It’s common for third-place games at state to be lackluster after the aspirations of winning a title are wiped away, but Wayzata and Mahtomedi bucked that trend a season ago.
The teams traded scoring runs into overtime, where Wayzata’s Brayden Nelson netted the game-winning goal for a 9-8 victory and the third-place trophy.
Last year was Mahtomedi’s deepest run in the tournament, and the Zephyrs (0-1) will be eager to avenge their loss to the Trojans and shake their overtime woes following an 11-10 overtime loss to Chanhassen last Saturday. Mahtomedi's Ben Putney scored three times while Nate Graslewicz netted two goals against the Storm.
Wayzata picked up two Lake Conference wins last week — a 7-6 victory over Eden Prairie on Thursday and an 11-9 win against Minnetonka two days later. The Trojans' trademark defense stymied the Eagles to just two goals in the first half, while their offense found its stride against the Skippers. Andrew Sahli has two goals and six assists on the season, while Dalton Seesz notched hat tricks in both games for Wayzata (2-0, 2-0).