Rogers boys hockey defeats Champlin Park to reach first MSHSL state tournament in school history

The Royals won the Class 2A, Section 5 Minnesota high school boys hockey tournament

There’s a phrase plastered all over the Rogers social media pages reading, “A hockey program, not a truck stop off Highway 94.” 

For the trio of Mason Jenson, Nolen Geerdes and Parker Deschene, they helped give that proclamation substance.

 The three stuck with the program since they were mites, building it up brick-by-brick, and were rewarded for that journey tonight. 

“Those are my best friends, we’ve been that way since we were six years old, we push each other to be the best,” Geerdes said. “And the competitiveness between us is unreal. “I love those guys to death.”

The No. 1-seed Rogers Royals defeated the No. 3-Seed Champlin Park Rebels 4-3 in the 5AA section championship Thursday night. The win gives Rogers its first section championship in school history.

It was Geerdes who gave the Royals a picture-perfect start, scoring just three minutes into the game, using a plethora of moves to net one past the Champlin Park goaltender.

“That's what all the summer training is for, all the offseason training, so when you get into those moments, it's your second nature,” Geerdes said. 

 Deschene and Jenson would make their mark later in the game for the Royals, assisting on a Keaton Weis goal early into the second period. 

For Champlin Park, though, it just kept digging. Like it did in its upset victory in the semifinals over the two-seed Maple Grove, the Rebels had a knack for growing into games.

Champlin Park Head Coach Tom Potter said this was the closest group of seniors he's ever had and knew they would always keep battling on the ice.

Heading into the third period, Potter had a message for his team. Staring down the barrel of a three goal deficit with just one period to go, he kept it candid with his group in the locker room.

 “You guys can sit out here and feel bad for yourselves being down three, or you can go out there and put the pedal to the metal for 17 minutes and see what happens,’” Potter told his team.

30 seconds was all it took for him to realize his group bought in on his message. Cole Perkins found the back of the net off the Rebels' first rush to get them within two goals. Nick Carlson cut things to one just over a minute later. 

 It was the Royals who just dug a little deeper.  

On the back foot for nearly the entire third period trying to defend their one goal lead, Rogers did what it had to do to get the job done. A team mostly known for its prolific goal scoring, instead had to finish things on the defensive end. 

“You have to find ways to win,” Rogers Head Coach David Brown said. “Our guys bought in. They blocked shots when it was time to block shots and stalled pucks when it was time to stall pucks.”

 When the Royals needed it the most in waning seconds, it was the trio who stepped up. A group of guys who stayed with the program through thick and thin finished things together on the ice by clearing pucks and eating up clock. 

“Nolen Geerdes played the best game of his life, I'm so proud of that kid,”  Brown said. Parker  and Mason: to lock it in at the last minute, it's so fun to see how many guys shined bright today.” 

A city that was most known as a truck stop can now call itself home to section champions over two decades later.

“Twenty-one years ago someone saw a vision for this program,” Brown said. “To get it done for all those people who built it long before I was the head coach, hopefully they can be proud of this community and the 20 guys who got this job done.”

LINK TO ORIGINAL STORY: https://www.si.com/high-school/minnesota/rogers-boys-hockey-defeats-champlin-park-to-reach-first-mshsl-state-tournament-in-school-history-01jn5e0kfkrt