As the host of this year's Hockey Day Minnesota, St. Cloud has spent months preparing for the event, and the opening game should be a community spectacle as the city’s two boys' hockey varsity programs battle on Lake George at 10 a.m.
The public school program, a co-op between St. Cloud Apollo and St. Cloud Tech, defeated St. Cloud Cathedral 4-2 in their regular-season matchup a year ago.
On Saturday, the No. 7-1A Crusaders look to avenge the loss, while St. Cloud hopes to assert itself as the city’s top program.
St. Cloud (11-3, 5-1) has won six of its past seven games and took No. 15-2A Brainerd to overtime in a 5-4 loss on Jan. 9. Brad Amundson (14-17-32) had two assists in the defeat and has averaged 3.0 points per contest in St. Cloud’s past seven games.
St. Cloud Cathedral posted consecutive 4-3 losses at No. 1-1A Hermantown and at No. 10-1A Virginia at the end of the first week of January, but the Crusaders (11-4, 1-0) bounced back by defeating Little Falls 6-1 last Thursday.
Sophomore Nate Warner (16-20-36), a St. Cloud State commit, has been a vital cog in a Crusaders' power play that’s converting at 36.1 percent. His team-high 10 assists on the power play is indicative of his squad's puck movement, as seven players have 11 or more assists this season.