Class 1A, No. 1-ranked Hermantown’s hockey team recorded its second overtime tie of the season before posting its two most impressive wins of the season last week.
The Hawks and Duluth Marshall battled to 2-2 overtime tie on Tuesday night at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth.
Hermantown (4-1-2) blitzed host Centennial 5-2 on Friday night and blanked Maple Grove 3-0 Saturday afternoon at historic Hermantown Arena.
“We started the week off against a much-improved Marshall team,” said legendary Hermantown coach Patrick Andrews. “It felt like a rivalry game again, fast-paced. We got great goaltending from Evan Sundell and timely scoring from Mick Martalock, who collected his first varsity goal, and River Freeman. It was a great learning opportunity for our team and a great reminder of the level of compete it takes to win games at the high school level.”
The Hawks played their best hockey of the season against a pair of 2A powerhouse teams on the weekend, Andrews said.
“We played well on the road against a tough Centennial team,” he said. “Again, we got great goaltending, this time from Bryce (Francisco) and our seniors came through with River and Henry Peterson scoring goals. Martalock and (Bradford) Skytta rounded out the scoring as we got good scoring depth again.
“We were exception Saturday against Maple Grove when we played our most complete game of the season. We got a goal in each period -- (Bode) Madill in the first on the power-play, Freeman his fifth in five games played, and (Alexander) Nicklin getting his first varsity goal to secure the win -- all while playing great team defense. One of the things that impressed me the most was our forecheck. For the first time all season our forecheck looked like a Hermantown forecheck. In addition, I was very pleased to see how hard the boys played in front of our own net, where we were great at getting sticks and not allowing Maple Grove second-touch scoring opportunities. Bryce also made that job easier by not allowing many rebounds. He was sensational again, stopping all 32 shots and earning his second shutout of the season.”
Andrews said his team “definitely moved up the hill as we continue to climb the mountain that is our season.”
“Things that stood out: special teams were great, we killed well and scored another short-handed goal, the power-play continues to score and is up over 35-percent,” he said. “Our team defense continued to get better, and the forecheck is finally starting to come. As a coach, I ask for effort and improvement, and this team continues to bring both each week. If we continue to get one-percent better each day, we should be pretty darn good come February.”
Next up for the Hawks are a Lake Superior Conference home game against Duluth Denfeld (1-6-0) on Tuesday and a signature nonconference game at 2A, No. 9 Rosemount (8-0-0) Friday.
“Denfeld looks dangerous now that they have a complete team back, and then we make the trek south, again, to play a very tough and undefeated Rosemount team,” said Andrews, the 2024-25 HowieHanson.com Minnesota Boys Hockey 1A Preseason Coach of the Year.
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
Tuesday – Duluth Denfeld, 7 p.m.
Friday – 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.