ST. PAUL -- A Class AA quarterfinal that was billed as a defender's dream lived up to all the pre-game hype Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Offense was at a premium for everybody not named Max Elsenheimer, who scored two goals in a 3-0 Eagan victory that knocked Duluth East into the consolation bracket of the Minnesota high school boys hockey tournament.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats (19-9-1) drew first blood when Elsenheimer alertly raised his stick to deflect a Nick Wolff wrist shot past East goalie Gunnar Howg 16:58 into the second period.
"That's been our Achilles all year -- getting scored on in the beginning of periods and getting scored on at the end of periods," said Duluth East coach Mike Randolph.
Elsenheimer then added a third-period insurance goal when he beat Howg with a wrister from a nasty angle after cycling behind the net with the puck.
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Kyle Stebbing scored on an empty net late in the third to seal it.
The Greyhounds (21-7-1), seeded fourth in their sixth consecutive state tournament, struggled to garner quality chances against a defense led by 6-foot-4, 205-pound Mr. Hockey finalist Wolff and sturdy netminder Andrew Lindgren, who East coach Mike Randolph hailed as one of the best in the state earlier this week.
Still, the game got off to a promising start for the Section 7AA champs.
Behind their own Mr. Hockey finalist, Phil Beaulieu -- who is at state for the fourth time -- the Greyhounds controlled the pace in the opening period. They used the game's first power play to outshoot the Wildcats 11-6 in the first frame, but couldn't get anything past Lindgren.
Elsenheimer's buzzer-beater in the second period sucked the life from the Greyhounds just before they headed to the locker room.
East falls into a consolation semifinal against state-tournament rookie Stillwater Area at noon today at Mariucci Arena.
Eagan, meanwhile, advances to the semifinals, where Edina awaits. The top-seeded Hornets faced little resistance in a 6-1 quarterfinal victory over Stillwater.
Overall attendance for the four Class AA quarterfinals Thursday at Xcel was 33,561 -- 17,979 for the evening session and 15,582 for the morning. Eagan 0-1-2--3
Duluth East 0-0-0--0
First period -- No scoring.
Second period -- 1. Max Elsenheimer (Nick Wolff), 16:58 (pp).
Third period -- 2. Elsenheimer; 3. Kyle Stebbing, (en).
Saves -- Andrew Lindgren, E, 11; Gunnar Howg, DE, 6.
