ST. PAUL - In a rematch of the 2022 MSHSL Class A third-place game, the unseeded Alexandria Cardinals took on the three-seeded Mahtomedi Zephyrs on Wednesday in a game that Mahtomedi won thanks in part to a hat trick by Corey Bohmert.
Alexandria got the momentum going early with three goals in the first half of the period, but Mahtomedi shut them out for the rest of the game and went on to win 6-3 and advance to the state semifinals.
"I thought the start was good," Alexandria head coach Josh Meyers said. "I think there were a couple of timely penalties or missed calls that took some wind out of our sails. And we just lost too many battles."
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"We didn't win a lot of puck battles, and that was kind of the difference in the game," Alexandria senior Tyler Kludt said.
Bohmert gave Mahtomedi a 1-0 lead with a goal nearly four minutes into the game. Minutes later, an Alexandria goal by Tyler Kludt tied the game at 1-1.
BHS
— YHH (@YouthHockeyHub) March 8, 2023
Class A State QF
Mahtomedi's Cory Bohmert notches his second of the game with 17 seconds left to send this game into the third period tied 3-3 pic.twitter.com/TaWbp246V5
After winning the puck out wide, Gavin Olson gave Alexandria its first lead of the game with an unassisted goal with 10:42 left in the first period.
Mahtomedi had a power play opportunity a little over a minute later after Alexandria was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct for celebrating in front of the Mahtomedi bench and student section.
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"The explanation I got was that it's been a rule all season long," Meyers said. "They said that they let the first one slide on our first goal but that they had to call the second one. If he let the first one slide, we didn't know that. It's a pretty easy fix."
A minute later, Mahtomedi converted the opportunity to tie the game at 2. Leo Kompelien put Alexandria back ahead 3-2 with a goal with 8:04 left in the first frame.
"Obviously, we were pretty excited about being at the state tournament," senior Henry Ramstorf said. "Over half our team was here last year, so we kind of have an idea of what to expect. The younger guys were obviously a little bit more excited than us because it was their first experience. In warmups seeing all the fans come out from Alexandria to watch us play was pretty cool."
BHS
— YHH (@YouthHockeyHub) March 8, 2023
Class A State QF
WOAH. Gavin. Olson.
Olson nets his 13th of the season on a gorgeous hesitation shot, then called for a mysterious unsportsmanlike conduct penalty
2-1 Alexandria midway through opening period pic.twitter.com/aOfOmLlxJU
Alexandria took advantage of Mahtomedi miscues to get its 3-2 lead.
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"It was an adrenaline rush for sure," Kludt said. "It's kind of what you want to do to start the state tournament, especially as an underdog. It was nice to put them on their toes a little bit and give people a reason to know why we're here."
"I'm not even sure if anyone was able to count the number of turnovers that we had, but there were a lot of them," Mahtomedi head coach Jeff Poeschel said. "That's not a winning formula for anybody. And regardless of whether you have on a veteran team, or a brand new team, it's hard to; it's hard to come in and be at ease and settle in and play your game."
But the Zephyrs did settle in to win and get back to the section semifinals.
"We just had to simple it up," Mahtomedi's Carson Mitchell said. "We can play at this high level, and you know we can perform all, and we just have to simplify our whole game, and we found a way to do that."
BHS
— YHH (@YouthHockeyHub) March 8, 2023
Class A State QF
Alexandria's Tyler Kludt with a BEAUTY
Cardinals now tied with Mahtomedi at 1-1 with 12:01 to go in the first period pic.twitter.com/tVKSnMChop
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Bohmert scored his second goal of the game to tie at 3 with 17 seconds left in the second period.
"That one was tough," Meyers said. "We were definitely on our heels, and we thought maybe we could still go to the locker room up one, and then it ended up being tied."
Mahtomedi took a 4-3 lead after a Charlie Drage goal two minutes into the third period.
"It's tough, but our section final game was just like this," Meyers said. "We didn't lead then until overtime. We're not saying we're comfortable in those situations, but we know how to play in those situations."
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Bohmert's third goal of the game came with 11:24 left in the game and put Mahtomedi up 5-3.
"Corey is about an honest hockey player as you're going to find," Poeschel said. "He's a hard worker, humble, skilled, and to be honest, for about, at least the last month, he's had great opportunities, but he's been a little snake bit," Poeschel said. "I couldn't be more pleased that he was rewarded."
Mitchell scored the game's final goal with 5:30 remaining and sealed Mahtomedi's 6-3 win. Mahtomedi finished the game with a 44-16 shot on goal advantage. Charlie Brandt earned the win in net for Mahtomedi and made 13 saves.
Mahtomedi (21-8) plays the No. 2 seed Hermantown (26-2-1) on Friday at 9 a.m. back at the Xcel Energy Center in the state semifinals, while Alexandria (14-13-1) plays Luverne (21-7-1) at 10 a.m. on Thursday in a consolation game at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
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"I think we'll be better and more prepared," Kludt said. "If we want to stay in the state tournament, we have to win those puck battles."
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