Last night at the Xcel Energy Center in St.Paul, the Minnesota Wild fell to the defending Stanley Cup champion, Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-1 overtime thriller, ending the Wild’s quest for a Stanley Cup. The loss suffered last night ended a highly intensified series that saw six games of nerve racking and back-and-forth competition. ¨It was so fun to see the wild make a run for the Stanley Cup,¨ senior Jake Flemmer said, ¨So many players stepped up and proved that the wild are a contender for the cup.¨

In the first round, the Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche in a thrilling seven game series which saw young players such as Mikal Granlund and Nino Niedoryder play their best hockey. Veterans such as captain Miko Kouive and assistant captains Ryan Suter and Zach Praise also were huge throughout the teams playoff run. More encouraging was the fact that the Wild were able to take the defending Stanley Cup champs to a highly contested and hard fought six game series. ¨I think that the team showed that they can play with anyone and will be in the mix for the Stanley Cup for years to come,¨ senior David Krolczyk said.