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Centennial too much for rival Mounds View

By Loren Nelson, Editor, 04/13/10, 9:28PM CDT

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Cougars use third-quarter flurry of goals to gun down Mustangs

Already raw season-opening nerves for Centennial and Mounds View were further frayed on Tuesday, April 13, by the fact the teams have forged one of the state’s fiercest rivalries.

Despite being in separate conferences, the Cougars and Mustangs typically square off twice each season ---- in a nonconference game to open the schedule and again, as happened last season, in the Section 4 title game.

“There is a lot of tension,” Centennial coach Mike Hudzinski said. “A lot of the guys are friends. So I think everyone was nervous at the start.”

After a jittery opening half by both teams, it was Centennial which settled into its rhythm first, scoring four goals in rapid succession in the third quarter en route to a 10-4 triumph at Centennial High School.

Tom Thielman scored four goals and Jake Weber had three for the Cougars, who reached the semifinals of the state tournament last season before losing to eventual champion Minnetonka.

“It just all started meshing in the second half,” Thielman said. “We had to get our flow going.”

Most disruptive for the Cougars were their 11 penalties, the bulk of which were taken in the early going. Centennial led just 4-3 at the half.

“They had a problem staying out of the box,” Hudzinski said. “They are going to be running tomorrow. We run for anything that I deem unnecessary, because some of it is just hard play. But if it is a slash or unsportsmanlike penalty, any of those, we run.”

Despite all those penalties, the Cougars’ defense managed to hold Mounds View sharpshooter Sean Lee in check. Lee, hounded by Centennial defenseman Will Herbst for much of the game, managed just one goal.

“Make him play from the outside and make him take those long shots, and hopefully he misses,” Herbst said about the strategy to stop Lee. “That’s all defense is.”

The loss spoiled the debut of first-year Mounds View head coach Joe Cinosky.

“I think coming from down any number of goals is tough,” Cinosky said. “We had a couple of costly turnovers, made some mental errors. It definitely went their way.”

The six-goal margin of victory was an aberration in a series that typically produces outcomes dripping with high drama.

“If you don’t count this game, the previous five games were two overtimes, two one-goal wins and a two-goal win,” Hudzinski said.

Loren Nelson

Loren Nelson

MN Lax Hub Managing Editor

Phone: 612-379-1030 (ext. 126)

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