The Minnesota prep Hockey Tourney wrapped up last Saturday.  I only made
it for one day of the tourney but I did get to see all the teams in
Tier 1.
 
A couple of standouts from the Cloquet I expect to see in the WCHA soon:
 
Sergei Petrov, UMD bound.  He came from Russia to play at UMD but was
a few credits short and had to finish up in High School.  He skated on
a line with Jamie Langenbrunner (junior-center) and Aaron Novak (right-wing).
This is rumored to be the best line in the state.  Novak collected 7
goals and 3 assists, Langenbrunner 3 goals and 10 assists, and Petrov
6 goals and 7 assists.  Lagenbrunner's 10 assists breaks a tourney record
of 9 set back in 1967.  If Cloquet makes it next year Lagenbrunner is on
track to break the torunament career assist record of 12 set by Joth
Matchefts  from 1948 - 1951.  (The record is 12 and he had one in last
year's tourney giving him 11 so far)
 
How good are these three prospects???  In 1978 (the first tourney I
attended - I was 10 years old) Butsy Erickson, Aaron Broten and Neal
Broten got 17 points in the tourney.  (Can you believe Broten, Broten,
and Erickson grew up and played together on the same line, all from a
town of about 200 people???)  Petrov, Lagenbrunner, and Novak tallied 36.
I wonder where these guys are gonna end up after college???
 
Too bad for Cloquet though.  The days of the northern teams coming
down to the cities with one superstar line and taking the tourney are
over.  They did take the Consolation Championship after a first round
loss to Moorhead by defeating Austin 11-1.
 
--
- Matt Rein
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