Moorhead’s game plan included a fast start, and what the Spuds got was a deflection off a Stillwater defenseman’s skate for a goal that ended the Ponies goaltender Cal Conway’s shutout streak at 1:22 of the first period.

Mason Kraft tied a state record by scoring four times in a five-goal first period, and the Spuds held off Stillwater 7-6 in the Class 2A state boys hockey final Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. It’s the first time Moorhead is returning up Interstate 94 to Northwest Minnesota with championship hardware in nine title game appearances.

In the end, it was the No. 1 Moorhead Spuds defeating the No. 2 Stillwater Ponies in a battle featuring two schools that had never won a boys' state hockey championship. The star was Mason Kraft, who scored four times in the first period to set the tone for the night.