In the span of four games over two weekends to begin the 2024-25 high school boys hockey season, perennial Minnesota Class 1A/No. 2 powerhouse Hermantown will have faced:
2A/No. 2 Cretin-Derham Hall, 4-4 OT
2A/No. 6 Hill-Murray, L 7-2
1A/No. 9 East Grand Forks, Friday at 7 p.m. at historic Hermantown Arena
1A/No. 6 Mahtomedi, Saturday at 12:45 p.m. at St. Croix Rec Center
“Being up late against CDH, that tie hurt, but overall it was a positive weekend,” Hawks coach Patrick Andrews said of his team’s 0-1-1 start. “The Cretin game lived up to the hype and had it all -- power plays, great goals, a fight and overtime. We never want to see fisticuffs at the high school level, but the blow-up in the middle of the third period was the turning point in the game. I liked our effort after we lost River (Freeman), who was tossed out for sticking up for our goalie. The loss of our captain loomed large, especially after River had scored on the power play in the first period. But the boys rallied and we played our best hockey from that point forward.
“CDH getting the tie with less than 20 seconds left in the game stings, but it is a great lesson for a young team on how hard it is to win at the high school level. The game is not over until the last buzzer. We let up just a bit and we let a win slip away. However, it was a great game for us early in the year. We saw veterans like Freeman, (Bradford) Skytta and Jack Slattengren step up with goals and newcomer Gabe Swenson.”
Andrews said that the Hill-Murray game was an entirely different challenge for the Hawks.
“It was our first road trip, our first back-to-back and the first taste of ‘big arena hockey’ for most of our team, and it showed,” said Andrews. “Hill scored in the first minute of all three periods and in the last 10 seconds of the first, none of which is a recipe for winning hockey.
“However, I liked our bounce back in the first period. We were down 25 seconds into the game, but Skytta scored his second of the season which tied it midway through the period. We were 10 seconds away from a tie after the first period on the road, but we couldn't get out of the period knotted up which took some wind out of our sails and seemed to inspire Hill-Murray. Then Hill came out and scored less than a minute into the second and all of a sudden a promising start had the making of a rout, which it ended up being. Overall, it was great for our young team to see such high-end talent and to understand the level of compete and commitment that are required to win at this level. Although we certainly don't like losing, I hope that the lessons from this past weekend will be great learning opportunities that will foster growth later in the season.”
Andrews calls East Grand Forks “arguably the best team in Class A”. Mahtomedi is a traditional 1A state tournament contender.
Hawks Notebook – Eight players recorded at least one point in the first two games. Skytta and Slattengren had two goals each, Swenson had a goal and an assist, and Henry Peterson had two assists. Bryce Francisco stopped 30 of 34 shots in the opener and Even Sundell got his first career start against the Pioneers.
2024-25 Hermantown Hockey Schedule / Results
Cretin-Derham Hall, 4-4 OT. Hawks 0-0-1
Hill-Murray, L 7-2. 0-1-1
Friday – East Grand Forks, 7 p.m.
Saturday – Mahtomedi, 12:45 p.m.
Tuesday – at Duluth Marshall, 7 p.m.
Dec. 13 – at Centennial, 7 p.m.
Dec. 14 – Maple Grove, 5 p.m.
Dec. 17 – Duluth Denfeld, 7 p.m.
Dec. 20 – at Rosemount, 7 p.m.
Dec. 26 – Delano, 3 p.m.
Dec. 28 – at White Bear Lake, 3 p.m.
Jan. 2 – Rock Ridge, 7 p.m.
Jan. 4 – at Eden Prairie, 2 p.m.
Jan. 7 – Proctor, 7 p.m.
Jan. 9 – St. Cloud Cathedral, 7 p.m.
Jan. 11 – at Warroad, 3:15 p.m.
Jan. 17 – at Hibbing-Chisholm, 7 p.m.
Jan. 18 – Shakopee, 3 p.m.
Jan. 21 – at Superior, 7 p.m.
Jan. 24 – at St. Thomas Academy, 6 p.m.
Jan. 25 – 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.