Bayside Chatter: Hockey awards announced

Talk about it

With the girl’s high school hockey season at an end, it’s time for my end-of-the-season awards.

Rookie of the year goes to eighth-grader Allison Morris, who was the fill-in on defense whenever someone was needed and did very well. Runner-up goes to eighth-grade forward Samantha Anderson.

Most improved player goes to freshman Anna Carman, a very hard worker who went from a season of one goal and six points to 19 goals and 33 points. Runner-up goes to Marina Carter, who went from 10 goals to 27.

Offensive player of the year goes to juniors Taylor Guzzo and Marina Carter. Guzzo led the team with 41 points and Carter scored 27 goals. Runners-up were Anna Carman and Taylor Skelton.

Defensive player of the year goes to senior goaltender Nikki Mealey, who finished with 639 saves and a saves percentage of .900. Runner-up is junior defenseman Shay Viola.

The MVP award goes to the three seniors from Ely and Babbitt who are Taylor Skelton, Bailey Rykken, and Brianna Aho. The merger of the Silver Bay and East Range hockey programs came as a big unknown. These three seniors developed into some of the team’s leaders who made the transition a very smooth process.

State

The girls state hockey tournament began Wednesday with Eveleth-Gilbert representing Section 7A. A 4-1 victory over defending champion Chisago Lakes punched their ticket back to the show. Minnetonka is the top seed in AA followed by Edina, Lakeville South, and Coon Rapids while in Class A it is Warroad, Breck, South St. Paul, and Eveleth-Gilbert. Minnetonka and Warroad have each been ranked No. 1 since the beginning of the season.

Warroad, Red Wing, New Ulm, and South St. Paul were the only top-ranked seeds in their section to reach the state tournament. In AA, North Wright County in 8 and Hill-Murray in 4 are the only teams not ranked No. 1 in their section. Minnetonka and Warroad are the prohibitive favorites.

College hockey

Biz Huss had three goals and four assists last weekend as Bethel swept Augsburg to pretty much lock up a playoff spot for Bethel.

Libby Guzzo played in her last college hockey game Saturday as St. Scholastica fell 4-2 to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She was the only senior on the team in its first season of varsity hockey and was honored for her efforts this year.

Playoffs

The Mariners and Agates got together Tuesday once more on the ice in a Section 7A play-in game at Silver Bay with the Mariners coming out ahead 6-2. They traveled to Hibbing Thursday to take on the No. 2 seeded Bluejackets. The Mariners received the No. 7 seed in the section. The section semis are tomorrow at Hibbing and Grand Rapids.

Youth hockey

The Silver Bay U-12 girls fell 2-1 to Moose Lake and 4-2 to Duluth in the District 11 playoffs. They ended the season with a record of 16-14-1.

Tags: bayside chatter, sports, schools