Mahtomedi’s aggressive play pushes them past St. Paul Academy in Section 4A final

Mahtomedi’s aggressive play pushes them past St. Paul Academy in Section 4A final

No. 5-ranked Zephyrs earn program’s eighth trip to state and third of decade with a 3-1 victory over No. 4-ranked Spartans

ROSEVILLE - Mahtomedi broke loose with three goals in the second period en route to a 3-1 victory over top-seeded St. Paul Academy in Friday night’s Section 4A final at Roseville Ice Arena.

The Zephyrs, ranked No. 5 in Class A, outplayed the Spartans for most of the opening two periods with an aggressive forecheck and winning the loose races to the puck. SPA meanwhile fumbled through three power plays in the middle frame, and was out of sorts early on with indecisive play and poor passing in the offensive zone.

No. 4-ranked St. Paul Academy was playing without perhaps its top player, forward Dev McCabe (a UM-Duluth commit), who was serving a four-game suspension. McCabe has 29 goals in 60 points this season.

Mahtomedi’s Tom Broten scored first, 3:29 into the second, and that was followed by goals from Matt Vannelli and Jeff Kneale as the Zephyrs buried SPA.

Zephyrs’ goaltender Bailey Huber stopped 30 of 31 shots he faced.

Mahtomedi advances to the Tourney, where Class A action begins Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center. The Zephyrs will almost certainly earn a top five seeding, along with No. 1-ranked Hermantown and No 3. Delano.

-Drew Herron / March 3, 2017