Clawing for for the top

While Minnesota is indeed the "State of Hockey," very few schools within Minnesota's boundaries are in fact synonymous with the sport. While grizzled old puckheads will extol the virtues of the great programs to the north, an even smaller number of metro schools are immediately associated with, as the saying goes, "Old Time Hockey." One of those institutions, without a doubt, is Bloomington Jefferson. The blue-on-blue crew has been excelling in the southwest suburbs for nearly 40 years now. Battled-tested tough amongst some of the strongest opponents the state has to offer, the Jaguars have proven to be, year-in, year-out, a model of excellence on the ice. "There's very high expectations here," coach Jeff Lindquist said. "We enjoy the challenge." Since the program's inception in 1970-71, Jefferson has produced scores of collegiate prospects and a prominent number of professional players. "The kids that come through here are respectful of the game and know how to work hard," Lindquist said. "That leads to a lot of success." In fact, during Jefferson's 39-season run, the team has only experienced three losing seasons. The first two came in the team's first two campaigns. The third was just two seasons ago. The Jaguars have rebounded mightily from a 9-14-3 season in 2006-07, recording a 17-7-3 record last year and winning its first 20 games this year before finally falling to Eden Prairie in early February. "As a coach, you'd like to of course win 'em all," Lindquist said. "But the loss got our kids' attention and I think, in a way, got the monkey off our back." Yet, as a testament to the strength of the Jefferson competition, not even a 20-game run of victories was enough to ensure the Jags a 16th conference title as the Eagles' triumph — avenging an earlier Bloomington victory — created a tie atop the Lake Conference standings. "There's some very good teams over here," Lindquist said. "With the schedule we play, if you have a bad day, you are going to lose." It's a razor-thin margin of error for the Jags in the conference race, but even more so in the sectional. A top-ranking in the polls for much of the season only painted a giant target on Jefferson's proverbial back amongst their Section 2AA rivals — a group that includes another traditional puck titan: Edina. "Just getting out of our section is an incredible achievement these days," Lindquist said. "One bad bounce in a certain game can determine the outcome." And in a time when Jefferson has experienced the longest state title drought in the school's history — a modest 14 years headed into this season — winning the Class AA crown would certainly be a welcome accomplishment. "The last title we won was eight years before I came along," Lindquist, in his seventh year of coaching since taking over for longtime leader Tom Saterdalen, said. "So, it would certainly be nice to win State — it would be thrilling to see the kids get a chance to experience that." This year's Jaguars squad certainly had the makeup to claim the state crown for the sixth time in school history with a solid lineup from front to back. Jefferson's goaltender, Casey O'Connor, was honored as the state's best in February after he had saved 340 of 368 shots over his team's first 22 contests. The senior was surrounded by some of the best defenders in Minnesota, including the likes of Tim LaBombard, Joe Faust, Jeff Pauluk, Connor Cline, and a pair of Perpiches in Jake and Nate. "Casey has been so solid for us and he has a great group in front of him dedicated to playing great defense," Lindquist said. Making the defense's job even easier is the Jags' prolific attack, led by lightning-quick high scorer Caleb Herbert, a junior forward who led the team in goals and points during the regular season. It's far from a one-man show, however, as Jefferson offers a legion of players capable of putting the ol' biscuit in the basket, including A.J. Siiro — whose senior season has been hampered by a dislocated shoulder, T.J. Gallus, Tyler Dietzler and Zach Knight to name but a few. "We can score a lot of goals and play good defense," Lindquist said. "Not to mention that we have a number of role players who help us get the job done." Sounds like a great equation for victories. "Our boys are having a great year," Lindquist said. "They work hard and enjoy being together. Whatever happens, it's been lots of fun."