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2021 shaping up to be an exciting year for State of Hockey

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Rupp's Rants
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Brennen Rupp, sports writer

Youth sports, including hockey, started back up again on Jan. 4. The prep athletes that had been training on local ponds, lakes and homemade ice rinks took to the ice for the first day of practice.
Jan. 4 also marked the first day of training camp for the Minnesota Wild. On that same night, the top-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers improved to 10-0 with a win over Arizona State University.
The year 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting one for the hockey fanatics that reside in Rock County.
The Luverne girls’ hockey team figures to be one of the top teams in Class 1A. The Cardinals are fresh off a season in which they finished with a 20-4-1 season and made an appearance in the state tournament.
Luverne will return a strong core that includes Kamaryn Van Batavia, who led the team in goals (42) and points (67).
Van Batavia will be joined by Rylee Gee and Reghan Bork, who both finished tied for second on the team with 40 points.
The Cardinals will also return Cheyenne Schutz and Mallory Von Tersch between the pipes.
Luverne will be led by six seniors and a strong group of underclassmen as they aim to make it back to the state tournament in 2021.
For the boys’ hockey team, the Cardinals will be led by four seniors in 2021. The Cardinals wrapped up last season with a 15-10 record. The Cardinals pulled off a minor upset of the Marshall Tigers in the section tournament, before falling to eventual state qualifier Hutchinson.
With a group of four seniors leading the way, the Cardinals will look to put together a deep postseason run in 2021.
The college landscape in The State of Hockey is also an exciting one.
The Golden Gophers are currently the top-ranked team in the country and are one of the early favorites to win the Frozen Four.
Luverne graduate Jaxon Nelson is centering the fourth line for the Gophers. Nelson currently has two goals and two assists for the Gophers.
A bit south of the Gophers is the Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks. The Mavericks were favorites to win the Frozen Four last season before COVID-19 put an abrupt end to the hockey season.
The Mavericks are currently the fifth-ranked team and own a 5-1-1 record.
WIth Dryden McKay, one of the best goalies in the country, leading the way, the Mavericks are a legitimate contender to win the Frozen Four in 2021.
Then there is the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The perennial powerhouse has won the last two Frozen Fours and figure to be a factor once again this season.
The Bulldogs currently own a 6-3-2 record and are the fifth-ranked team in the USCHO.com rankings.
The Minnesota Wild will start the season on Jan. 14. It will mark the anticipated debut of Kirill Kaprizov.
The Wild may not be much of a factor in the playoff race, but with Kevin Fiala and Kaprizov, the Wild figure to be exciting to watch each time they take the ice.

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