WIAA state boys hockey tournament-LIVE

The Eau Claire bad is pounding out the final countdown, a sea of purple rose in waves as the Old Abes stepped on the ice and the excitement nearly unbearable.

All of which can mean only one thing...

We're back live from the Alliant Energy Center in Madison where the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes will look to earn their first-ever boys hockey title when they face off against the Madison Edgewood Crusaders.

The Old Abes are warming up, fighting through the butterflies and getting ready for the biggest hockey game in Memorial history.

And while they get warmed up, here's a few nuggets for some pre-game reading (kind of like my own little warmup):

-- The 2008 all-state team was released and four Old Abes are on the first team list: Jefferson Dahl, David Donnellan, Brady Keegan and Brady Sand. It was the consecutive first team honor for Dahl, Keegan and Sand. Donnellan was an honorable mention pick last year. Shayne McLaughlin, Nate Verbracken and Ben Kincaid all made the honorable mention list.

-- Memorial is looking to end a state title drought that dates back to 1977, when the boys golf team took home the state title. This is the first time in the state tournament championship game for the Old Abes.

-- Edgewood is here by virtue of its 3-2 victory over Appleton United yesterday evening. Freshman Gage Maurer scored the game-winner 12 minutes, 20 seconds into the third period.Maurer has two goals in the playoffs.

-- The scoring has been balanced the past two games for Memorial with five different players scoring and only one, Nate Verbracken, scoring more than once (he's got 2 goals).

-- Madison Edgewood has only two losses all season, both coming while star forward Cody Strang was on the shelf with a broken ankle. Strang missed nine games during the season and still entered the state tournament as the Crusaders' third-leading scorer.

-- Memorial will have to stay out of the penalty box, where they've gotten in trouble at state. All three state tournament goals have come on the power-play, the same number the Old Abes have given up in 23 games entering the state tournament.

-- Like Memorial, Edgewood can claim a finalist for the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association player of the year award in senior defenseman Tyler Sorenson.