St. Thomas Academy defeats Shakopee in Minnesota high school boys hockey state tournament: Live score recap

Get game updates from the 2025 MSHSL boys hockey state tournament Class 2A quarterfinal between the Cadets and the Sabers

St. Thomas Academy takes on Shakopee in the 2025 MSHSL boys hockey Class 2A quarterfinals. / Jon Namyst

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The No. 3-seed St. Thomas Academy Cadets (24-5) defeated the No. 6-seed Shakopee Sabers (22-6-1) 2-1 in the 2025 Minnesota (MSHSL) high school boys hockey state tournament Class 2A quarterfinals on Thursday at the Excel Energy Center.

The Cadets and the Sabers battled to control the tempo of the game. After a 1-1 first period, the Sabers approached the final two periods like it was a “race to three.” On the other bench, St. Thomas Academy coach Mark Stobel hoped for the opposite. 

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“If you get free flowing and you loosen things up and now it's a track meet, there is no chess,” Strobel said. “You’re going to live and die by the sword and now you’re putting a lot of pressure on your goalie. For me, chess is hockey. I tried to manage as best I could some of our line changes.”

It looked like Shakopee’s strategy would pay off when the Sabers shot the puck seven times in the opening three minutes. Only two made it to Cadets’ goalie Cody Niesen, but for a Shakopee team that finished with only 14 shots-on-goal, those were critical opportunities. 

“We thought if we got to our game in the second period, which we did, that we could open it up and cash in in the third,” Shakopee coach Calvin Simon said. “… Had we got to two, we could’ve gotten to three.”

The Cadets were outplayed early in the second period, but they had to contend with Shakopee senior Cooper Simpson, who entered the game with 77 points on the season. 

“We tried to have our top-two pair against him,” Strobel said. “The idea that we saw on film was that he liked to stretch a lot. He will pull up. He can make plays. … Our tracking has to be good. I always wanted [Will Dosan] or [Michael Mikan] on him.”

The Cadets were the first to grab a second goal. On the power-play, Luca Pedri deflected a puck into the net from a Thomas Kertz pass to the center of the offensive zone. 

“It’s high level execution when you need it,” Strobel said. “It gives you hope that when your top line guys get shut down a bit, you have your third line come up and score a big one. That’s how you win championships.” 

Championship hockey is what the Cadets are striving for. Strobel is confident they can achieve the level of play that they need to succeed this time of year. 

“We learned real quick from beating Hill-Murray 2-1—that was a chess match,” Strobel said. “You’ve got to be on the D-side of the puck sometimes. That convinced me we can play both ways.”

St. Thomas Academy will play No. 2-seed Stillwater in the Class 2A semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center.

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St. Thomas Academy defeats Shakopee in Minnesota high school boys hockey state tournament: Live score recap

Teams are on the ice for introductions.

FIRST PERIOD UPDATES

The first period is underway.

GOAL ST. THOMAS ACADEMY! Jackson Rudh cleans up a loose puck in the crease. Assists from Michael Mikan and James Richardson. The Cadets lead 1-0 with 15:39 remaining in the first period.

Eight minutes remain in the first period and Shakopee has yet to register a shot-on-goal. The Cadets have three.

Five minutes remain, and St. Thomas Academy goalie Cody Niesen makes a great pad save to keep Shakopee from scoring.

GOAL SHAKOPEE! Nathaniel Pederson scores for the Sabers. Cooper Simpson passed the puck across the crease after it bounded off the boards and toward the goal. Carson Steinhoff also gets the assist. The game is tied 1-1 with 1:32 remaining in the game.

END OF FIRST PERIOD: St. Thomas Academy 1, Shakopee 1

The Cadets have a 7-4 SOG advantage.

SECOND PERIOD UPDATES

The second period is underway.

Shakopee starts the second period with pressure but it can't convert on its chances.

Eleven minutes remain in the second period and the game is still tied at one. Shakopee with a better second period so far.

Seven minutes remain in the period and neither team has broken through.

POWER PLAY FOR SHAKOPEE! Thomas Kertz gets two minutes for tripping — 37 seconds remain in the second period.

END OF SECOND PERIOD: St. Thomas Academy 1, Shakopee 1

Shakopee will have 1:23 remaining on the power-play when the third period begins.

THIRD PERIOD UPDATES

The third period is underway.

St. Thomas Academy kills its penalty.

POWER PLAY FOR ST. THOMAS ACADEMY! Shakopee's Carson Steinhoff gets two minutes for holding — 13:22 remains in the period.

GOAL ST. THOMAS ACADEMY! Luca Pedri deflects a puck into the net on the power play. Thomas Kertz passed the puck to Pedri in the center of the zone, who tipped it into the net. Patrick Cronin with an assist. St. Thomas Academy leads 2-1 with 11:49 remaining in the game.

Five minutes remain in the period. Shakopee goalie Owen Lunneborg just saved a driving chance from the Cadets.

Three minutes remain, and once again Lunneborg saves a 1-on-1 chance.

Shakopee's Cooper Simpson hits the pipe on a backhand. The Sabers take a timeout with 1:49 remaining.

Shakopee pulls its goalie with 50 seconds remianing.

FINAL: St. Thomas Academy 2, Shakopee 1

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