Hard Work Yields State Title Berth for St. Thomas Academy

Two years of frustration culminated in one rush of excitement for the St. Thomas Academy boys hockey team on Friday. At last, the Cadets are back playing for a state title.

Zach Schroeder said the team was heartbroken by two straight section losses. A.J. Reid said this team was hungry from Day 1.

And now?

“At the beginning of the year we promised everyone it wouldn’t happen again,” junior Andrew Commers said. “The last two years felt awful. But this year we came through the section and got through the first two games at state and it feels awesome.”

The Cadets blazed through Friday’s Class A state semifinal with a 5-0 win over Thief River Falls at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. They’ll face Hermantown in Saturday’s championship at noon, and in doing so STA will look for its first state title since 2008.

One of the reasons STA (24-6-0) beat the Prowlers on Friday was a product of the Cadets’ rigorous off-season training to get to this point.

STA held a meager 1-0 lead after the first and a 2-0 advantage at the second intermission. But three third-period goals created enough separation and breathing room for Cadets co-coach Greg Vannelli, largely because Thief River Falls couldn’t keep up with STA’s constant speed.

“(We put) a lot of time in the weight room after practice, and it’s paying off right now,” Reid said. “We’re wearing teams down because we’re in better shape.”

Reid picked up an assist on each of Schroeder’s two goals in the game—one coming in the first and another in the third. Commers scored to make it 2-0 in the second, and Alex Johnson and Eric Schurhamer each collected scores in the third.

After the Prowlers (20-9-1) killed off three penalties in the first period, TRF coach Tim Bergland said the exertion spent was hard to overcome.

“They were gassed,” Bergland said. “Certainly not making excuses, but it wasn’t the flow we wanted.”

Sending Thief River Falls to the third place game was the second to last step in collecting a state championship. The final piece comes Saturday.

“This year we were destined to get here,” Schroeder said. “Our hard work really showed, and we really wanted it and we got here.”

GAME SUMMARY

Thief River Falls 0 0 0 — 0

St. Thomas Academy 1 1 3 — 5

Scoring — First period: 16:42 STA Zach Schroeder (A.J. Reid). Second period: 8:13 STA Andrew Commers (unassisted). Third period: 1:41 STA Alex Johnson (unassisted) SHG, 7:17 STA Z. Schroeder (A.J. Reid, Eric Schurhamer), 14:04 STA E. Schurhamer (Z. Schroeder) PPG. Shots on goal — TRH 12, STA 29. Power plays — TRF 0-3, STA 1-6. Saves — TRF Jon Narverud 24, STA David Zevnik 12.