Prep report: Hawks blanked for the first time since 2015
Jan. 21—Hermantown boys hockey suffered its first shutout loss in more than seven years on Saturday, Jan. 21, a 3-0 defeat at the hands of St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
Brody Deitz put the Cadets in front at 12:06 of the first period, and that proved to be the only scoring until Jordan Tacheny made it 2-0 four minutes into the third. Tommy Cronin scored into an empty net late.
Cody Niesen made 20 saves as the Cadets became the first team to shut the Hawks out since Minnetonka did it on Dec. 18, 2015.
St. Thomas (12-5) is currently ranked No. 11 in Class AA in its first season under former Duluth East coach Mike Randolph.
The Hawks (12-2-1), No. 2 in Class A, got 25 saves from Garron Opsahl.
The Pioneers scored three times, twice on the power play, in the third period to overturn a goal the Thunderhawks' Jacob Garski scored just 10 seconds into Saturday's game at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood, Minnesota.
Lucas Mann and Riley Zupfer put Hill-Murray ahead with power play goals 2:54 apart early in the frame.
Myles Gunderson made 33 saves for Rapids (11-7).
The Wolverines finished with a flourish at Iron Trail Motors Event Center, scoring four times in the third period to cement their lead.
Kasey Lamppa finished with a four-point game (two goals, two assists), while Brant Tiedeman also scored twice, and Ryan Rothfork made 22 saves.
A massive comeback for the Hilltoppers ended up being all for naught, as Jack Bartfield scored the game-winning goal for the Angels at 2:57 of overtime.
Marshall trailed 4-1 in the last minute of the second period when Pierce Gouin beat the buzzer with a goal at 16:57. He scored again early in the third period and Luke Schottenbauer's power play tally sent the game to OT with a minute remaining.
Gouin had two goals and two assists, while Brendan Friday finished with a goal and assist for Marshall (5-11), which got 33 saves from Heikki Forder.
Hallie Klavu had a goal and two assists in the second period as the Rebels pulled away for victory at the Chisholm City Sports Arena on Saturday. Sandra Ribich drew the primary assist on Klavu's first goal and a following one from Megan Hattenberger, then scored herself in the third period.
Both goalies were busy, with the Rebels' Mallory Hartl making 51 saves and Hibbing/Chisholm's Grace McDowell stopping 40.
The Wolverines scored three times in the last 3:29 of the game to overturn a late deficit.
Natalie Bergman started (with 3:29 left) and finished (an empty netter with :49 to play) for the last two legs of her third hat trick of the season. Bergman also assisted on Mayme Scott's game-winner with 2:10 left and a second-period Ayla Troutwine power play goal to complete a five-point game.
Nola Kwiatkowski stopped 18 shots for the win for Rock Ridge (12-9).
The Bluejackets and Greyhounds engaged in a see-saw battle with the visitors making the last move at East High School on Saturday.
The Greyhounds went on a 17-2 charge in the second half to take a 63-59 edge down the stretch, only for C-I to finish the game by scoring nine of the last 11 points.
Jobe Juenemann scored 22 points for East (10-4), while Michael Kastelic added 15 and Rocco Paulson 10.
Cambridge-Isanti (10-4), coached by Mike McDonald, father of East coach Rhett McDonald, got a game-high 25 points from Kobe Karels.
Behind a monster game from Brooks Johnson, the Hilltoppers edged the Timberwolves in overtime on Saturday in Duluth.
Johnson, a sophomore, recorded 42 points and 20 rebounds.
Marshall's team defense held Ely to only three points in the overtime period.
Soren O'Rourke pitched in 10 points for the Hilltoppers (2-10).
A 27-point game from Emma Raye helped the Spartans to victory in a matchup of teams that entered the game with a combined total of three losses.
Savannah Leopold added 18 points and four 3-pointers for the 15-1 Spartans. Eva Peterson scored 12.
Grace Hanson and Ella Carstensen co-led the Raiders (14-3) with 14 points.
The Northwestern defense put the clamps on the Hurricanes early, as their 27-14 halftime lead was enough for the Tigers to get to the 10-win mark on the season.
Tieryn Plasch had a game-high 18 points, while Shayna Wick kicked in 13.
The Tigers are now 10-5 (8-2 Heart O'North).
The Hawks busted a seven-game losing streak on Saturday behind 21 points apiece from Liv Birkeland and Bailey Hermanson.
Lauryn Biondi had 18 points for Hermantown (3-14), which fought off a 27-point performance from the Tigers' Lillian Tedrick.
A second-place finish from Grant Wodny in the 500-yard freestyle was a highlight of the day for Duluth at the Class AA True Team state meet on Saturday at the University of Minnesota.
Duluth finished 11th in the 12-team event, which is scored in a way that rewards overall depth by assigning points for every place from top to bottom. Minnetonka was a runaway winner with 2,274.
Leif Ziring and Cale Bortnem were 12th and 13th overall in 1-meter diving.
Grand Rapids finished ninth in Class A, with Aydin Aultman taking fifth in diving.
Host Grand Rapids won the Skip Nalan Invitational on Saturday with 190 points, with Jamestown and Deer River rounding out the top three spots.
Joey Seely (113) and Clayton Danielson (285) claimed tournament victories for the Thunderhawks, while Bryson Larrabee (160) and Ian Larrabee (220) of Hibbing won their brackets.
Connor Kreuger of Superior was declared the champion in 138 at 4:07 when his championship opponent from Jamestown retired due to injury.
Zak McPhee of Proctor/Hermantown won the 182 title match 6-1 over Jackson Walters of Jamestown.
