Class AA boys state hockey: Relentless Ponies tame Andover in quarterfinals
Four Stillwater players scored goals as the Ponies earned the program's second tournament victory, 4-0.
For a team making its first state tournament appearance since 2016, and third overall, Stillwater Area sure looked comfortable Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.
The second-seeded Ponies came out of the gate strong, taking a lead on Brody Dustin’s rebound goal just 2 minutes, 40 seconds into the first period and never looking back in a 5-0 quarterfinal victory over a hot Andover team on Thursday.
The No. 7 seed, Andover came in with a 15-13 record but after losing their first nine games were 15-4 headed into the tournament opener. The Huskies (15-14) played a smart, fast game, but a Stillwater (23-6-0) team featuring 12 seniors and balanced scoring was better.
Dustin, Matthew Volkman, Luca Jarvis, Lucas Meyers and Trey Fredenberg scored goals as the Ponies advanced to meet the winner of the afternoon game between No. 3 seed St. Thomas Academy and No. 6 seed Shakopee.
Confident and skilled, The Ponies never stopped pressuring Andover, throwing 27 shots on Huskies junior goaltender Cash Cruitt, who stopped a lot of Grade A chances only to be thwarted by second-chance goals. He finished with 22 saves.
Huskies skaters blocked 16 shots, but the Ponies just kept coming, three of their goals coming off the sticks of seniors Dustin, Volkman and Meyers. Senior goaltender Cal Conway stopped 23 shots.
Dustin’s goal was an awkward back-hander into an empty net after Cruitt stopped a shot from the point by Jonas Kohn and got tangled with a teammate. That gave Stillwater a quick 1-0 lead.
Volkman scored on a terrific wrist shot just inside the near post to make it 2-0 at 7:43 of the first period, and Jarvis scored from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Volkman to make it 3-0 just 1:48 into the second period.
The Ponies scored again in the second, when Cruitt stopped two quick shots through traffic only to have the second rebound go straight to Meyers, who calmly sliced it into the net for a 4-0 lead at 13:48.
That goal was perhaps most indicative of the pressure the Ponies generated shift after shift. Or maybe it was the last one, by Fredenberg, who stole a puck in Andover’s end, skated through the left circle and scored 5 hole for a 5-0 lead at 15:48.
It wasn’t just on offense, either. Stillwater was strong with their sticks, deflecting passes and poke-checking away chances. Ponies skaters finished with nine blocks, two of them consecutive blocks by Tate Batchelor to get the puck out of Stillwater’s end late in the first period.
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