The Monticello-Annandale-Maple Lake Stars earned the highest seed in team history, hoping to make even more history by advancing past the first round of the Section 8-2A hockey playoffs. But the No. 3 seeded Brainerd Warriors put an end to those aspirations as they manhandled the Stars 8-1 Tuesday night, Feb. 19, in Brainerd. The first 17 minutes of the game was some of the best hockey M-A-ML had played all year. The Stars came out of the gates with confidence and high energy, getting solid goaltending by Trent Maurer and creating multiple scoring opportunities. Senior assistant captain Russell Johnson had the best chance but was stymied on a breakaway by Warrior netminder Kyle Peterson. The Stars also had a 2-1 rush a few minutes later but couldn’t capitalize, leaving the game scoreless after one period. Brainerd (17-8-1) wasn’t prepared for the physical play of the Stars, but they began to push back and utilize their team speed to right the ship by scoring five goals in the second period. The middle period has been the Stars’ nemesis all season, and it stayed true to form that night. The Warriors, led by Mr. Hockey Minnesota candidate Drew Olson scored 36 seconds apart only two minutes into the period to seize the early momentum. The Stars regained their composure for a few shifts, but Brainerd connected again, this time on the power play, making it a 3-0 game. Tommy Mitchell finally got M-A-ML on the board, putting back a rebound off the stick of Derek Pogatchnik. Captain, Shay Klitzke,- was awarded the second assist. The Stars, looking to cut into the 3-1 lead, went on the power play, but it backfired. Brainerd took advantage of a turnover at the Stars’ blue line, with the Warriors leading scorer, Joe Fraser, breaking in all alone and beating Maurer on the short side for a 4-1 lead. Stars’ head coach Chris Denardo felt that was the turning point of the game. "Our power play was ineffective all night long, especially off the breakout. I think they had more chances than we did on our own power play." A bad bounce of the puck led to the fifth Warrior tally with just two seconds remaining. That goal proved to be the back breaker as the Stars headed into their final period of the season trailing by four goals at 5-1. Olson scored just 23 seconds into the final stanza, giving the solid defenseman his third goal on the night. Fraser then got his second goal of the game to go along with four assists to put it out of reach. "All their scoring came from one line and a defenseman. You have to be able to shut down a team’s big line, especially if that one does the majority of the scoring. We just didn’t do that tonight after the first period," Denardo said. Maurer made 44 saves on the night, while the Warriors’ Peterson turned away 17 shots. The Stars ended their season with a final 6-19-1 mark. – Brainerd fell to Moorhead 4-2 in the section semifinals. Roseau, the top seed in the section and ranked No. 1 in the state, defeated Buffalo 8-0 in the other semifinal game. Roseau will face off with Moorhead this Wednesday night, Feb. 20, in St. Cloud to earn a trip to the state hockey tournament. The Stars’ year-end banquet will be held at the Monticello Community Center at 5 p.m. Sunday, March 9. – The Stars will honor seniors Shay Klitzke, Billy Powell, Patrick Gertejansen, Nick Tuttle, David Mitchell, Derek Pogatchnik, Russell Johnson and Ben Nesseth.
