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Semifinal Upsets in Section Tourneys Create Interesting Championship Matchups

02/23/2016, 11:15am CST
By Chris Dilks; Courtesy SBnation.com

AA Teams Ranked Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 15 All Eliminated Early

Both No. 1. Benilde-St. Margaret's and No. 4 Minnetonka were defeated in the early rounds of their section tournaments. Credit: Peter Odney.

Both No. 1. Benilde-St. Margaret's and No. 3 Minnetonka were defeated in the early rounds of their section tournaments. Credit: Peter Odney.

Saturday was beginning of, for my money, what is the best week of hockey maybe anywhere. Most of the sections in Minnesota high school hockey played their semifinal round on Saturday with the section championship games coming up this week. The state tournament may get more hype, but that's hockey for people who watch high school hockey one weekend per year. The section tournaments, with the local crowds and long-standing rivalries, is hockey for people that watch high school hockey all season.

Generally, the semifinal round of the section tournaments doesn't produce many upsets. There are usually a lot of close calls, and the occasional big surprise, but for the most part, it's mostly a set-up for the big championship games the following week. Not the case this year. No team really established itself as a dominant force during the regular season, and the increased parity this year led to a number of top-ranked teams falling prior to the section finals. In Class AA, teams ranked #1, #3, #4, #5, #11, #12, and #15 all went down, and the third-ranked team in Class A also fell.

Read more: sbncollegehockey.com

This years' boys' state tournament will be the first since 2006 that doesn't feature Edina, shown here versus Blaine, which also lost in its section tournament. Credit: Peter Odney.

This year's boys' state tournament will be the first since 2006 that doesn't feature Edina, shown here versus Blaine, which also lost in its section tournament. Credit: Peter Odney.

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Tag(s): State Of Hockey  News