Fri, May 16 2008
—
It’s a phrase I’ve heard more than a few times since first arriving in Mankato almost eight years ago.
I’ve written it down in little notebooks and quoted it in stories and columns.
Mankato East/Loyola players said the phrase when they headed to the state boys hockey tournament in 2006, and Mankato West players used the same mantra a little more than a month ago when they went to state:
“We’re going to show them what southern Minnesota hockey is all about.”
Certainly, this region of the State of Hockey hasn’t had the lore of the Iron Range and north country or the tradition of so many schools in the Metro area. But maybe, just maybe, the south is starting to rise.
On Sunday, an all-star team from Section 1, which included three players and the coach from Mankato West — captured the championship of the Great 8 Festival at South St. Paul’s Wakota Arena.
The eight-team tournament featured most of the state’s very best high school seniors. Many were trying to catch the eye of coaches and scouts from college and junior teams and keep their hockey futures bright.
For the southern Minnesota players, it was also a chance to prove themselves to the rest of the state.
“You spend all year wondering if you’re going to get the opportunity to showcase yourselves in that type of environment and go up against some big names,” West coach Ken Essay said. “Then you realize you belong and, not only belong, but are part of them.”
Ten of Section 1’s 17 players were Class A players, including West’s Ryan Anderson, Corey Leivermann and Ricky Litchfield, who played on a line together.
Section 1 came from behind in the third period to defeat one of the northern teams, Section 7, 4-2 in the championship, with Litchfield scoring the game-tying goal. Earlier, they knocked off Section 3 and Section 5.
Four of Section 1’s players came from West’s top section rival, Albert Lea. Other players came from Lakeville, Rochester, Northfield, Red Wing, Owatonna and Faribault.
“I couldn’t get over just how tight-knit our team was,” Essay said. “I think they were bonded by the snub they have gotten their entire lives playing out of Section 1. ... They came together and bonded and just had fun. They wanted to be first team from Section 1 to win Great 8.”
Leivermann will be the first Mankato player to play hockey for Minnesota State University, having committed to the Mavericks earlier this year. Anderson and Litchfield are hoping that they got noticed over the weekend.
Although none of the West players made the roster of the Minnesota team that will play in this weekend’s Chicago Showcase, two of their Section 1 teammates did.
“Every one of our kids raised their stock by their performance,” Essay said.
Perhaps they showed everyone what southern Minnesota hockey is all about after all.
Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Access his college hockey blog through mankatofreepresshockey.blogspot.com/
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