MN Hockey Mag Special Tournament Edition

St. Thomas Academy
The Saint Thomas Academy Cadets qualified for
their ninth state tournament appearance and
first in the Class 2A this year.
With five Class 1A state championships to their credit, the Cadets
will make a bid to add to their impressive trophy list with a Class 2A
crown this year. This team is on the short list of state title contenders
this year and posted a 24-4-0 record in qualifying.
Leadership and discipline go hand in hand when discussing the
Cadets and this team has plenty of senior leadership. Consider 14
players returned from last year’s team that fell short in the Section 3AA
final to bounce back with a solid season. Their puck possession style
yields plenty of high octane transitional hockey and scoring chances.
Leading the blue line is four-year varsity letter winner Seamus
Donohue (5-34-39) who has commited to play hockey at the
Unversity of Air Force. He provides experience, toughness and
offensive skilll that rubs off on the rest of team.
Offensively, the Cadets have a trio of seniors who fall in the ‘been
there done that’ category and can score. Senior
Alec Broetzman (35-31-66) lit up the section
playoffs (6-4-10) in leading his team to the state
tournament. Senior Christiano Versich (24-42-66)
is an explosive offensvie player who is committed to
play college hockey at Colorado College, while senior
Peter Tufto (30-42-72) has delivered 20 multi-point
games.
There is plenty of offensive depth to create matchup issues for
opposing teams in the tournament.
Seamus Donohue
The Cadets have senior goaltender Matt Snow (17-3-0, 1.92, .912),
who has carried the load in the playoffs and has been a steadying
influnence for the Cadets. One thing is certain, the Cadets will bring
and energtic fan base and will have a game plan to execute with a
chance to win each game at the Xcel Energy Center this weekend.
— Pete Waggoner
24-4-0
Quick Facts
Section: 3AA
Conference: Metro East
Past State Appearances: 1999, 2005,
06 Champs, 07, 08 Champs, 11 Champs,
12 Champs, 13 Champs, 15
Head Coach: Tom & Greg Vannelli
Home Rink: St. Thomas Ice Arena
Road to the X
Date Opponent W-L-T
Dec. 3 at Rosemount W 6-2
Dec. 6 at Holy Angels W 11-4
Dec. 11 HASTINGS W 9-0
Dec. 13 at Minnetonka W 5-4
Dec. 18 HENRY SIBLEY W 11-0
Dec. 20 TARTAN W 6-4
Dec. 23 at Wayzata W 4-3
SCHWAN CUP GOLD (Dec. 29-31)
Dec. 29 Duluth East W 4-1
Dec. 30 Minnetonka W 9-3
Dec. 31 Burnsville W 3-0
Jan. 6 at Benilde-St. M W 4-3
Jan. 8 MAHTOMEDI W 8-1
Jan. 10 SOUTH ST. PAUL W 7-0
Jan. 13 BENILDE-ST. M L 3-4
Jan. 15 at North St. Paul W 9-1
Jan. 17 HILL-MURRAY L 2-3
Jan. 20 TOTINO-GRACE W 10-1
Jan. 22 at Simley W 9-2
Jan. 27 CRETIN-DH W 5-2
Jan. 31 at Tartan W 5-1
Feb. 3 at Mahtomedi L 3-5
Feb. 7 at Hill-Murray W 4-2
Feb. 11 BRECK W 3-1
Feb. 12 at Hastings W 7-2
Feb. 14 at Holy Family L 1-3
SECTION 3AA PLAYOFFS
Feb. 19 APPLE VALLEY W 7-2
Feb. 21 Rosemount W 8-2
Feb. 26 Eastview W 3-1
Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown.zenfolio.com
LEADERS
# Name Gr G-A-Pts
19 Peter Tufto 12 30-42-72
20 Christiano Versich 12 24-42-66
21 Alec Broetzman 12 35-31-66
9 Will Jerry 11 21-22-43
17 Seamus Donohue 12 5-34-39
# Name Gr GAA SV%
35 Matt Snow 12 1.92 .912
Puck Heaven trivia
Q What St. Thomas Academy
players both scored twice in a 5-1
win over Duluth Marshall in the Class
A title tilt in 2008?
2015 Minnesota state high school boys’ hockey tournament guide
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