St. Thomas Academy Rolls Into State Semifinals

There was no state tournament rust to be found on the bench Wednesday. Instead, the Cadets’ 13-2 win over New Ulm in their first game at the tournament since 2008 proved two things.

STA feels right at home at Xcel Energy Center, and if anything, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

“We love to be back,” co-coach Greg Vannelli said. “We’re focused. I think we’re on a mission and hopefully we continue to do well.”

The Cadets entered Wednesday’s Class A quarterfinal as the top-seeded team in the tournament, and they looked the part from start to finish.

Seniors Michael Ferreira, Matt Kroska and A.J. Reid and junior Andrew Commers all notched two goals in the game while STA (23-6-0) racked up 52 shots on Eagles goalie Blake Burgau.

Swarming the net at every possible instance, STA proved they belong in the hunt for this year’s state title.

It’s something the Cadets have preached all year.

“We feel like we belong here,” Reid said. “We told ourselves all season to work hard and do the little things. The puck really bounced our way, and we were able to put a couple home.”

STA led 7-0 after the first period and didn’t let New Ulm get on the scoreboard until 15 seconds into the second. But the Cadets kept pressing and continued to show their speed was too much for the Eagles (21-5-3) to handle.

New Ulm coach Erik Setterholm said part of that is the team’s strength of schedule during the regular season.

“I’m pretty sure they haven’t been beaten by an (Class) A school, so they play an AA schedule,” Setterholm said. “The AA schools we play are not the caliber of theirs.” 

Reid said the Cadets’ strong schedule helped prepare them for this weekend, but it won’t provide them the championship they seek.

When they play their semifinal on Friday at 1 p.m., it’s a whole new day.

“It doesn’t matter who you played before or what your record is,” Reid said. “You have to come out and play hard.”

GAME SUMMARY

New Ulm 0 1 1 — 2

St. Thomas Academy 7 3 3 — 13

Scoring — First period: 3:00 STA Andrew Commers (Alex Johnson) SHG, 7:54: STA Adam Peterson (Michael Ferreira, Grant Eichstadt), 9:11 STA A.J. Reid (Matt Kroska, Taylor Fleming), 10:55 STA Zach Schroeder (Eric Schurhamer, A.J. Reid), 11:10 STA Peter Krieger (Z. Schroeder, G. Eichstadt), 15:30 STA M. Ferreira (Tony Bretzman, G. Eichstadt), 15:45 STA M. Kroska (A.J. Reid). Second period: 0:17 NU Kaleb Juntunen (Brody Peterson), 12:38 STA Pat McFadden (T. Fleming, Grant Sattler), 15:33 STA M. Ferreira (G. Eichstadt, A. Peterson), 16:13 STA A.J. Reid (Tony Bretzman). Third period: 5:45 STA M. Kroska (T. Fleming), 9:03 NU Dylan Schreckenberg (Aaron Pfaff), 14:11 STA Henry Hart (Grant Sattler), 14:31 STA A. Commers (G. Sattler). Shots on goal — NU 16, STA 52. Power plays — NU 0-2, STA 0-2. Saves — NU Blake Burgau 39, STA David Zevnik 12, Ian West 2.