Crusaders Gear Up For Playoffs With High Hopes Tonight

The Cathedral boys hockey team is focused on another run through the playoffs.  The Crusaders are seeded #1 in Section 5A and will open the playoffs with a quarterfinal game against 8th seeded Princeton at 5pm tonight at the MAC in St. Cloud.  Cathedral head coach Robbie Stocker joined me on WJON.

State Runners Up in 2025

Cathedral lost in the Class A State Championship game in overtime to East Grand Forks 2-1 in 2025.  The Crusaders were 20-9-2 overall last season and Stocker says it's tough to replace key seniors who led them to a 2nd place finish at state.  He says this team has really come together in the last couple of months and is close to playing their best hockey.

Top Players Back

Key returnees on this year's team include defenseman Griffin Sturm and forward Bo Schmidt.  Stocker says even though they have quite a few seniors on the roster many of them led little varsity experience.  He says they got off to a slow start but Stocker feels the guys now know what it's like to play varsity hockey.

Getting Hot

Cathedral has won 8 of their last 11 games and has posted some key wins over top 10 teams including Cloquet, and Northfield.  The Crusaders also played top teams Mahtomedi and Hermantown close losing by just 1 goal.  Stocker feels the team has really bought into a team approach which he believes has led to recent success.

Tonight's Matchup

Cathedral is the #1 seed in Section 5A with a record of 14-11.  The Crusaders play 8th seeded Princeton tonight.  Cathedral defeated Princeton 7-1 on January 24 but Stocker says they are an improved team.  Tonight's game starts at 5pm at the MAC.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Robbie Stocker, click below.