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.

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!

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.

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).