Recent content from David La Vaque
Minnesota Top 25: The Star Tribune's statewide ranking of boys hockey teams
A change at the very top is traceable to Hill-Murray's victory over Moorhead on Saturday.
Girls hockey: The Minnesota Top 25, state tournament edition
Going into the state tournament, here's where the best fall in line.
Meet Layla Hemp, the Star Tribune's Player of the Year in girls hockey
Layla Hemp, who has signed with the Gophers, was 15-1 in the net for the regular season with a 95% save percentage.
Minnesota's best: Here are the Star Tribune's top 25 girls hockey players in the state
All-Minnesota team: From the Twin Cities to greater Minnesota, we've selected our best players in the state this season.
10 boys hockey players who could carry their teams to state
These players have what it takes to lead their teams to St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, the site of the state tournament.
Boys hockey: One writer's picks for which teams advance to Xcel
These teams are likely to win their respective sections and advance to St. Paul, the site of the boys state hockey tournament.
Hill-Murray overcomes Moorhead 8-7 in overtime in a boys hockey game right off the top of the rankings
No. 1 Moorhead and No. 2 Hill-Murray piled up goals until the one by Boden Sampair settled it.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school boys hockey teams
Moorhead and Hill-Murray retained the top two spots, and Edina moved up to No. 3.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school girls hockey teams
The teams are in the midst of section tournaments that must be completed by Friday.
A Cloquet constant: Friends make high school hockey rink their gathering place
Donny Lamirande, Kenny Limmer and Dick Millen have been attending Lumberjacks games for decades.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school girls hockey teams
As teams deal with early rounds of section tournaments, change is limited to the second half of the list.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school boys hockey teams
Moorhead remained No. 1, and St. Thomas Academy slid into the No. 2 spot after No. 3 Hill-Murray and No. 4 Edina split back-to-back games.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school girls hockey teams
The top five stood strong, the second five got shuffled, and that's where it ends as the regular season winds down and the rankings with it.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school boys hockey teams
Moorhead, its only loss going back to the opening day of the Spuds' season, maintained the top position.
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team turns back Bemidji on senior night
C-E-C went with a senior-heavy starting lineup and fell behind but poured it on in the second period.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school boys hockey teams
The last five squads are shuffled this week, with no change near the top.
The Minnesota Top 25, the Star Tribune's statewide, class-crossing ranking of high school girls hockey teams
The list is shuffled only slightly this week as programs and the season progress toward the postseason.
The most surprising girls hockey teams this season
From the Twin Cities to greater Minnesota, these teams have drawn notice from coaches and writer David La Vaque.
Hall of Fame goalie and Edina hockey coach Willard Ikola dies at 92
Ikola passed away Monday evening, according to Edina High School officials. In 33 years, he led the program to eight state championships and 19 state tournament appearances.
Boys hockey: Meet the early favorites for Mr. Hockey and Goalie of the Year
See who made reporter David La Vaque's short list for the coveted high school hockey awards.
Girls hockey: Minnetonka is new No. 1 in Star Tribune's Minnesota Top 25 following win over Edina
A victory over then-No. 1 Centennial/Spring Lake Park lifted Holy Angels into the top five.
Boys hockey: As strength of schedule dips in January, Minnesota Top 25 is only slightly adjusted
Moorhead, Hill-Murray, St. Thomas Academy and Edina remain the top four teams. Monticello dropped from the top five after a loss to St. Cloud Cathedral.
She's arguably Minnesota's best girls hockey player ... and as anti-spotlight as can be
Mercury Bischoff, a Minnesota State Mankato-bound standout, leads Minnesota in goals and is sixth in history in points. She'll likely be a Ms. Hockey Award finalist but said, "It's not like it's top of mind."
Minnetonka makes single goal stand up against Edina in high-level girls hockey serving a mission
The game was scheduled to benefit Sophie's Squad, a mental health initiative, and it drew a sellout crowd.
Boys Hockey: Moorhead new No. 1 in Star Tribune's Top 25 rankings
Meanwhile, Monticello added its name to the list of Class 1A state tournament contenders with a move into the top 10.
Girls Hockey: Despite loss to Holy Angels, Centennial/Spring Lake Park remains No. 1 in Star Tribune's Top 25
Seven teams make their Top 25 debut while Andover makes its first appearance in the top 10.
Boys Hockey: Eden Prairie rockets into top 10 in Star Tribune's Top 25 rankings
An undefeated St. Thomas Academy team remains the No. 1-ranked team in Minnesota per David La Vaque. No other teams fell or improved by more than a few spots in this week's rankings.
Girls Hockey: Centennial/Spring Lake Park remains No. 1 in Star Tribune's Top 25 rankings
Maple Grove jumps from No. 14 last week into the top-10 via a respectable one-goal loss to top-ranked Centennial/Spring Lake Park.
Boys Hockey: New coach has St. Thomas Academy at No. 1 in Star Tribune's Minnesota Top 25
Also, Rosemount enters the Top 25 rankings at No. 10 with a fast start this season at 7-0.
Girls Hockey: Centennial/Spring Lake Park takes over No. 1 spot in Star Tribune's Top 25 rankings
Dodge County, a Class 1A team loaded with returning talent, moves into the top five.
All-Minnesota Boys Cross-Country Runner of the Year: Roseville's Robert Mechura
The two-time state champion hasn't lost a Minnesota high school race in more than two years as he heads to North Carolina for college.
Forest Lake's Hushagen doubles up: She's again the Star Tribune's Girls Cross-Country Runner of the Year
Others suggested she would slow down, but she never did, repeating as the Class 3A individual champion
Watch Moorhead and Maple Grove girls hockey teams in a Twin Cities vs. greater Minnesota matchup
A stream of the game, pitting a pair of state tournament contenders, will be available at startribune.com at 7 p.m. Friday.
Meet the Dream Team: The best boys hockey players in Minnesota
The Minnesota Star Tribune's David La Vaque produced his annual list, reaching beyond the Twin Cities for the players this time and including their college plans.
Boys hockey: Champ Edina lands at the top of the first Minnesota Top 25
Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque ranks the best teams in Minnesota, finding representatives from all over the state.
Meet our Dream Team: The state's best girls hockey players
Talent runs deep in Minnesota girls hockey. The Star Tribune's David La Vaque picks the dozen best players and puts them all on the same roster for a day.
Girls hockey: Defending 2A champ Edina starts season No. 1 in Star Tribune's Minnesota Top 25
The list of the best high school teams in the state will be updated weekly by Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque.
Now Minnesota's winningest boys hockey coach, Randolph focuses on getting Northern Lakes to the 'X'
Building with tools from his past, he looks to take a co-op program involving several schools to new heights.
Meet the Star Tribune's All-Prep Bowl Team
A list of the standout players across all classifications competing in the high school football championship games at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Stewartville repeats as Class 3A state champs with win over Dassel-Cokato
The win also gave Stewartville a second consecutive perfect season, and the program's 28th consecutive victory.
Jackson County Central beats Staples-Motley, 42-26, for Class 2A state championship
Powered by quarterback Grant Freking, Jackson Country Central earned its first Prep Bowl title since 2001, when the program won the 3A championship.
Prep Bowl predictions: Our picks for the winner of each football championship at U.S. Bank Stadium
Star Tribune prep writers David La Vaque and Jim Paulsen offer their predictions for the high school football championship games this weekend.
Coach trades football spotlight at Maple Grove to join ensemble cast at Minnetonka
Matt Lombardi will lead the Skippers' defense in the Class 6A Prep Bowl against the Crimson he used to coach.
Dassel-Cokato 300-pounder lives a lineman's dream: He's a fullback now
Coaches rescued Lars Salmen from a lifetime on the offensive line. "He even caught a touchdown pass this season," his dad said. "He loves it."
Springfield, Minneota will meet again in Class 1A Prep Bowl
A 7-yard rushing touchdown by Springfield running back Gavin Vanderwerf with 1:49 left in the game sealed a win over Mahnomen/Waubun. Minneota rolled over Parkers Prairie 45-0.
Kimball Area savors a trip to state three decades in the making
"Wouldn't it be cool to get to this spot?" coach Clay Anderson had asked from the U.S. Bank Stadium stands in 2023. The 2024 answer from senior Owen Mortenson: "It was just huge for us."
Football prognosticators ponder five final semifinals
Saturday's games will set all the pairings for next week's Prep Bowl.
Elk River drops defending champ Chanhassen in Class 5A semifinal
The Elks completed a set: They ended the Storm's season with a loss and began it that way.
Minnetonka rolls past Anoka and into the Class 6A football Prep Bowl
Quarterback Caleb Francois rushed for 283 yards and scored five touchdowns, overcoming the three-touchdown passing of Anoka's Peyton Podany.
Five more semifinals present a handful of challenge for football prognosticators
The indoor portion of the prep postseason continues at U.S. Bank Stadium with games spread over four classes, closing with the Class 6A clash of Shakopee and Maple Grove.
Best vs. Best: Most intriguing individual matchups at the high school football state semis
Many of Minnesota's best high school football players will go head-to-head this week in the state semifinals.
Prognosticators make their guesses as playoffs settle into U.S. Bank Stadium
Four games from three classes open the indoor portion of the high school football postseason, closing with the Class 6A clash of Minnetonka and Anoka.
Football predictions: Three quarterfinal matchups in Class 6A and two in Class 5A challenge our pickers
See who reporters David La Vaque and Jim Paulsen pick as winners in these clashes: Edina-Maple Grove, Alexandria-Armstrong, Minnetonka-Blaine, Mounds View-Shakopee and Chanhassen-St. Thomas Academy.
Two Class 3A cross-country champions repeat their success
Forest Lake's Norah Hushagen and Roseville's Robert Mechura won again, and St. Paul Highland Park's girls team had the top two finishers in winning the Class 2A team title.
Providence Academy defeats Southwest Christian for Class 1A girls soccer state title
Each team had a known force, Maddyn Greenway for Providence Academy and Saraphina Bettin for Southwest Christian, but freshman Blake Hudson provided the only goal.
Girls soccer: Mahtomedi blanks Holy Angels to take Class 2A championship
Seniors Cecilia Emery and Aynslea Ulschmid scored for the Zephyrs, a team motivated by bitter memories.
Girls Soccer: Wayzata tops Edina to win 3A state title
Wayzata senior Tenley Senden scores two goals while defense kicks away flurries of Edina chances in second half to keep Hornets to one goal.
Football predictions: Who will win highly-anticipated Alexandria-Moorhead rematch for 5A section championship?
High school sports writers David La Vaque and Jim Paulsen also pick winners for Eden Prairie at Maple Grove, Edina at Eagan and Andover at Elk River playoff football games.
Boys Soccer: Sondag's overtime goal sends Eagan to 3A title game against Maple Grove
Eagan became the first team to beat undefeated and top-seeded Minneapolis Washburn this year, defeating the Millers 1-0 in the semifinals. Maple Grove beat Andover, 3-1, to complete the matchup for Friday's state championship.
Girls soccer: Wayzata, Edina among teams advancing to state championship game
The Trojans defeated Eagan 5-0 and Edina beat East Ridge 3-1 in the Class 3A semifinals Tuesday at U.S. Bank Stadium to move on to Friday's title game. Holy Angels and Mahtomedi will meet in the 2A final; Southwest Christian and Providence Academy square off in the 1A championship game.
![“Their coach [Joe Bartos] started the conversation of going to running time for the second half,” Becker coach Dwight Lundeen said. “I was in fu](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/6D7D4PDHSJGFVEJFV3W2FTRBNY.jpg?h=120&w=180&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)
Becker routs Little Falls in 56-14 playoff 'mismatch'
Saturday's Class 4A, Section 8 football semifinal was essentially over at halftime, with Becker up by seven touchdowns.
Football: Preston Thielke leads Champlin Park over East Ridge in 6A playoff opener
Thielke finishes with three touchdowns, including a 77-yard touchdown run on the game's opening play.
Football predictions: Lakeville South ready to avenge previous loss to Wayzata in playoff rematch
Champlin Park-East Ridge, Rocori-Princeton and Rosemount-Blaine high school football matchups rise to the top of weekend playoff predictions.
Chaska overcomes Waconia in overtime in first round of football playoffs
Quinn Meyer kicked two field goals in the third quarter and an all-important point after in overtime for Chaska. Awaiting is defending Class 5A champ Chanhassen.
Football playoffs: Chaska-Waconia rematch, St. Paul schools showdown intrigue football predictors
Star Tribune reporters Jim Paulsen and David La Vaque pick the biggest matchups of the opening round of high school football playoffs beginning Tuesday.
Armstrong edges Andover 57-56 in two overtimes in clash of prep football powers
Armstrong's Kevon Johnson scored five touchdowns, including the one that tied the score in double overtime.
Could Maple Grove, Armstrong and Alexandria lose this week? Here are predictions for Week 8's top games
Coming off a loss to Moorhead in a matchup of the top ranked teams in Class 5A, Alexandria must face Elk River, another titan in 5A.
Edina rallies past Stillwater on Mason West's three TD passes to Jabari Strader
Kicker Landon Huber kept the Ponies in it with three field goals, but the Hornets' passing game clicked over and over and over.
Predictions feature clash of top QBs and a perfect greater Minnesota matchup
Edina's Mason West and Stillwater's Nick Kinsey, the top two quarterback prospects in Minnesota, will meet Thursday, a day before the top two teams in Class 5A match up.
'I'm not afraid': Twin Cities teen leaves fear on the sideline when it's time to play
South St. Paul four-sport athlete Alida Ahern uses sports as an outlet when anxiety emerges.
Rislove, Altavilla power Two Rivers football past Washburn
After Washburn took a 6-0 lead, Two Rivers running back Ramzi Rislove ran for a pair of short touchdowns, plays that sandwiched a defensive score.
Despite losing record, Eden Prairie still a danger to Minnetonka, predictors say
Becker at Rocori and Rogers at Elk River are two of the weekend's top high school football matchups.
Lakeville North remains unbeaten with win over Eagan
The Wildcats used an inspired performance and seemed poised to earn their first victory at North since 2006, but the Panthers regrouped Friday night in a 36-33 victory.
High school football predictions for Week 5 zero in on undefeated teams
St. Thomas Academy at Armstrong matchup splits predictions for Star Tribune reporters Jim Paulsen and David La Vaque.
Midseason Report: The most surprising high school football teams and players
Star Tribune sportswriters share which teams and players have had the most unexpected and surprising season so far.
