Underdog Greyhounds Look to Carry Momentum into State Tourney

Duluth East will take on St. Thomas Academy in the Class AA state quarterfinals.

DULUTH, Minn. – While the Class A state hockey tournament is already underway, the teams in Class AA had some extra time to prepare. including Duluth East.

The Greyhounds have won seven in a row going into the state tournament. Duluth East will again be underdogs as a fifth seed, but the team has embraced the new role which has galvanized their run to the Xcel Energy Center.

“Just being that underdog this year is kind of cool in a way, just because we can show everyone that we have what it takes to go without those big guys. We have a good ourselves still,” said forward Jack FitzGerald.

“I though our season was going up and down. But towards the end of the season, we were going in there really confident. The seniors really want it. We all want it. We all want to make it to the end,” defenseman Fred Paine said.

The ‘Hounds will take on St. Thomas Academy Thursday night. These two teams haven’t met since the 2015 state quarterfinals, when the unseeded Greyhounds upset the Cadets in overtime. As Duluth East prepares this time around, they will concentrate more on what got them here.

“I’m not so much worried about them. I’m worried about our team. And if we play the way we’re supposed to play, we’ll be fine and we’ll have a chance to win the game. If we deviate from how we play, which some teams do when they get down on that stage, we’re going to be in trouble. We’ll just worry about Hound Hockey. We believe in Hound Hockey and Hound Hockey will get it done,” head coach Mike Randolph said.

Puck drop for Thursday night’s game is set for 8 p.m.