In games played back to back Saturday at Aldrich Arena, the top seeds in the Class 2A, Section 4 boys hockey tournament endured challenges. One of them survived, one did not.
Top-seeded White Bear Lake overcame eighth-seeded Tartan with a 4-3 victory in overtime. Second-seeded Stillwater fell to seventh-seeded Woodbury 1-0 in overtime.
Woodbury coach Wes Bolin said he didn't worry about seeing a lower seed push for an upset just before his team was planning to do the same.
"It didn't affect us at all," Bolin said. "We had confidence and we were ready to play.
"You don't always see multiple [upset bids] in the same section, but we weren't fazed by it."
Ethan Hansen scored on a rebound 1 minute, 57 seconds into the extra session for the Royals (12-13-1).
"The kids were excited. Any time a goal is scored in overtime, you look at the ref," Bolin said. "When we [saw the signal for a goal] and knew it was a good goal, the kids erupted. It was a great feeling for the kids, coaches and parents."
Kam Carlson made 32 saves for Woodbury and had to stand in against four minutes of power-play time in the final 5:23 of regulation.
"He was outstanding," Bolin said. "Our penalty kill was outstanding. They got some looks late, but we found a way to keep the puck out of the net."
In the first game, Grady Gallatin kept White Bear Lake [20-5-0] from being upset with an unassisted goal 1:20 into overtime. The Bears had a 48-19 advantage in shots on goal in the game.
"We just had to get through it," White Bear Lake coach Tim Sager said. "We've been fighting the flu bug. I'm proud of the way we kept our heads and fought through it.
"Give them some credit. They battled, but we had as many coaches as players on the ice the last couple days. Hopefully, we'll be able to get some of those guys back at practice."
Tartan (6-20-0) got third-period goals from Gavin Buche and Noah Joyce 3:04 apart to get the game to overtime. Ben Bangura made 44 saves for the Titans.
"Their goaltender played really well," Sager said. "We had breakaways that we really needed to convert, but he played really well."
Elk River ends Park Center run in boys basketball
A long run of success by the Park Center boys basketball team ended Friday, when visiting Elk River defeated the Pirates 73-70. Park Center, last season's Class 4A state champion and ranked No. 1 all of this season, had not lost since Jan. 21, 2022, 41 victories in a row. The Pirates (22-1) defeated Elk River 85-37 on Jan. 24.
"They are an impressive [team]," Elks coach Ryan Servaty said. "At halftime, we talked about having 18 minutes left. We needed to win one-minute intervals. We knew that if we could keep it close they could get tight. They weren't expecting to be in a close game after beating us by 48 earlier in the season. We just kept making plays. The excitement grew."
The Elks (12-11) held on with a pair of free throws by Carson Haack in the final minute, after Haack had missed a pair moments before. Haack finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.
Cade Osterman led the Elks with 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He also had five steals.
"He has always been a big player for us. He helped us handle pressure," Servaty said. "He got into foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul with seven or eight minutes left and had to sit for a few minutes. ... When he went back in, he was able to stay in the game. We go when he goes. He was up for the challenge."
Inside the numbers
:56: Time into overtime when Tommy Lewin scored to give Orono a 2-1 win over Hutchinson in a Class 1A, Section 2 quarterfinal.
3: Goals by Jake Geiger for Northfield in an 8-1 victory over Rochester Lourdes in Class 1A, Section 1 boys hockey and goals by Will Cashin for Northfield in a 6-1 victory over Dodge County in the semifinals.
4: Goals each by Charlie Drage and Seth Nelson in Mahtomedi's 10-0 victory over St. Paul Johnson in Class 1A, Section 4 boys hockey.
5: Points by Aidan Willis in a 6-0 Lakeville South boys' hockey victory in the Class 2A, Section 1 semifinals against Rochester Century.
5: Points by Calvin Jones in a 7-5 Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato boys hockey victory in the Class 1A, Section 2 first round against Bloomington Kennedy.
5: Points by Trevor Aberwald in a 5-4 Champlin Park victory over Mounds View in the boys' hockey Class 2A, Section 5 quarterfinals.
30: Points by Savannah McGowan in a 79-61 Armstrong girls basketball loss to Maple Grove.
32: Points by Brynn Beffert for Hutchinson in an 81-66 victory over Mound Westonka in girls basketball.
33: Points by Maddyn Greenway in a 96-65 Providence Academy girls basketball win over Perham.
37: Points by Audrey Jakway for Mounds Park in a 68-31 girls basketball victory over St. Paul Academy.
39: Points by Anna Stromberg for Legacy Christian in a 59-24 girls basketball win over Christ's Household of Faith.
40: Points by Bloomington Jefferson's Daniel Freitag in a 93-79 boys basketball win over St. Louis Park.
40: Points by Princeton's Cooper Drews in a 96-85 boys basketball loss to Chisago Lakes.
42: Points by Max Shikenjanski for Stillwater in a 67-64 boys basketball win over Roseville.
49: Saves by Coon Rapids' Will Wagner in a 4-1 boys hockey loss to Duluth East in the Class 2A, Section 7 semifinals.
49: Saves by East Ridge's Jack Hodgins in a 6-1 loss to Hill-Murray in the boys hockey Class 2A, Section 4 quarterfinals.
50: Saves by Bloomington Kennedy's Rohr Brockman in a 7-5 loss to Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato in the boys hockey Class 1A, Section 2 first round.
52: Saves by Hutchinson's Hunter Lien in a 2-1 boys hockey Class 1A, Section 2 quarterfinal loss to Orono.
54: Saves by Holy Angels' Luke Marsalek in a 5-3 boys' hockey Class 2A, Section 6 semifinal loss to Wayzata.
59: Saves by Shakopee's Aleksi Huson in a 3-1 boys hockey Class 2A, Section 2 semifinal loss to Minnetonka.
60: Saves by Elk River/Zimmerman's Gavin Greniuk in a 6-1 boys hockey Class 2A, Section 8 semifinal loss to Roseau.
