White Bear Lake coach Jerry Kwapick heard a friend once say, "You have to be good to get there and lucky to win there," which fits the upcoming section playoffs like a broken-in skate.
Section playoffs begin this week in girls' hockey, and Kwapick's Bears must navigate the most difficult path to the state tournament. The top-seeded Bears are one of four teams in Class 2A, Section 4 ranked among the metro area's top-10 teams. Defending Class 2A champion Roseville is No. 5, followed by White Bear Lake (six), Stillwater (eight) and Hill-Murray (10).
"You can't take any of those teams, or Cretin-Derham Hall, lightly," Kwapick said. "Getting the No. 1 seed is nice because it's the first time we've had that in quite some time. But with it comes a target."
White Bear Lake (20-4-1) saw its regular season end with a double-dose of adversity. First, Crysta Lowell, who ranks second on the team with 21 goals, injured her knee in a loss to Stillwater and will not play for the Bears again this season. And then the Bears dropped their regular-season finale to Roseville, losing claim to a Suburban East Conference championship in the process.
Kwapick tried to console crying players with a forward-thinking approach.
"We finished that part of the season second in the conference and that is a respectable accomplishment," he said. "Now we need to prove ourselves in this new season, the playoffs."
Class 2A, Section 4 Bracket
White Bear Lake Team Stats
White Bear Lake Leaders
Related Stories
Jori Jones Senior Goalie Finalists Revealed
- By LPH 02/14/2024, 10:45pm CST
2024 Ms Hockey Semi-Finalists Named
- By LPH 02/13/2024, 6:30pm CST
2024 Senior Goalie Semi-Finalists Named
- By LPH 02/11/2024, 10:30pm CST
Senior Goalie Award To Be Named For Former Roseville Goalie
- By LPH 02/10/2024, 12:30am CST
State of Hockey representing at Amerigol Latam Cup in Florida
- By Mike Hafertepe 09/12/2023, 2:00pm CDT
A strong postseason push has been a season-long quest for Minnetonka. Coach Eric Johnson said the process began last season with a loss to Hopkins in the section final. The Skippers returned much of their lineup, including standouts Rachel Ramsey (defense) and Julie Friend (goaltender), took over the No. 1 ranking, claimed the top seed and are favored to win the Class 2A title despite no state tournament appearances to date.
Minnetonka's greatest challenge likely will come from No. 2 seed Benilde-St. Margaret's, a team loaded with solid young forward and ranked in the top five much of the season. Minnetonka edged the Red Knights 2-1 in overtime on Dec. 18. Johnson, however, refused to look ahead to the showdown.
"This is a deep section with a lot of well-coached teams that can skate," Johnson said.
Class 2A, Section 6 Bracket
Minnetonka Team Stats
Minnetonka Team Leaders
Defending Class 1A champion Warroad might once again be the state's best team regardless of class. The opponent most capable of staying with the Warriors likely will emerge from Section 5. Historically, that means metro-area private schools Blake or Breck.
Those rivals have decided the past three Section 5 titles. Blake's 2009 victory was sandwiched by Breck's wins in 2008 and last season. Breck advanced to the state championship game last season and held a 1-0 lead over Warroad into the third period before the Warriors scored three times.
Class 1A, Section 5 Bracket
