Reunion on Ice!

“Reunion on Ice!” Irondale-Saint Anthony beats Mounds View 3-1.

A 50-year hockey rivalry lived up to the hype - two teams (separated by the old stockyard railroad tracks and Long Lake in New Brighton) continued their mission to return to the glory of earlier eras (3 consecutive state-tournament appearances for each - Mounds View 76, 77, 78 and Irondale 79, 80, 81) with a face-paced, hard-hitting, and creative playmaking game. The boys previously played together on the same youth hockey and baseball teams, but entering different high schools, they now play against each other which thrilled a capacity crowd, raucous student sections and a sheriff’s deputy (or two).

It’s been 13 years since the Knights had beaten Mounds View (MV), but the win gives the Knights a great start to the season. Kevin Kvaal scored early at 1:41 of the 1st period and again in the 2nd period at 1:43 on a power play (assisted by Nolan Neururer and Evan Anderson) giving the Knights a 2-0 lead. The usual scrappy play and fierce grinding around the boards and crease created drama resulting in a few penalties with both teams doing a great job in killing the disadvantage overall. MV Junior Henry Claridge scored at 6:29 in the 3rd (assisted by Luke Morrisette and Ryan Collins) to narrow the gap. Knights senior Ryan Solz (leading scorer from 2017-2018) scored at 13:29 (assisted by Tyler Eskro and Nate Foley) to give the Knights the lead for good. Estimated 1,500 in attendance with fans filling all bleachers and surrounding the rink in the Vandals Heights Sports Center. Irondale outshot Mounds View 27-17. Penalties: IHS/SA had 1 minor and 1 major (checking from behind); MV had 4 minor penalties.

Both teams look forward to a great year!