooks Cullen scored to tie the game, and Zimmerman’s game-winning goal gives Moorhead an opportunity to make history.
The Spuds are 0-8 in boys hockey title games. They’ve made it to the state tournament 20 previous times. The players know the history. They’ve seen posts on social media about it throughout the week.
“Everybody in here knows the story line,” Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman said. “Us adults, old people, have memories of that. Our last runner-up finish was in 2017, and a lot of these guys were youth hockey players. And before that they weren’t even alive. This is their chance. They’re familiar with the history, but this is their chance to create some history.”
Moorhead will play No. 2 Stillwater in the Class 2A title game on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center.
The first period is underway.
Seven minutes into the period and Edina has a 4-2 shots-on-goal advantage. Neither team with a grade-A chance yet.
GOAL EDINA! Mason West snipes one into the top right corner over the glove of Charlie Stenehjem. Becker Wenkus with the assist. Edina leads 1-0 with 6:54 remaining in the period.
GOAL MOORHEAD! Zac Zimmerman puts the puck into the top of the next from a very tight angle. A perfect shot into a tight window. Tyden Bergeson with the assist. The game is tied at one with 5:05 remaining in the period.
GOAL MOORHEAD! Mason Kraft scores on a loose puck in front of the crease. Max Cullen and Carver Harsbargen with the assist. The Spuds leads 2-1 with 4:21 remaining in the period.
GOAL EDINA! Casey Vandertop passed the puck to the crease and it deflected off of West's skate and in. Assist from Vandertop and Sam Peckham. The game is tied at two with 1:33 remaining in the period.
GOAL EDINA! West gets a hat-trick in the first period. He throws the puck at the net from the right face-off circle and it goes under Stenehjem's pad. Edina leads 3-2 with 41 seconds remaining in the first period.
The second period is underway.
POWER PLAY FOR MOORHEAD! Charles Velner goes to the penalty box for tripping — 8:45 remains in the second period.
Edina kills the penalty.
GOAL MOORHEAD! Brooks Cullen scores shortly after a face-off win in the Edina zone. He scored on a rebound. Max Cullen with the assist. The game is tied at three with five minutes remaining in the period.
POWER PLAY FOR EDINA! Brooks Cullen gets two minutes for hooking — 2:02 remains in the second period.
Moorhead kills the penalty.
Edina with only three shots-on-goal in the period.
The third period is underway.
Ten minutes remain in the period and neither team can keep possession of the puck for long.
POWER PLAY FOR EDINA! Aiden Dufault is called for slashing during an Edina breakaway — 8:19 remains in the third period.
Moorhead is back to full strength.
POWER PLAY FOR MOORHEAD! Edina's Sam Peckham takes down Bergeson while chasing the puck and he's called for interference — 2:45 remains in the third period.
GOAL MOORHEAD! After initially whiffing on a shot, Zimmerman scores for the Spuds in front of the goal on the power play. Edina goalie Chase Bjorgaard dove at what he thought would be Zimmerman's shot attempt, and it put him slightly out of position, so Zimmerman was able to reload and put it past him after his initial miss. Moorhead leads 3-2 with one minute remaining.
Edina pulls its goalie for the empty-net.
Edina had one last chance after a face-off, and the Hornets got two shots off, but they can't convert.
More 2025 MSHSL boys hockey state tournament coverage
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Jack Butler is the Regional Editor of the Midwest for SBLive/High School on SI. Jack has covered high school sports in Oregon, Arizona and Minnesota.
Follow @Butler917
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