Cathedral Crusaders Ready to Roll in State High School Hockey Tournament

Originally published 5:38 a.m. March 4th, 2024

Updated 5:56 a.m. March 6th, 2024

(KNSI) — The St. Cloud Cathedral Boys’ Hockey Team has punched their ticket to St. Paul and is already preparing for the opening round of play on Wednesday.

Last week, the Crusaders mauled Monticello in the 5A section championship, 4-1. They improved to 23-4-1, good enough for the three seed in the state bracket.

Cathedral has traveled to every corner of Minnesota, even North Dakota, in a challenging schedule. They have already beaten number two Warroad away from the Municipal Athletic Complex. They fell to top-ranked Hermantown at home on January 11th. That was the last loss for the squad.

Cathedral will look to tackle the Raiders of Northfield, which was a random draw in the bracket. They were up to the task in the regular season, coming out on the right side of a 4-2 decision on the road.

The Crusaders boast a balanced offensive attack. Three players have notched at least 60 points this season. Joey Gillespie leads the team with 29 goals. He is primarily set up by Andrew Dwinnell and John Hirschfeld, both of whom can light the lamp themselves. The team likes to turn to Cole Hwang for a timely shot on the power play. The unit is clicking at over 19%.

Goaltender Nick Hansen has been stout between the pipes. His save percentage sits at .936. Cathedral is allowing barely two goals per game.

Puck drop between the Crusaders and Raiders is 1:00 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Hear the game on KNSI. The winner gets whoever advances to Quarterfinal #1, which sees Warroad tangle with New Ulm.

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