Teddy Blueger scores highlight-reel goal, adds two assists in win over Minnesota Red

“He sees plays, he sees people, and he’s a very deft passer,” Ward said. “He sees the game in a way that most people don’t see the game.

“Teddy Blueger is a very, very, very skillful player. To his credit he’s a hard-working skill player, so if you’ve got a player that’s got skill and he’s a hard worker, then you got a chance to have a good player. Teddy’s really maturing as a player. His game is rounding out and he’s learning to play in his own end and be reliable all over the rink.”

Coach Ward was pleased with Blueger’s performance, and his team’s performance as a whole, after winning the Bauer NIT title.

“Learning how to win championships is a learned trait,” Ward said. “I think you need to learn how to play when the cheese is binding a little bit and the pressure is on. And every game you can get in like this really helps.”

Shattuck-St. Mary’s is looking at the victory as a stepping stone to future success during the course of its long season.

“We are continuing to grow as a group, but we’ve got a lot of hockey to play,” Ward said. “We haven’t even had a snowflake yet and we gotta play until the middle of April. I really like the way we’re playing after 20 games.”

Blueger was happy for a little revenge. Shattuck-St. Mary’s lost in the title game last season 5-4 to Minnesota White in overtime, something that didn’t sit very well with the team.

“It definitely means a lot going forward,” Blueger said.

–Walker Orenstein, MN Hockey Hub staff

Hunter Fejes scored twice, and John Draeger and Teddy Blueger each had a goal and two assists to lead Shattuck-St. Mary’s past Team Southeast 8-2 on Sunday, Oct. 23, in an Upper Midwest High School Elite League matchup of standings leaders at Hobbs Ice Center in Eau Claire, Wis.

The teams alternated scoring the first five goals. The score was tied at 2 early in the second period when Shattuck-St. Mary’s (13-1-1) scored three times to take a 5-2 lead into the third.

Fejes scored both his goals in the third period as Shattuck-St. Mary’s finished the regular season on an 11-game win streak. Shattuck-St. Mary’s lone loss came on Oct. 1 to team Wisconsin.

Team Southwest, which had already clinched the regular season league title, dropped to 13-4-3. Two of Team Southwest’s losses have come against Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Team Southeast had one game remaining on its schedule, a matchup against host Team Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon.

Shattuck-St. Mary’s, which annually joins the Elite League two weeks after the rest of the teams, finished in second with 28 points in the standings despite playing six fewer games.

Team Southeast’s Tyler Sheehy of Burnsville scored in the first period and Scott Nelson of Eastview tied it at 2 on a power play just 47 seconds in the second period.

Shattuck-St. Mary’s goaltender Kyle Hayton stopped 24 of 26 shots and lowered his league-best save percentage to .929. Hayton also has the Elite League’s best goals-against average at 1.88.

Anders Franke of Elk River stopped 30 of 38 shots.

Team Southeast lost top defenseman Eric Schurhamer of St. Thomas Academy to a game ejection for butt-ending late in the second period. Schurhamer also received a 5-minute misconduct for the infraction.