Maple Grove hopes to defend its Northwest Suburban Conference title, but the Crimson have plenty of challengers, including a Blaine team coming off a state tournament trip. The teams meet on Saturday. Photo by Chris Juhn
Steve Guider has churned out several Division I goalies working with both the boys' and girls' programs since starting with Blaine in 1992. The Bengals girls’ hockey head coach has also participated in USA Hockey camps since 1998, helping improve the skills of several of the country's best goalies.
This spring at the Schwan Super Rink, Guider and U.S. National team goalie coach Robb Stauber spent time instructing 18 goaltenders, including Maple Grove junior Breanna Blesi, who faces Guider and Blaine on Nov. 21 in the first of two Northwest Suburban Conference matchups this season.
The Crimson boast two of the state’s best goalies in Blesi and junior Coco Francis.
Blesi earned all-state honorable mention honors last season after going 12-2-1 with five shutouts and posting a 1.24 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.
Francis finished 12-0 with a 1.14 goals-against average with a .930 save percentage while shutting out six opponents.
The familiarity between Maple Grove and Blaine, along with the weight of the game in both section seeding and league standings, makes this our choice for the Top Game of the Week.
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