Cathedral Crusaders Boys Hockey Team in St. Paul Wednesday for Start of MSHSL Tournament

(KNSI) – The St. Cloud Cathedral boys’ hockey team begins its quest for a second straight championship as they prepare for the opening round of the Minnesota State High School Tournament Wednesday.

Last week, the Crusaders crushed Monticello in the 5A section championship by the score of 7-0. They improved to 18-8-2, good enough for the two seed in the state bracket.

Cathedral will look to tackle the Mahtomedi Zephyrs. They were up to the task in the regular season, coming out on the right side of a 4-3 decision at home on February 15th.

Senior John Hirschfeld leads the Crusaders. He is the team’s top scorer with 25 goals, 51 assists and 76 points and was recently named Star Tribune All-Minnesota Boys Hockey Player of the Year. He is Cathedral’s all-time scoring leader with 223 points and counting.

Hirschfeld isn’t alone; the Crusaders boast a balanced offensive attack, with senior Joey Gillespie adding another 20 goals and 45 assists for a total of 65 points. Junior Griffen Sturm has 19 goals and 27 assists to finish third in scoring with 46 points. Senior Jaeger Wood has also lit the lamp 21 times this season.

Goaltender Keaton LeGrande has been the man between the pipes with a .894 save percentage and giving up 2.65 goals a game.

The puck drop between the Crusaders and Zephyrs is 11:00 a.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Hear the game on KNSI. The winner gets whoever advances to the Quarterfinal between #3 Northfield and #6 Orono.

The Crusaders won their second state title in 2024 after winning their first in 2019.

___