Minneapolis Men’s hockey ranked #3 beat the #2 seed Delano in the Class 1A Section 2 Semifinal on Saturday, February 24. Minneapolis played Delano on December 14 of this season but fell short in a 4-5 loss, but they came up victorious in a 6-3 win sending them to the finals against Orono determining who will play on the biggest stage in Minnesota high school hockey; the Xcel Energy Center where the Minnesota Wild host their opponents. 

Minneapolis dominated the first period, out shooting Delano 13-7, but when Minneapolis had a power play Delano managed to get a shorthanded goal 10 minutes into the period. Delano went into the second period up 1-0 but Minneapolis didn’t let the deficit deter them. Forward Johan Krasean (‘25), tied the game in the 11 minute, igniting his team (and the crowd) to skate right back down to Delano’s goal and score again only 20 seconds later. Within seconds Minneapolis had their first lead of the night all thanks to Krasean. Forward Cooper Cirone (‘24) in the 14 minute added to his team’s lead, going into the final period up 3-1. 

With 10 minutes remaining, Delano showed their sense of urgency when they scored, making a win seem within reach now that they were only 1 goal behind. Delano then gave Minneapolis a gift, penalizing a Minneapolis player and sending the guilty party to the penalty box. Minneapolis, with a man advantage, didn’t let that time go to waste when Krasean scored in minute 8, again extending Minneapolis’ lead by 2 goals and earning himself a hat trick. But Delano wasn’t giving up easily, 6 minutes remaining in the game they scored, inching closer to tie the game, which was now 4-3. In the last 2 minutes of the game, Delano pulled their goalie. As Minneapolis defended their goal, Forward Matthew Walsh (‘25) took advantage of an empty net and scored with 20 seconds left in the game. Delano now down 3-5 still kept their goalie on the bench hoping for a miracle, but Krasean put those hopes to bed by not only scoring 18 seconds later but earning his fourth goal. With 2 seconds left in the 17 minute period and Minneapolis up 6-3 the puck dropped for the last time, ending Delano’s season and earning Minneapolis a spot to play Orono in the finals on Wednesday, February 28. Wish the boys luck, we want to meet them at the X.