Category Archives: Twin Cities Game Time Podcast

The Twin Cities Game Time Podcast is your weekly source for Twin Cities High School sports. Matt Dean and Logan Anderson will break down key games, share insights from coaches and players, and keep you well informed when it comes to high school sports in the Twin Cities Metro area.

EP 114: Let them Eat Cake, a Boys State Hockey Recap PLUS a Preview of this Week’s Girls Hoops’ Tourney with Grant McGinnis!

The podcast crew are back for a two-parter episode, recapping the weekend’s Boys High School Hockey Tournament before welcoming in Grant McGinnis of Prep Girls Hoops Minnesota to preview this week’s big dance in girls basketball!

Starting at (5:00), Matt, Logan, and Bill go through the prep sports headlines of the week, including reacting to Sunday’s announcement of Mr. Hockey Minnesota.

At (9:33), they dive into their State Boys Hockey recap, touching on each game of the Class AA Tournament first at (10:57), culminating with the Edina Hornets capturing their 14th State title. Starting at (29:10), they discuss each game of a compelling Class A tourney (29:10), and spotlight some great goaltending and an MVP performance for senior Andrew Dwinnell for St. Cloud-Cathedral.

Starting at (38:29), Grant McGinnis joins the show to preview the Girls Basketball State Tournament! They talk favorites in each class, potential upset picks to look out for, and discuss the wealth of talented players in the State fom Class 4A and the likes of Aaliyah Crump (Tonka) & Liv McGill (Hopkins) all the way down to Class A standouts like Jordan Zubich of Mountain Iron-Buhl.

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EP 113: “Tourney Time:” A Boys HS Hockey State Tournament Preview with the Star Tribune’s David La Vaque

It’s State Tournament week at “the X” as the podcast previews the Boys High School Hockey Tourney with David La Vaque, a prep sportswriter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and author of “Tourney Time: Stories from the Minnesota Boys State Hockey Tournament!”

The guys get into the show by welcoming in La Vaque, before toouching on some prep sports headlines this week, including some ticket snafus at last week’s Section Finals and a record-setting performance in girls basketball.

Starting at (12:43), they get into their State Tourney talk by recapping last week’s slate of Section Finals, including detailed breakdowns of Chanhassen, Edina, and White Bear Lake’s wins that La Vaque covered for the Strib, as well as Logan’s thoughts on the upset of the week down in Rochester!

At (38:15), they react to the seedings and matchups of both the Class A and Class AA Tournaments and muse on how the tournaments might play out this week in St. Paul.

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EP 112: “A Bunch of Nobodies” with Centennial Boys Hockey’s Rich Menne, Previewing this Week’s Section Finals & a Girls State Hockey Recap!

Before welcoming in the head coach of Centennial Boys Hockey, Matt, Logan, and Bill reconvene, first talking about the announcement of Mr. Hockey & Frank Brimzak award finalists, as well as their predictions for who the top-10 finalists for Mr. Basketball will be later this week.

Starting at (13:08), they recap last week’s Girls Hockey State Tournament, talking about Hockey Town Minnesota storming to their third straight title in Class A and Edina’s sterling display at the X last week.

At (23:30), they transition to boys hockey and talk all the notable results from the past week in Class AA, starting with St. Cloud’s stunning upset of Roseau last Tuesday, and how Elk River and Buffalo will make history in this Wednesday in the Section 8AA Final! They break down each Section Final going down this week, including Matt’s thoughts after calling one of the 5AA Semis and Logan preparing for this Thursday’s Section 1AA Final call.

Interview with Rich Menne, the 13th year head coach of Centennial, starts at (44:03). Menne talks about his team’s battle with Rogers Saturday, Harper Searles’ Mr. Hockey finalist snub, how impressed he’s been with Rogers, Champlin Park, and Maple Grove’s seasons this year, and the “bunch of nobodies” mantra that has the Cougars buzzing into their first Section Final in three years!

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EP 111: Girls State Hockey Preview & Tiger Talk with Farmington Boys Hoops’ Tharen Johnson!

Before welcoming in the head coach of the No. 7 ranked Farmington Boys Basketball program, Matt, Logan, & Bill first hit on some prep sports headlines, including boys hockey player of the year candidates, Miss Hockey semifinalists, and a big Lake Conference rivalry matchup on the hardwood from Friday night.

Starting at (12:24), they react to the results of Sunday’s Section seeding meetings in Boys Class AA hockey, and preview some of the notable Section playoff matchups that get underway this week.

At (25:26), they review each of last week’s girls hockey Section Final results, and preview the State Tournaments in both Class A and Class AA that start Wednesday morning in St. Paul!

Interview with Tharen Johnson, the 8th year head coach of the Tigers, starts at (49:28). Topics discussed include the Tiger program consistency as they approach their fourth straight winning season, Farmington’s proclivity for crashing the glass, and how the Tigers will fare as they look to snap an over 80-year State Tourney drought.

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EP 110: “Winning Anyways” with Shakopee Boys Hockey Coach Calvin Simon, plus Bill Hupp Shines in the Super Bowl!

Before welcoming in the head coach of the 7th-ranked Shakopee Boys Hockey Team, Matt & Bill first grapple with the implications of Bill’s newfound stardom after a Super Bowl commercial appearance, before getting into some of the prep sports headlines of the week at (4:39). Headlines this week include a monumental clash between Tonka and Edina on the ice, a recent losing skid for another State Tourney contender, and one of the top boys hoops teams in the State seeing their unbeaten season squashed over the weekend.

Starting at (15:30), they recap the action on the ice from the girls hockey Section playoffs last week, including a stunning upset by Rosemount behind some hot goaltending, and tee up the Section Finals of note this week around the State!

Interview with Coach Simon starts at (26:30). Topics include the Sabers’ forward depth that includes electrifying goal-scorers Cooper Simpson and Cooper Siegert, Shako clinching their first-ever conference title, the Sabers’ Frank Brimzak contender between the pipes, “Hockey Day” Minnesota preparations for next year, and more!

Finally, Matt and Bill close with “notes from the field” at (53:18), talking Eastview Divison 1 standout Jon Mekonnen and a golf mishap from over the weekend.

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Gleaning from the Grove, a Girls Hockey Section Preview with Crimson Head Coach Jim Koltes

Matt and Bill keep the podcast rolling into playoff season as they preview the girls hockey Section Tournaments that get started this week!

Before diving into hockey, the hit on some of the key prep sports headlines of the week at (2:57), including changes coming to the State Tournament next year, a school-record, and prominent Minnesotans climbing the ACC ladder.

Starting at (14:20), they go Section-by-Section to discuss favorites to punch their tickets to “the X” while chiming in on standout players, and the three Section Tournaments that are going to be the most exciting to watch in Class AA.

Interview with Jim Koltes, the 12th year head coach of the Crimson, starts at (41:31).

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EP 108: Boys Hoops Upsets & the Basketball Trojan Horse with Wayzata Head Coach Bryan Schnettler

Before welcoming in the head coach of the reigning State champion Wayzata Boys basketball team, Matt, Logan, and Bill discuss some prep sports headlines from the week (3:45) before diving into an episode focusing on boys hoops in the Twin Cities.

Starting at (13:02), they discuss a myriad of key upsets as four top-7 ranked teams in the State in Class 4A all went down last week while taking a peek at Section races of note with five weeks left until the Section playoffs. They discuss Wayzata’s first misstep this season in a road loss to Hopkins (12:35), Edina’s habit for slaying giants (15:03), and Lakeville South’s first top-10 win of the year as they took down Shakopee in a thriller Friday night (19:28), among other topics.

Interview with Bryan Schnetter, Wayzata Boys Basketball coach, starts at (39:47). Topics discussed include the Trojans’ 15-1 start, Wayzata’s offense clicking as the top-scoring unit in the State, Jackson McAndrew’s development as a senior, the winning tradition at Wayzata, and Schnettler’s coaching tree, among others!

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EP 107: Striking Irish Gold with Rosemount Girls Hoops’ Chris Orr!

Before a girls basketball mid-season check-in, including an interview with the Rosemount Irish Head coach, Matt, Logan, and Bill talk about some of the headlines of the week in prep sports, including a tragic passing of a high school athlete this week, a big result in a top-5 battle in boys hockey, and more.

Starting at (13:50), they discuss Minnetonka Girls Hoops’ 15-0 start to the year, and talk about the Lake Conference’s dominance in the girls basketball scene this year. They speculate on potential trip-ups for the Skippers in a loaded back-end of the schedule, and who is best poised to up-end Tonka’s unbeaten run. Logan also gives his assessment of last week’s Lakeville rivalry game in girls basketball and Matt & Bill discuss a pair of Division 1 standouts for Centennial, and despite it how the Cougars’ struggles are affecting the Section 7AAAA landscape this postseason.

Interview with Chris Orr, the head coach of Rosemount Girls Basketball, starts at (36:12)

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EP 106: Back to the Pond, Talkin’ Boys Hockey Conference Races & Section Shake-Ups!

Matt, Logan, and Bill get together to check the pulse of boys hockey in the Twin Cities at roughly the mid-point of the season!

Starting at (4:53), they discuss the Northwest Suburban Conference with an interesting race between Rogers, Maple Grove, Andover, and Centennial at the top, along with improving squads in the middle of the pack that have made it arguably the State’s deepest league. At (17:18), they discuss Shakopee asserting themselves as favorites atop the South Suburban Conference after a gritty road win in Rosemount, and look back on Lakeville South’s recent dominance of the league in years past.

They also discuss the talent on display at Gentry Academy, who are making a strong case as a No. 1 seed in Section 4AA despite being iced out by the competition (22:09) and discuss heavyweights Wayzata, Edina, and Benilde all blocking each other for one State Tourney berth in 6AA.

Finally, they round out the show with some basketball observations concering Spring Lake Park, Shakopee, and Jack Robison of Lakeville North as part of their “notes from the field” for the week (35:27)!

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