Howie on Prep Sports

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Hermantown’s Class 1A, top-ranked boys hockey team posted two more signature victories last week: a 6-3 Lake Superior Conference win at 1A, No. 5 Hibbing-Chisholm on Friday night and an even more impressive 3-2 overtime nonconference home win against 2A, unranked Shakopee on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks improved to 11-4-3 overall and 2-1-2 in the LSC and tied for second-place behind leader Rock Ridge (5-0-0).

“We have been on the boys about consistency and purpose the past three weeks in practice and games,” Hermantown coach Patrick Andrews said earlier today. “We had started to see it practice recently, and now it's starting to show up in games as we have won four in a row.

“Friday night we took care of business against Hibbing in front of a large crowd and playoff atmosphere at the Memorial Arena. Bryce Francisco and River Freeman, once again, stole the show. River had another hat trick, his third in five games, and Bryce made goaltending look easy while improving his state-leading saves percentage to .951. The power play also came through again, as Freeman and Ford Skytta converted, and we went 2-for-3.”

Shakopee was bent on recording its first signature victory of the season against the Hawks and left it all on the ice, Andrews said.

“Saturday was a different type of game, when we bent but didn’t break,” said Andrews. “Shakopee is hyped as one of the fastest and most skilled teams in the state led by Mr. Hockey front runner Cooper Simpson, and they were as advertised. They came out and blew our doors off in the first period. We were not quite ready for the level of speed and tenacity. Credit to them for being prepared to go right off the bus, and they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. 

“We spent most of the second period in our end as well, but we eventually started to move our feet and deny chances. Although territorially we got outplayed, the looks they got were far less threatening than in the first, and we began to push back on the line rush. The third period was our best effort of the weekend when we moved pucks forward, supported pucks well, and put more pressure on their defense. Their frustration boiled over and we were able to covert on a five-on-three power play. Henry Peterson sniped one to the low blocker, giving us a chance to pull off an upset. Al Nicklin converted on a great play off a turnover created by Caden Manion. Kyler Berg then made a sweet indirect pass to Nicklin, which allowed Al to break down the left side and laser a slapper by the goalie, beating him high glove, to tie the game at 2. 

“Charlie Marchand got to play hero on an o-zone face-off with less than a minute to play in OT. His pose around the net was on full display as he made a great backhand-forehand move to beat the goalie and cap up a wild comeback. The Shakopee game could be one you look back on as a season-defying win, and only time will tell. What is obvious coming out of that game is that Bryce is the best goalie in the state. His calm presence made making saves look easy, completely frustrating the Sabres and giving us a chance to win the game. He has been absolutely sensational for us this season.”

Hermantown resumes Lake Superior Conference play at Superior on Tuesday night.

“We have another incredibly hard test on Friday as we travel to face ultra-talented St Thomas Academy,” said Andrews of the challenging the Class 2A, No. 2-ranked Cadets (15-2-0) at St. Thomas Ice Arena. “We then finish up the week at home against (Class 1A, No. 10) Mahtomedi (5-10-2), our traditional state rival.”

2024-25 Hermantown Hockey Schedule / Results

Cretin-Derham Hall, 4-4 OT -- Overall: 0-0-1. Lake Superior Conference: 0-0-0. Home. 0-0-1. Away 0-0-0.

Hill-Murray, L 7-2 -- Overall: 0-1-1. LSC: 0-0-0. Home: 0-0-1. Away: 0-1-0

East Grand Forks, W 4-0 – Overall: 1-1-1. LSC: 0-0-0. Home: 2-0-1. Away: 0-1-0

Mahtomedi, W 5-2 – Overall: 2-1-1. LSC: 0-0-0. Home: 2-0-1. Road: 0-1-0

Duluth Marshall, 2-2 OT -- Overall: 2-1-2. LSC: 0-0-1. Home: 2-0-1. Road: 0-1-1

Centennial, W 5-2 -- Overall: 3-1-2. LSC: 0-0-1. Home: 2-0-1. Road: 1-1-1

Maple Grove, W 3-0 -- Overall: 4-1-2. LSC: 0-0-1. Home: 3-0-1. Road: 1-1-1

Duluth Denfeld, W 5-2 -- Overall: 5-1-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 4-0-1. Road: 1-1-1

Rosemount, L 4-1. Overall: 5-2-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 4-0-1. Road: 1-2-1

Delano, W 3-0. Overall: 6-2-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 5-0-1. Road: 1-2-1

White Bear Lake, L 5-2. Overall: 6-3-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 5-0-1. Road: 1-3-1

Rock Ridge, L 1-0. Overall: 6-4-2. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 5-1-1. Road: 1-3-1

Eden Prairie, W 4-0. Overall: 7-4-2. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 5-0-1. Road: 2-3-1

Proctor, 3-3 OT. Overall: 7-4-3. LSC: 1-1-2. Home: 5-0-2. Road: 2-3-1

St. Cloud Cathedral, W 6-0. Overall: 8-4-3. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 6-0-2. Road: 2-3-1

Warroad, W 4-1. Overall: 9-4-3. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 6-0-2. Road: 3-3-1

Hibbing-Chisholm, W 6-3. Overall: 10-4-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 6-0-2. Road: 4-3-1

Shakopee, W 3-2 OT. Overall: 11-4-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 7-0-2. Road: 4-3-1

Tuesday – at Superior, 7 p.m.

Friday – at St. Thomas Academy, 6 p.m.

Saturday – Mahtomedi, 2 p.m.

Jan. 30 – Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, 7 p.m.

Jan. 31 – Moorhead, 7 p.m.

Feb. 7 – Benilde-St. Margaret's, 7 p.m.

Feb. 11 – Grand Rapids, 7 p.m.

Home games listed in boldface.