High School

Zach LaValle: A three-sport Pioneer

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 September 2012 16:02

By Peter Knutson
Let’s Play Hockey

Three-sport athletes are hard to come by today. With college scouts starting to look at high school athletes earlier than ever before, most scouts want these recruits to focus on their main sport so as to not get injured during the off-season and prevent them from playing. One high school athlete who has challenged this idea is senior Zach LaValle of Hill-Murray. LaValle is the starting quarterback and captain of the football team, one of the leading scorers and second-year captain of the hockey team, and a second baseman on the baseball team.

It becomes even more impressive when you learn that each of those teams made it to the state tournament and faired quite well. In football, LaValle led the team to the semifinals where they lost to the eventual state champions by just two points. In hockey, he captained the team as a junior and led them to a second-place finish. Finally to wrap up the school year, the baseball team finished with a state consolation championship. Not a bad year for a junior.

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A time to bond and train

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Last Updated on Thursday, 09 August 2012 16:11

What the summer training program means to current and former players

 This summer, the Roseville Raiders have continued the tradition of training together in order to strengthen their on- and off-ice bonds. The Raiders start this summer refreshed and are enjoying their Summer Training under the direction of Jeff Pauletti and his staff of Carl Hamre, Kent Hamre and Matt Schugel. Alumni Tom Bartel, Cole Knowlton and Nick Lehr are also helping out. While the STP program is not affiliated with the high school, most of the participants have played on the high school teams. Some do not participate for various reasons.

The training and chemistry-building the team is going through is in hopes of another successful year in the Suburban East Conference and a long postseason run; culminating in a trip to the “X” next spring. The team graduated 11 seniors, with some going on to play juniors and some playing at the Division III level. These departures will leave big shoes to fill, as training and fine-tuning of skills have begun for the 2012-13 season.

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Girls Elite League set for fifth season

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Last Updated on Friday, 07 September 2012 15:12

The fifth season of the Girls Upper Midwest High School Elite League will soon be underway! Modeled after the boys’ version, this fall developmental league allows the top female hockey players in the upper Midwest to compete with players of similar ability. The schedule allows multi-sport athletes to continue their fall sport. 

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Elite League set for 12th season

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Last Updated on Thursday, 14 February 2013 17:35

By Loren Nelson
MN Hockey Hub editor

Benilde-St. Margaret’s forward Grant Besse is the top returning scorer with 35 points as the Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League released its rosters for the 2012 season.
Besse, who scored all five goals for the Red Knights in their 5-1 state Class 2A championship victory over Hill-Murray, is an early Mr. Hockey frontrunner. He scored 15 goals and added 17 assists in 21 regular season games for Team Northwest last fall, and added two goals and an assist in three playoff games.

Besse is one of six Benilde-St. Margaret’s players on Elite League rosters and is joined by Team Southwest’s Patrick Graham, Dan Labosky and Justin Quale and Team Northeast’s T.J. Moore. Labosky and Moore are forwards, Graham a defenseman and Quale a goaltender. Spencer Naas, who played last season for Blake but is transferring to Benilde-St. Margaret’s, joins Besse on Team Northwest.

Read more: Elite League set for 12th season