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Mar. 27—Kyle Lappi, Tommy Verdick and Oscar Balkins played together in the Rochester Youth Hockey Association during their formative years.
All three were on the talent-rich 2021-22 Rochester Bantam AA team. Then, they went their separate ways — Lappi to Century as the starting goalie for Century/John Marshall, Verdick as a standout defenseman and captain at Mayo High School, and Balkins to suburban Chicago, where he played two seasons of AAA hockey for the Windy City Storm, before returning to Minnesota to play his senior season of high school hockey at Lakeville South.
That trio will be back together on the same team this weekend, as all three were selected to the Section 1&3 team for the annual Ted Brill Great 8 Festival, set for Friday through Sunday at Doug Woog Arena in South St. Paul.
They'll be joined on the Section 1&3 team by Dodge County forward Brett Ludvigsen.
The Great 8 Festival brings together the top senior high school players in the state, as well as the top 2007-born juniors. They are divided into two divisions — the Seniors and the HP18s, with four teams created in each category, based on the section boundaries used by the Minnesota State High School League for high school hockey. Sections 1 and 3 are combined, as are Sections 2 and 6, Sections 4 and 5, and Sections 7 and 8. The top players from the Great 8 will be invited to join Team Minnesota for the Minnesota Hockey National Invitation Tournament, April 24-27 at Plymouth Ice Arena.
Rochester Lourdes defenseman Vinny Harens, who just completed his junior season for the Eagles, is the lone local player selected to the Section 1 and 3 HP18s team.
Minnesota Hockey — the governing body for youth hockey in the state — will also hold its High Performance 16s and 17s boys festivals this weekend, as well as the girls HP 16s and HP 17/18s festivals.
The HP 14s and HP 15s programs around the state are currently holding tryouts. Spring Festivals for those age groups are scheduled for April 25-27.
Full schedules and rosters for all of the Minnesota Hockey spring High Performance programs can be found at MinnesotaHockey.org/highperformance .
Here's a look at local players who have made the rosters for this weekend's HP 16s, 17s and 18s Spring Festivals and the Ted Brill Great 8:
Ludvigsen, the reigning Post Bulletin Player of the Year, is among the top players to watch — along with Northfield's Will Cashin — on the Section 1&3 HP Seniors Team. Ludvigsen had 27 goals and 31 assists, for 58 points, this season for the Wildcats. Lappi (18-6-0, 2.08 GAA, .920 save pct., 5 shutouts) and Verdick (7-5—12) were All-Big Nine Conference selections, and Balkins (17-26—43) helped Lakeville South win the Section 1, Class 2A championship and reach the state tournament.
Century/JM co-head coach Matt Erredge is the GM for the team ( full roster ), while Mayo head coach Matt Notermann and Albert Lea's Matt Erickson will coach the team.
Harens (7-15—22) is the lone local player on the Section 1&3 HP18s team ( full roster can be found here ). The junior defenseman had 22 points this season and helped Lourdes reach the Section 1, Class 1A championship game. This team will be coached by Jay Anderson from Mankato West and long-time Mankato East coach Adam Fries. Erredge is the team's GM.
The eight teams in this Festival are All-Star teams from each of the eight sections in the state, with players from Class 1A and 2A on the same teams. Three Rochester players have been selected for the Section 1A/AA team in the HP17s Festival.
That team opens tournament play at 3:45 p.m. Friday at Plymouth Ice Arena.
Local players on the Section 1 squad are Century/John Marshall junior forward Calvin O'Reilly (30-22—52), Lourdes junior defenseman Owen Barclay and Lourdes sophomore forward Dominick Haugen.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in Plymouth. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey Select 17 National Development Camp, July 7-13 in Amherst, N.Y.
The boys HP16s Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Plymouth Ice Arena. The eight teams in this Festival are All-Star teams from each of the eight sections in the state, with players from Class 1A and 2A on the same teams.
The Section 1A/AA team opens tournament play at 5:45 p.m. Friday against Section 3.
Five local players, including a pair of Bantam AA players, are on the Section 1 team : Lourdes sophomore defensemen Gavin Groettum (2-8—10) and Michael Norman (1-4—5), Dodge County standout freshman forward Camryn Koch (14-15—29), and Rochester Bantam AA goalie Brayson Magle and defenseman Dylan Hughes.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in Plymouth. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey Select 16 National Development Camp, June 25-July 1 in Amherst, N.Y.
The Girls HP 17/18 Spring Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Plymouth Ice Arena. It's an eight-team tournament, with each team comprising players from one of the eight Minnesota State High School League sections.
The Section 1A/AA team features six local players , including five from Class A state champion Dodge County: junior defenders Alexa Van Straaten (5-32—37) and Kylie Meyer (12-13—25), junior forward Zoe Heimer (13-16—29), and sophomore forwards Maysie Koch (17-23—40) and Bryn Spreiter (10-6—16).
La Crescent-Hokah goalie Nadia Woodard, a sophomore who played for the Lancers boys team this season, is also on the Section 1 team.
Section 1 plays its first Festival game at 6:15 p.m. Friday at Plymouth Ice Arena.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in South St. Paul. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey U-19 Select Camp, July 18-21 in Oxford, Ohio.
The Girls HP16s Festival also runs Friday through Sunday at Plymouth Ice Arena. The Section 1A/AA team opens tournament play at 2:15 p.m. Friday against Section 3.
Local players on the Section 1 team include Rochester Mayo forwards Olivia Dahl (sophomore, 10-12—22) and Maddy Desjardins (freshman, 6-12—18); former RYHA player Addison Vaszily, who is now at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault; and five players from Class 1A state champion Dodge County: Sophomore defender Sophia Buesking (0-7—7), freshman defender Josie Fulton (0-3—3), sophomore forwards Taryn Wernecke (10-8—18) and Grace Roethler (0-1—1), and sophomore goalie Faith Humphrey.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in South St. Paul. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey 16/17s Select Camp, July 18-23 in Oxford, Ohio.
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All three were on the talent-rich 2021-22 Rochester Bantam AA team. Then, they went their separate ways — Lappi to Century as the starting goalie for Century/John Marshall, Verdick as a standout defenseman and captain at Mayo High School, and Balkins to suburban Chicago, where he played two seasons of AAA hockey for the Windy City Storm, before returning to Minnesota to play his senior season of high school hockey at Lakeville South.
That trio will be back together on the same team this weekend, as all three were selected to the Section 1&3 team for the annual Ted Brill Great 8 Festival, set for Friday through Sunday at Doug Woog Arena in South St. Paul.
They'll be joined on the Section 1&3 team by Dodge County forward Brett Ludvigsen.
The Great 8 Festival brings together the top senior high school players in the state, as well as the top 2007-born juniors. They are divided into two divisions — the Seniors and the HP18s, with four teams created in each category, based on the section boundaries used by the Minnesota State High School League for high school hockey. Sections 1 and 3 are combined, as are Sections 2 and 6, Sections 4 and 5, and Sections 7 and 8. The top players from the Great 8 will be invited to join Team Minnesota for the Minnesota Hockey National Invitation Tournament, April 24-27 at Plymouth Ice Arena.
Rochester Lourdes defenseman Vinny Harens, who just completed his junior season for the Eagles, is the lone local player selected to the Section 1 and 3 HP18s team.
Minnesota Hockey — the governing body for youth hockey in the state — will also hold its High Performance 16s and 17s boys festivals this weekend, as well as the girls HP 16s and HP 17/18s festivals.
The HP 14s and HP 15s programs around the state are currently holding tryouts. Spring Festivals for those age groups are scheduled for April 25-27.
Full schedules and rosters for all of the Minnesota Hockey spring High Performance programs can be found at MinnesotaHockey.org/highperformance .
Here's a look at local players who have made the rosters for this weekend's HP 16s, 17s and 18s Spring Festivals and the Ted Brill Great 8:
Ludvigsen, the reigning Post Bulletin Player of the Year, is among the top players to watch — along with Northfield's Will Cashin — on the Section 1&3 HP Seniors Team. Ludvigsen had 27 goals and 31 assists, for 58 points, this season for the Wildcats. Lappi (18-6-0, 2.08 GAA, .920 save pct., 5 shutouts) and Verdick (7-5—12) were All-Big Nine Conference selections, and Balkins (17-26—43) helped Lakeville South win the Section 1, Class 2A championship and reach the state tournament.
Century/JM co-head coach Matt Erredge is the GM for the team ( full roster ), while Mayo head coach Matt Notermann and Albert Lea's Matt Erickson will coach the team.
Harens (7-15—22) is the lone local player on the Section 1&3 HP18s team ( full roster can be found here ). The junior defenseman had 22 points this season and helped Lourdes reach the Section 1, Class 1A championship game. This team will be coached by Jay Anderson from Mankato West and long-time Mankato East coach Adam Fries. Erredge is the team's GM.
The eight teams in this Festival are All-Star teams from each of the eight sections in the state, with players from Class 1A and 2A on the same teams. Three Rochester players have been selected for the Section 1A/AA team in the HP17s Festival.
That team opens tournament play at 3:45 p.m. Friday at Plymouth Ice Arena.
Local players on the Section 1 squad are Century/John Marshall junior forward Calvin O'Reilly (30-22—52), Lourdes junior defenseman Owen Barclay and Lourdes sophomore forward Dominick Haugen.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in Plymouth. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey Select 17 National Development Camp, July 7-13 in Amherst, N.Y.
The boys HP16s Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Plymouth Ice Arena. The eight teams in this Festival are All-Star teams from each of the eight sections in the state, with players from Class 1A and 2A on the same teams.
The Section 1A/AA team opens tournament play at 5:45 p.m. Friday against Section 3.
Five local players, including a pair of Bantam AA players, are on the Section 1 team : Lourdes sophomore defensemen Gavin Groettum (2-8—10) and Michael Norman (1-4—5), Dodge County standout freshman forward Camryn Koch (14-15—29), and Rochester Bantam AA goalie Brayson Magle and defenseman Dylan Hughes.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in Plymouth. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey Select 16 National Development Camp, June 25-July 1 in Amherst, N.Y.
The Girls HP 17/18 Spring Festival runs Friday through Sunday at Plymouth Ice Arena. It's an eight-team tournament, with each team comprising players from one of the eight Minnesota State High School League sections.
The Section 1A/AA team features six local players , including five from Class A state champion Dodge County: junior defenders Alexa Van Straaten (5-32—37) and Kylie Meyer (12-13—25), junior forward Zoe Heimer (13-16—29), and sophomore forwards Maysie Koch (17-23—40) and Bryn Spreiter (10-6—16).
La Crescent-Hokah goalie Nadia Woodard, a sophomore who played for the Lancers boys team this season, is also on the Section 1 team.
Section 1 plays its first Festival game at 6:15 p.m. Friday at Plymouth Ice Arena.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in South St. Paul. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey U-19 Select Camp, July 18-21 in Oxford, Ohio.
The Girls HP16s Festival also runs Friday through Sunday at Plymouth Ice Arena. The Section 1A/AA team opens tournament play at 2:15 p.m. Friday against Section 3.
Local players on the Section 1 team include Rochester Mayo forwards Olivia Dahl (sophomore, 10-12—22) and Maddy Desjardins (freshman, 6-12—18); former RYHA player Addison Vaszily, who is now at Shattuck St. Mary's in Faribault; and five players from Class 1A state champion Dodge County: Sophomore defender Sophia Buesking (0-7—7), freshman defender Josie Fulton (0-3—3), sophomore forwards Taryn Wernecke (10-8—18) and Grace Roethler (0-1—1), and sophomore goalie Faith Humphrey.
The top 54 players at the Spring Festival will advance to the HP Final 54 Festival April 25-27 in South St. Paul. The top players from that festival will be selected to attend the USA Hockey 16/17s Select Camp, July 18-23 in Oxford, Ohio.
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