Soundbites: Moorhead takes down Lakeville South in Class 2A quarterfinal

The Moorhead boys hockey team had a target on their backs this season as the defending Class 2A state champions. The Spuds, however, quieted any noise of them not being able to return to state, dropping only three games this winter to secure a trip back to the tournament, this time as the No. 2 seed.

“You don’t want to think about last year as much though, like we’re all just doing our own thing. It obviously helps to have that experience. We kind of came in here as a normal game,” senior defenseman Brandon Mickelson said.

On Thursday, March 5, the Spuds took one step closer to reclaiming their crown, taking down Lakeville South 4-1 in the Class 2A state quarterfinals at Grand Casino Arena.

“They played hard, they had a great game plan. But our guys did a great job of sticking to it, and in the end were successful,” Spuds coach Jon Ammerman said.

Junior Max Cullen gave the Spuds a 1-0 lead in the first period. Moorhead held that lead until 28 seconds remained in the second period, when Cullen scored again to make it 2-0.

Early in the third period, Tristan Lawrence put Lakeville South on the board. Moorhead regained the two-goal lead thanks to sophomore Joey Cullen, the younger cousin to Max.

Tyden Bergeson, a Minnesota Mr. Hockey finalist, put a bow on Moorhead’s quarterfinal battle by scoring his 28th goal of the season to secure the 4-1 victory.

“We can score easier I would say than last year. We create so much on the offensive side, but yet again we can also lock it down on defense as well,” Bergeson said.

Recap the 2A quarterfinals on the Strib Varsity blog.