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ST. PAUL — Back in the Class 1A State Tournament for the first time since 2021, the Northern Lakes Lightning (19-8-1) earned the No. 5 seed and will play No. 4-seeded East Grand Forks (13-13-2) in the quarterfinals 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, at Xcel Energy Center.
The Green Wave surprised the state by upsetting Class 1A’s top-ranked Warroad Warriors 3-2 in overtime in the Section 8-1A Final Thursday, Feb. 27.
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East Grand Forks rattled off a 7-0 win in the section quarterfinals and a 7-3 win in the section semifinals before dethroning Warroad.
Northern Lakes was the top-seed in Section 6-1A. The Lightning opened the playoffs with an 18-1 win over Wadena-Deer Creek in the quarterfinals, followed by a 7-2 win over Breckenridge/Wahpeton in the semifinals.
The Lightning faced the Alexandria Cardinals, the three-time reigning section champions, in the section final. Northern Lakes survived with a 4-3 victory to win its first-ever Section 6-1A title and punch its ticket to state for the second time in program history.“We have kids from four schools and I know they played together in youth hockey, but it’s a really unique situation,” Northern Lakes’ head coach Mike Randolph said. “We don’t really have a home locker room. When you don’t have a locker room that the guys can call home, it can be a challenge to bring a team together. But as the season went on, I think they came together as a team and really cared about each other. I’ve been really impressed with the commitment of the parents and the players.”
Randolph is no stranger to state tournaments. He is in his first year as the coach of the Lightning, but he reached the state tournament 18 times when he coached the Duluth East Greyhounds.
Drew Paulbeck leads Northern Lakes with 61 points (38 goals, 23 assists). He scored two goals against Alexandria in the section final.
Wyatt Balmer leads the Lightning with 30 assists to go with four goals. He dished an assist on the Lightning’s opening goal against Alexandria.
Jerome Martin holds 33 points (17, 16) and Easton Anderson 26 points (9, 17). Paulbeck, Balmer, Martin and Anderson are the four captains.
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“We have a great senior and when I came in, they had already named Paulbeck and Balmer as captains,” Randolph said. “I didn’t know who they were, but whoever selected them did a heck of a job. Then, halfway through the season, we named Easton and Jerome alternate captains because of the leadership they’ve shown off the ice. I’ve always believed that if you’re going to be a captain who talks a lot, you better be able to back it up. I believe in setting an example of how hard you play and leading by example on the ice. All four of them are four of our point-getters and that reinforces their value to our team.”
Josiah Reier, Jacob Peterson and Parker Fulton have collected at least 22 points apiece.
Sophomore Sam Suja is the goaltender for the Lightning. He holds an 18-7-1 record and a 0.919 save percentage. He recorded 42 saves in the section final.
Suja has allowed 2.06 goals a game with eight shutouts.
“Sam has been a pleasant surprise,” Randolph said. “We didn’t know what to expect from him as a sophomore and his first experience playing high school hockey. He earned the job and he’s really adapted to the schedule and the demands of being a starter. I think his game has really grown and his confidence has grown. He’s got eight shutouts and that’s impressive for a sophomore. I have to give my assistant, Tom Klein, a lot of credit. He works with the goalies, the defense and the penalty kill. The other night against Alexandria, all three of those were great.”
Hunter Varnson is the East Grand Forks leader in points with 30 (8, 22). Tucker Lovejoy is the Green Wave’s top goal scorer with 17.
Cooper Hills has tallied 26 points (6, 20), Jace Panzer 22 (8, 14) and Jace Van Eps with 21 (11,10).
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East Grand Forks’ Noah Schindele has started 26 games in net with a 12-10-2 record. He holds an 0.882 save percentage with a 2.69 goals-per-game average. He’s recorded three shutouts. He collected 28 saves in the section win against Warroad.
“I don’t know a lot about them, but I’ve talked to a couple of coaches and one that’s been very consistent is that they play really hard,” Randolph said. “They’re very balanced. They have a deep team from top to bottom. We have to buckle up and be ready to compete, or it’s going to be a long night.”
Northern Lakes is 0-1 in state tournament games. It lost to Gentry Academy 8-0 in the Class 1A Quarterfinals and due to COVID-19 restrictions, there was no consolation round.
Hibbing/Chisholm (19-9) is the top seed and will play No. 8-seed Luverne (22-4-2). Granite Ridge Conference foe St. Cloud Cathedral (18-8-2) is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7-seed Mahtomedi (11-15-2). The Lightning split with St. Cloud Cathedral this season.
Northfield (22-4-2) earned the No. 3 seed and will play sixth-seeded Orono (15-10-3).
“I think it was pretty evident who the No. 1 and No. 2 were,” Randolph said. “From then on, we could’ve finished anywhere from three to six. I think this group of teams was tough to seed. We came out with No. 5 and it truly doesn’t matter because whoever we end up playing is going to be a tough team.
“We have to take it one game at a time and not look beyond the first game. When you go there, anything can happen. The first day, all eight teams believe they can win it. That’s just the belief you have after winning a section. You have to stay in the moment and not get ahead of yourself.”
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CONRAD ENGSTROM may be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.
Quarterfinal matchups: No. 5 Northern Lakes (19-8-1) vs. No. 4 East Grand Forks (13-13-2) 8 p.m.; No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral (18-8-2) vs. No. 7 Mahtomedi (11-15-2) 11 a.m.; No. 3 Northfield (22-4-2) vs. Orono (15-10-3) 1 p.m.; No. 1 Hibbing/Chisholm (19-9) vs. No. 8 Luverne (22-4-2)
When: Wednesday, March 5 through Saturday, March 8.
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul.
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