Mankato West at Austin
5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 3

Mankato West and Austin have been among the best programs in the Big 9 Conference for the past decade, and they expect to contend for a league title again this year. The Scarlets enter the season as the defending Big 9 champion.

Austin reached the Class 1A, Section 1 championship game last season for the second time in three years. The Packers also reached the section title game in 2011 and won the section title in 2009.

Mankato West captured the Class 1A, Section 2 title and secured its fifth trip to the state tournament last year. The Scarlets have appeared at the state tournament in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Mankato West earned a 3-2 victory last season over Austin in the lone meeting. The Packers haven’t defeated the Scarlets since 2012.

Mankato West returns Minnesota's top scorer from last season in Jacob Makela, a first team Class 1A all-state selection. Makela scored 36 goals as a sophomore and had 15 assists in helping lead the Scarlets to a third-place finish at state.

Mankato West, which finished with a 19-2-1 record last year, won its quarterfinal matchup with Monticello 4-0, but lost to St. Cloud Apollo 1-0 in the semifinals. Th Scarlets tied Chaska 1-1 in the third-place game.

No. 3-1A Mankato West opened with a 1-0 loss to Park Center before recording an 8-0 win at New Prague. Makela had four goals and two assists in the win over the Trojans, while Carter Hemstock scored twice and Trey Burmeister also had a goal.