Minnesota high school boys hockey 2025 state tournament: Predicting the winners

High School on SI picks the winners of the 2025 MSHSL boys hockey state tournament

Mahtomedi plays Class 1A defending champion St. Cloud Cathedral in the quarterfinals of the 2025 MSHSL boys hockey state tournament. / Jon Namyst

The 2025 Minnesota (MSHSL) high school boys hockey state tournament begins on Wednesday, March 5 at the Xcel Energy Center.

High School on SI has predictions for who will take home the Class 1A and Class 2A championships.

You can also play High School on SI's Playoff Pick 'Em throughout the Minnesota high school boys hockey playoffs.

Playoff Pick 'Em is a brand-new bracket prediction challenge for high school sports, where users compete to pick the most accurate bracket. The contest is free-to-play and is available nationwide for most sports on High School on SI. Enter today and pick your favorite teams to take home the title!

High School on SI will live score updates and coverage of every game throughout the 2025 MSHSL boys hockey state tournament.

Minnesota high school boys hockey 2025 state tournament: Predicting the winners

Class 1A

Quarterfinals

No. 1 Hibbing/Chisholm (19-9) vs No. 8 Luverne (22-4-2)

Hibbing/Chisholm was the last team standing in a chaotic Section 7A that saw powers like Hermantown and Cloquet go down. You'll be hard-pressed to find a senior when sifting through their roster, with junior Tate Swanson and freshman Cole Swanson leading them back to the Xcel Energy Center for the first time since 2011.

Hibbing/Chisholm will square off against the Luverne Cardinals, who finished its revenge tour in Section 3A by defeating Mankato West in overtime to get to this point. The construction of the roster is similar to the Bluejackets in terms of youth, with juniors Maddux Domagala and Landyn Lais leading the team in points with 73 and 65, respectively. 

Credit to the Cardinals for returning to the tournament, but the talent gap is too much for them to keep this one competitive.

Prediction: Hibbing/Chisholm 6-1 over Luverne

No. 4 East Grand Forks (13-13-2)  vs No. 5 Northern Lakes (19-8-1)

It wasn't exactly smooth sailing like many thought this season would be for East Grand Forks, but the Green Wave get back to the state tournament after an overtime win over rival Warroad 4-3. It's a senior-heavy class with no real pure goalscorer, with Tucker Lovejoy leading the way in that department with 17 goals. 

Legendary head coach Mike Randolph is back at the state tournament, this time sporting a black and red jacket for the lightning. Senior Drew Paulbeck is the engine that makes this team go as he's amassed 38 goals to go alongside 23 assists. They’ll have the advantage in net with sophomore Sam Suja posting a 2.06 goals against average with eight shutouts to his name. 

Anything can happen in a four-five matchup, but when in doubt, take the team with a go-to goal scorer.

Prediction: Northern Lakes 3-2 over East Grand Forks

No. 3 Northfield (22-4-2) vs. No. 6 Orono (15-10-3)

Northfield faced little resistance in its path back to the Xcel Energy Center. It did not allowing a single goal in all of section play. The Raiders don't possess the flashy goal scorers they did a season ago, but there's still talent on the roster. Will Cashin steers the ship on offense, but sophomore Ben Geiger may be the most talented player in the class not named John Hirschfeld. 

Orono comes into the tournament with a bit more bumps and bruises, as to be expected with a team playing an abundance of teams in the metro. Jackson Knight leads the way for the Spartans, tallying 33 goals and 29 assists so far this season. He's complimented by fellow forwards Trey Landa and Rory Kvern. 

These two played all the way back in early December, with the Raiders coming away with a 4-2 victory. I'll trust the talent and goaltender of Northfield in this one.

Prediction: Northfield 3-1 over Orono

No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral (18-8-2) vs No. 7 Mahtomedi (11-15-2)

Few teams are hotter than the Crusaders from St. Cloud Cathedral, coming off a 7-0 dismantling of Monticello to lead them back to the tournament. It has a couple of familiar faces returning, with Mr. Hockey finalist John Hirschfeld, forward Joey Gillespie and defensemen Griffin Sturm all looking for championship number two.  

It's tough to ignore the ugly record, but you certainly can't ignore the brand. Mahtomedi comes back to its second home after avenging an earlier in-season loss to Chisago Lakes. It's a team that's had trouble putting the puck in the net, and no player has hit the 30 point mark so far this season. The Zephyrs did push St. Cloud Cathedral into overtime back in March, eventually falling 4-3. 

Watch for the special teams: The Zephyrs are an abysmal eight percent on the powerplay this year, while the Crusaders are scoring a third of time on the power play.

Don't see the Crusaders having much trouble this time around.

Prediction: St. Cloud Cathedral 5-2 over Mahtomedi

Semifinals

No. 1 Hibbing/Chisholm vs No. 5 Northern Lakes

The rematch from early January sets the table for the semi final Friday at the Xcel Energy Center. Hibbing got the better of the first matchup, winning 4-1 thanks to a big night from goaltender Rex Walli. Not much is different this time around, though the Lightning have racked up a couple of solid wins over Alexandria and St. Cloud Cathedral since. 

Unfortunately for Northern Lakes, Hibbing is on another level right now. Look for the rematch to be even more lopsided in this one. 

Prediction: Hibbing/Chisholm 6-2 over Northern Lakes

No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral vs No. 3 Northfield

The rematch from the first round of last year's class A quarterfinal meets again with a bit more at stake. The construct of Northfield is a bit different — relying more on its backend — but that's not to say they're any less dangerous this time around.

Look for the Cathedral to pull away earlier and stay ahead.

Prediction: St. Cloud Cathedral 5-3 over Northfield

Championship

No. 1 Hibbing/Chisholm vs No. 2 St. Cloud Cathedral

These two met in November where Hibbing dominated in a 6-3 victory: throw that out the window. This Cathedral team has been on another level since they've become healthy and may just be the favorites in this one amongst the public. In a vacuum, it seems like their game to lose, boasting the experience advantage and possessing more starpower than the Bluejackets.

But I think a new dynasty from Section 7A forms on Saturday.

Prediction: Hibbing Chisholm 4-3 OT over St. Cloud Cathedral 

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Class 2A

Championship

No. 1 Moorhead (25-2-1) vs No. 8 Lakeville South (18-9)

The hiatus ends at one year for the Spuds, who were upset last season in the section semifinals by Elk River. Likely boasting the most future college commits in the state on their roster, it starts with the Mr. Hockey candidate Mason Kraft, who amassed an incredible 87 points against one of the toughest schedules in the state. Then there's his linemate Zac Zimmerman with a cool 70 points — he's a sophomore, by the way. The Cullen cousins, Max and Brooks, also play a huge role on the team with a combined 64 points. Did I mention they also have a Brimsek finalist in goaltender Charlie Stenehjem?

Lakeville South has been a punching bag within the high school hockey community, but they are streaking down the stretch. The Panthers are 13-1 in their last 14, including an overtime loss to Edina sandwiched in between. Carter and Jackson Ernst steer the ship for them, leading the team in scoring with 58 and 56 points between the two.

It's a more competent eight seed than in years past, but not enough to make it a competitive hockey game.

Prediction: Moorhead 6-1 over Lakeville South

No. 4 Rogers (23-3-2)  vs No. 5 Edina (20-6-2)

Two polar opposites enter in the four-five game to cap off night two at the state tournament. It's the first appearance ever for Rogers, who took down Champlin Park in the Section 5AA final to get to this point. They’ve got everything you could ever want on the offensive side of the puck. Mr. Hockey candidate Nolan Geerdes is one of two defensive players to be on the list. Parker Deschene, Mason Jenson and Keaton Weis round out one of the most exciting lines in the state.

They’ll go up against the traditional powerhouse Edina Hornets, who took care of Wayzata in the Section 6AA championship to get here. There's no Bobby Cowan this year, and it'll have to be either Casey Vandertop or Mason West stepping up if the Hornets want to go back to back. 

Look for Edina to turn this into a Lake Conference grindfest and sneak out a low scoring win.

Prediction: Edina 2-1 over Rogers

Edina with the 2025 Class 2A, Section 6 trophy after defeating Wayzata 4-1 at Ridder Arena. / Jack Butler

No. 2 Stillwater (22-6) vs No. 7 Andover (15-13)

If you're looking for the game with the most storylines, this is the one. We’ll start with Stillwater netminder Cal Conway, who transferred from Andover to Stillwater this season and was ineligible for almost the entire regular season. The Ponies had to forfeit the two regular season games Conway played in. He's good to go now, and he just helped Stillwater to its first section championship since 2016. Senior Matthew Volkman and Brody Dustin lead the attack, with Volkman coming off a hat-trick in its section final against Hill-Murray. 

They face the Huskies from Andover, who after starting the season 0-9, turned on the jets and ran the table in the Section 7AA tournament to get to this point. It's a defensive minded team that heavily relies on goaltender Cash Cruitt to anchor the team in net.

Andover is likely one of the better seven seeds we've seen at the state tournament, but it's a tough matchup for them.

Prediction: Stillwater 5-2 over Andover

No. 3 St. Thomas Academy (23-5) vs No. 6 Shakopee (22-5-1)

The Cadets looked like the number one team with a bullet in Class 2A for about half the season. They hit a few bumps down the stretch, but nonetheless the made it to the Xcel Energy Center and earned the three seed. Park transfer Jackson Rudh and Cole Braunshausen led the attack for an St. Thomas Academy squad averaging five goals per game. 

They draw the red-hot Shakopee Sabers, who got to their first Class 2A tournament in program history after defeating Holy Family 4-0 in the Section 2AA championship. It's maybe the most fun to watch team in the tournament with Mr. Hockey finalist Cooper Simpson and Cooper Siegert leading the charge on offense. The unsung hero is in net, goaltender Owen Lunneborg.

St. Thomas will be the far more physical team, but that won't stop the Sabers.

Prediction: Shakopee 3-1 over St. Thomas Academy

Semifinals

No. 1 Moorhead vs No. 5 Edina

It’ll be the first time in awhile that Edina Hornets will walk into an arena as true underdogs at the state tournament. They had nothing for the Spuds in their first matchup of the season back in November, losing 4-1 thanks to a Mason Kraft hat-trick. The sequel later in December did not go much better, falling 6-3.

 The X-factor in this one will be goaltender Chase Bjorgaard, who did not play in either matchups against the Spuds. Since returning in February, the junior has a 1.68 GAA and two shutouts to his name. 

Enjoy it while it lasts Edina critics: the Hornets will return nearly everyone next year, but for now, they’ll settle for the third place game. 

Prediction: Moorhead 5-3 over Edina

No. 2 Stillwater vs No. 6 Shakopee

If you like high scoring games with lots of pace, this is the one to tune into on Friday night. Both teams' offenses average over five goals per game and have a wealth of attackers who are more than capable of putting the puck in the back of the net. While both defenses are no slouches, there's opportunity for goals to be scored. 

Stillwater feels like the more structured team in this, looking for that to show late.

Prediction: Stillwater 6-4 over Shakopee

Championship

No. 1 Moorhead vs No. 2 Stillwater

It's a refreshing matchup to cap off a whirlwind of a Minnesota high school hockey season. The Spuds have looked the part all year, and despite a late season blip to Hill-Murray, they've felt like the team to beat ever since Christmas. The Ponies on the other hand have been a late season bloomer now with goaltender Cal Conway between the pipes.

This one should have it all: young stars, Mr. Hockey candidates, and strong goaltending that compliments both teams well. 

This likely will be a pretty high-paced game with a little bit of everything. In the end, there's just something about Stillwater right now that's tough to describe.

Look for Pony forwards Blake Vanek or Brody Dustin to make their mark at some point in this one.

Prediction: Stillwater 4-3 over Moorhead.

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