It’s getting late in the regular season — approaching midnight — and White Bear Lake’s status remains as confusing as ever.
Are the Bears good, perhaps bordering on great? Or are they merely average?
A 3-2 victory over archrival Hill-Murray on Dec. 17 highlighted a nine-game unbeaten streak to start the season — a run that launched White Bear Lake all the way to the No. 1 spot in the Class 2A state rankings. Then came the Bears’ first loss, a 4-1 setback against Irondale on Jan. 2. White Bear Lake (13-3-1, 11-2-0) had defeated the Knights 10-1 on Nov. 23 to start the season. A 5-2 loss to East Ridge on Jan. 23 was almost as puzzling, given the Bears had defeated the Raptors 6-0 on Dec. 12.
Will the real White Bear Lake, ranked No. 6 in the Class 2A coaches' poll from Jan. 23, please stand up?
In contrast, consistency has been No. 7-2A Cretin-Derham Hall’s calling card. The Raiders opened the season with consecutive losses to St. Thomas Academy (4-3 on Nov. 29) and No. 1-2A Eden Prairie (6-2 on Nov. 30), but have been nearly flawless since. Their one loss in their last 17 games was a 3-1 defeat against Blake on Dec. 28.
White Bear Lake faces Cretin-Derham Hall (15-3-1, 12-0-0) twice in the final two-plus weeks of the regular season, with Tuesday’s Suburban East Conference showdown serving as our Top Game of the Week.
State rankings and conference standings aside, The Matthew Gleason Show alone makes this game a must-see event. Gleason, Cretin-Derham Hall’s senior forward and a surefire Mr. Hockey finalist, has scored a state-leading 31 goals. His 60 points is the third most in the state. Gleason, committed to Colorado College, has had hat tricks in three of his last four games.
Goals don’t come easily against Tyler Steffens, the senior White Bear Lake goaltender who ranks among the state leaders with a 1.45 goals against average and .936 save percentage.