Section 3A
Luverne Cardinals
21-6-1
Coach: Phillip Paquette
Most Recent Let’s Play Hockey Ranking: 18
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Players to Watch: #19 F Patrick Kroski, #11 F Brock Behrend, #9 F Owen Sudenga, #30 G Tyler Arends
3rd Appearance
Last Appearance: 2017
Luverne is headed to the state tournament for the first time since 2017 and just the third time in boys hockey program history. It’s the first time in Luverne that both the girls and boys programs have made it to state in the same season. The Cardinals earned a solid 6-2 win over reigning section champion Mankato East and then a 4-2 win over New Ulm to earn their state tournament berth. Luverne was ranked No. 18 in Class A in the final Let’s Play Hockey poll of the season.
The Cardinals will look to bring home some hardware this year, as previously the team made it to state in both 2017 and 2014 but didn’t bring home any titles (first place, second place, third place, or consolation champion) in either of their appearances.
Luverne has had a really good season this year, with only six losses, but many will argue that their schedule wasn’t very strong. The only ranked teams that the Cardinals have played this season are New Ulm and Two Rivers (along with Dodge County and Albert Lea who received votes in the polls). Some of the losses on the team’s record also look a little troubling heading into the state tournament, such as losing to teams like Waseca and Morris/Benson.
The squad is heading into state on a good note though, currently on an 11 game win streak. Luverne hasn’t lost since January 26. The competition is going to be brand new to the Cardinals though, who haven’t played any of the teams this season that are headed to the state tournament. Luverne is an unseeded team at the state tournament this year and was randomly drawn to face No.2 Hermantown in the Class A quarterfinals. The Cardinals actually played Hermantown the past two times they’ve been at state, they lost to the Hawks 3-2 (OT) in 2017 and 6-3 in 2014, so these two squads have a little bit of history together at the tournament.
Luverne is led by junior forward Patrick Kroski, who has 65 points over 27 games this season, including a team-high of 45 assists. Senior forward Brock Behrend has also made waves this year, posting 61 points in his final high school season. Behrend has 38 goals in 2022-23, which is 17 more than the next closest teammate. On the back end, junior netminder Tyler Arends has kept things calm for the Cardinals by posting a .910 save-percentage with a 2.24 goals-against-average and three shutouts this year.
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Looking through scoring statistics, Luverne typically out scores their opponents the most in the second period. They also have about a 31% success rate on the power play and are running an 86% penalty kill. Getting shots on goal is one thing that the Cardinals have struggled with, being outshot in many of their games.
Luverne likely isn’t going to win their first-round match-up against Hermantown, but they can definitely try to be a contender for the consolation title this season in 2023.
Ranked Wins (Based on Feb. 23 Let’s Play Hockey Rankings): None
Ranked Losses: No. 10A New Ulm (2-1, Dec. 9; 3-1 Jan. 26)
Ranked Ties: No. 11A Two Rivers (2-2, Dec. 2)
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