Section 7A has been wide open since the end of January when Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl and Hibbing-Chisholm were struggling — the Broncos defeated the Blue Devils Jan. 20 — and not much was known about the Duluth schools to the south, Marshall and Central.
The Broncos (10-13-1) weren’t struggling at the time in the midst of a 7-2 stretch following the Rochester Tournament. Fast-forward to Thursday’s Section 7A quarterfinals, and Broncos head coach Mike Bolstad thinks it’s even more wide open.
“I have no qualms about saying this team can make state,” the first-year coach said.
Following the 7-2 stretch, International Falls closed the season in a 1-5 slide, but hopes a hard-fought 2-1 loss in overtime Friday at Fort Frances got them back on track. Two out of the four losses down the stretch came against ranked opponents (Hibbing-Chisholm and Grand Rapids), while the other two losses came against Lake of the Woods and Roseau.
“If we can eliminate those breakaways and odd-man rushes, I believe we can get far in the playoffs,” said Broncos senior goalie Glenn Walls.
The Broncos draw Duluth Marshall (13-10-1) in the quarterfinals, a team that boasts numerous marquee victories this year against No. 5 Rochester Lourdes (21-3), No. 9 Warroad (17-8), No. 8 Thief River Falls (16-7) and No. 15 St. Cloud Cathedral (14-8). The wins at Warroad and Thief River Falls came on back-to-back nights, while the win at St. Cloud Cathedral came in the last game of the regular season.
“It’s a skilled, talented team, but I think we match up well,” Bolstad said.
Matching up is one thing. Executing is another.
When the Broncos have played well this year, they’re physical, working hard and staying out of the penalty box, which is why Friday’s game was a confidence builder after losing five of six.
“We’re not afraid of the Hilltoppers,” Walls said. “Basically, a fresh start for us.”
The Broncos haven’t played Duluth Marshall since defeating the Hilltoppers in the Section 7A championship in 2000. They defeated them the year before in the 1999 playoffs in the only other meeting between the schools.
“When we’re skating and working hard, we’re very tough to beat,” Bolstad said.
Fort Frances 2,
I. Falls 1, OT
IF 0 1 0 0—1
FF 0 0 1 1—2
First period — No scoring.
Second period — IF, Lucas DeBenedet (Christian Kittelson), 13:54.
Third period — FF, Chris Bobczynski (Jeff Davis, Brendan Cawston), 2:19.
Overtime — FF, Brett McMahon, 5:44.
Goalies — IF, Glenn Walls; FF, Devin Stromness.
