Like everybody who heard the news, I was stunned today (Friday) when a stranger walked up to me at the grocery store and broke the news that my friend Dark Star had passed away. I couldn’t believe it. Quickly I was already recalling my most recent conversation with Dark from just a few weeks ago…before, during and after he was a guest of Eric Nelson and mine on Minnesota Score Radio in early May (click here to listen to that final radio appearance).

I first met Dark (his real name was George Chapple) back in the mid to late 80’s when I hosted a half hour TV special from what was then called Canterbury Downs. Dark came on and co-hosted with me as the resident track expert, filling in viewers (and the host) on all the intricacies of horse racing and everything you possibly could want to know about Canterbury Downs and the sport of kings.

Almost a quarter century later Dark still remembered the day that the 27 year old kid hosted that TV show with him and was even able to recount much of the events of that day. Through the years he was always a friendly face whenever I’d see him in the press box at various sporting events or in the studios at WCCO-AM where I’ve been a regular guest on Eric Nelson’s show.

He was the voice on late night radio on WCCO-AM for many years before returning to spend the last couple years at his favorite place…his home away from home, Canterbury Park.

Dark loved life and lived it to the fullest.  A friend, colleague and someone that always had both entertaining and kind words…Dark, you will be missed my friend.

Dark Star was 66 years old

It’s that time of year again, and we have another fantastic field of teams. Familiar names and up and coming programs are represented respectively at the X once again as the exciting section playoffs spill over to St. Paul and the greatest High School sports tournament in the country.

In game one of the afternoon session we get #2 seed Maple Grove (24-2-2) vs. Hill Murray (22-6). Maple Grove finally gets over the hump and past arch rival Blaine using a 15 goal outburst in the section 5AA championship game. The Crimson are poised for a run in this tournament and have been among the top 5 teams in the state since the beginning of the year. Led by forwards Dylan Steman, Tony Paulson, Spencer Bell, defenseman and Notre Dame recruit Jordan Gross among others, the Crimson are as complete a team in the tourney.

The Hill Murray Pioneers (22-6) are no strangers to the Tournament, and are back after a one year hiatus. Led by forwards Jake Guentzel,  Zach LaValle, Charlie Sampair and Andy Faust. The Pioneers started slow this year as they introduced a relatively inexperienced blueline unit to the Varsity level. Hill Murray is never short on talent, and can beat any team in the state on any given night.

However, on this day the balanced attack of the Crimson will overwhelm the Pioneers. 4-1 Maple Grove

Game 2 of the afternoon session pits the Moorhead Spuds vs. a super talented Eagan squad that was knocked out of the tourney last year by eventual champion Eden Prairie in the semifinals. Eagan was rewarded the #3 seed after posting a 24-3-1 record coming in to thursday. Led by University of Maine recruit and Mr. Hockey candidate Will Merchant Princeton bound Michael Zajac talented defensemen Eli May (Minnesota State) and Sam Wolfe (Maine). Depth and experience at the X can only help the Crimson make a run.

It seems like every year for the last 20 years the Moorhead Spuds have been coming to St. Paul in early march to compete in this tournament. In fact 12 out of the last 20 years the Spuds have represented section 8. Led by senior goaltender Michael Bitzer a Frank Brimsek award finalist, and the Uglem brothers Tony and Nicholas. The last game the Spuds played against top competition was a 6-1 loss to Hill Murray. Coach Dave Morinville will do his best to put that loss behind them and focus on a game plan based around the stellar play of his great goaltender. If Bitzer is as good as he can be the Spuds have a legitimate chance to make some noise next weekend.

Merchant, Zajac and company are too much for Moorhead. 3-1 Wildcats

Last year if not for the will of the great Kyle Rau, the Duluth East Greyhounds very well could be returning to the X as defending state champions. And it shows as the Hounds went 27-1 this season, and were the #1 team in the state for most of the year. Dom Toninato and Jake Randolph are the best 1-2 punch you’ll see in High School hockey. When firing on all cylinders they will not be beaten.

Lakeville South has a young man by the name of Justin Kloos, who only had 99 points this year. With a player like that you always have a chance, slim as it may be. The Cougars are 20-8 on the season and drew a tough first round foe. Playing in the deep South Suburban conference most definitely means South will not be intimidated by the Hounds.

This is the Greyhounds year. 6-1 Duluth East

In the most intriguing matchup of quarterfinal thursday has to be the Benilde-St. Margarets vs. #4 seed Edina. The Red Knights are flying high after destroying Minnetonka last week in the section 6AA finals. And the Hornets have surprised everyone this year with a young team that has been amongst the top teams in the state since game 1.

When you talk about the Red Knights you could mention so many names, Grant Besse, Dan Labosky, Christian Horn just to name a few. They are 3 lines deep of strong forwards, and a much improved blueline which is why this team might be the hottest squad going right now. Inspired by their injured teammate Jack Jablonski, you have to wonder if this team is destined to hoist the trophy saturday night.

One senior skater on the roster? Rebuilding year? NOPE. The Hornets are back to the tourney for the sixth straight year with a group of youngsters that at the beginning of the year were shrugged off for their inexperience. Led by sophomore standouts Dylan Malmquist and Connor Hurley, Edina looks poised to make a few runs in this and the upcoming years. Louie Nanne, a name we all know is the most experienced player on the roster and they’ll need him to keep the team even keeled as they arrive in St. Paul.

The Red Knights are too hot, the Hornets will have their time. Just not this year, 3-2 BSM

Behind 2 goals from senior forward Jake O’Borsky and relentless offensive pressure from their 3 strong lines, the Benilde-St. Margarets Red Knights are heading back to the X for the first time since 2007-08 after knocking off the #2 ranked Minnetonka Skippers.

Sophomore forward Zack Hale opened the scoring for Benilde early in the first period, a huge goal for the Red Knights third line. It was all BSM all the time, they set the pace and gave themselves numerous scoring opportunities early in the game. Jake O’Borsky would make it 2-0 at 6:31 of the first as an astonished crowd saw Benilde control the early going.The Skippers would answer on a flukey rebound goal that fell onto Sam Rothstein’s stick at 8:35 of the first to make it 2-1.

The second period began with Minnetonka bringing the intensity it lacked in the first. However they couldn’t cash in. At 15:12 of the second period on the power play O’Borsky would get the biggest goal of the game, a late period goal to give his team a crucial 3-1 lead going into the third period.

Benilde would put this game away in the third period as Tyler Ellegard fired a soft wrister that confused goalie Paul Ciaccio and trickled into the net at 9:46 of the third to make it 4-1. Christian Horn would cap another strong performance with a goal to go along with an earlier assist less than a minute later to closeout the Skippers.

In an emotional, and inspirational moment, Jack Jablonski was brought out onto the ice to receive a medal and take pictures with the team and their Section 6 championship trophy.

The game of the century was all that it was hyped up to be. Rarely at any level of football do you get to see the hands down 2 best teams play for a championship, we got it tonight. MaxPreps had this football game rated as its 5th best game in the country this weekend, finally a little Minnesota football love.

The first half would come and go with not much scoring as to be expected. Eden Prairie would take a 3-0 lead into the half on a 36 yard field goal from Jake Ibach at 11:49 of the 2nd quarter. Ep was held to 2 yards per carry, and Wayzata turned the ball over twice. The Trojans ran the ball effectively, but the turnovers and penalties limited their ability to extend drives. Ep 3 Wayzata 0

As the second half began, Eden Prairie started to open some holes for Andrew Larsen. The Eagles would capitalize with another field goal from Jake Ibach late in the 3rd quarter.

There were two plays in the second half that will distinguish this game forever. The Eden Prairie stand inside their red zone holding Wayzata to a field goal and in turn holding onto an all important lead. Alex Scott the talented kicker from Wayzata put the Trojans on the board, 6-3 EP.

In the middle of the 4th quarter after a muffed punt by Wayzata, Ep would have a 4th down and 15 deep in Wayzata territory. Mike Grant would call the play of his career, a double reverse flee flicker from junior QB Grant Schaffer to wing back Jacob Woodring would get the Eagles a huge first down at the Wayzata 5 yard line and Larsen would put the game away with a scamper into the end zone to ice this contest.

Eden Prairie wins its 7th state title, 13-3 over the Trojans of Wayzata

There were a few questions that were answered last weekend at the Metrodome. Can a dominant 4A team that has moved up to the state’s top class, hang with the state’s greatest football program? The other is the annual question, how good is this years edition of Cretin-Derham Hall? A perennial power from the east side, the Raiders have had some fantastic teams over the years.

On friday night we got our first answer, and EP left no doubt. The Eden Prairie Eagles came out like a team that had been reading the papers, taking issue with a few writers around town that thought the Eagles from the east could hang with the Eagles from the west. Mike Grant’s team hung 42 points on Totino in the first half alone, this was an astounding performance as even this ex- Eden Prairie Eagle turned novice sportswriter was shocked. Totino is a 5A capable team, they beat a strong Mounds View team and followed that by knocking out Prior Lake in the state quarterfinals. Stepping up to 5A is one thing, facing a Lake Conference juggernaut is a whole different level of football.

Cretin-Derham Hall was as unfortunate as Totino-Grace, Wayzata came out on a mission to defend their title with great focus and perfect execution. This was not one of those Cretin teams that had the championship talent of years past, they have been plagued by injury all year. Plain and simple, they just dont have the size and speed that we’re used to seeing from them this year and Wayzata knew it. The score at the half wasn’t as remarkable as EP’s lead the evening before. The 21-0 mark was just as dominant, and Wayzata wasn’t done, they continued to press the Raider defense and extended the lead to 42-0 late in the game. And that’s where it would stand.

Some people are tired of the reign of these 2 programs. They say they’re only good because of their numbers, or they recruit. My response, there isn’t another class of football to play so you win the games on your schedule, and EVERYBODY RECRUITS!

Friday night we’ll see 2 teams that faced each other just a month ago. Wayzata won that meeting 9-0. In that game Wayzata’s defense smothered the Ep running attack with their speed and scheme. Note that Eden Prairie star RB Andrew Larsen was nursing a knee injury and was limited to 10 carries. Here are my 2 keys:

1. Healthy Andrew Larsen vs. Wayzata’s defense. Larsen has gotten healthy at the right time of year. You can see the confidence in this Ep offense when they have him at full speed. He is the kind of back that opens up the rest of the Eagle offense. The size of the Ep OL is mind boggling, it literally rivals the Golden Gopher unit. On paper you’d think Ep should have its way with the Trojans, Wayzata’s biggest defensive lineman weighs 220 lbs. Nobody plays a more complex scheme then Wayzata, they play with great speed and technique. The scheme keeps you completely off balance because you never know what kind of twist or stunt they’re going to throw at you. This week however Ep is too much, advantage Larsen.

2. Nick Martin vs. the Ep secondary. Martin picked apart Cretin’s talented secondary with precision passing, helped along by the balance of RB’s Eric Roti and Antonio Ford. Ep will have to get after Martin early and often and not allow him to get into a rhythm. Wayzata knows, Ep knows, the state of Minnesota knows that if you can jump out early on Ep early you can force the Eagles into doing things they don’t like to do. Advantage Martin

The 4 ”S’s” Ep’s size and strength vs. Wayzata’s speed and scheme will dictate the winner.

Prediction: Every year Ep has a defense that is second to none. Its the years that their offense is peaking the way it is now that they win titles. Ep 17 Wayzata 13.