Class A QF #1 seed 7A Hermantown (18-8-2) vs 6A Alexandria (18-9-1)
Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 10:47 pm
#1 Seed (7A) Hermantown Hawks (18-8-2)
Hermantown enters the state tournament for the 14th time in the last 15 years and the 20th time overall. This year's version of the Hawks has struggled more than normal as the offensive woes and high number of losses were noticeable throughout the season. However, much of that was attributed to playing a heavy dose of State’s Top AA Programs and having a very young group of forwards. When the Hawks have played Class A competition they have still been very dominant and they will look to win their program’s 5th Title this week.
Hawks Leaders- Junior #23 River Freeman (19-22-41 pts) and Sophomores #4 AJ Francisco (8-16-24 pts) & #18 Ford Skytta (16-18-34 pts) make up the Hawks top line. Seniors #9 Will Esterbrooks (13-22-35 pts), #13 Weston Bohlman (4-14-18 pts), #8 Drew Nelson (4-11-15 pts) & Junior Henry Peterson (9-9-18 pts) make up a very impressive defensive unit that controls most games and can add needed offensive punch.
Hawks Goalie- Senior #32 Dane Callaway (18-8-2) 1.75 GAA .938 SV% is one of the most decorated and impressive goalies in all of Class A. He has backboned 2 State Tourney runs already and won a Title in his Sophomore year. He is no stranger to the St Paul lights and he will be comfortable in net.
Hawks Class A Domination - The Hawks did have their struggles this year as they racked the most losses they have had since 2008. However, when playing Class A opponents they remained as dominant as ever and went (10-1-0) in those games. Adding to that gaudy record is the fact that they averaged over 5 goals a game in those 11 contests and have outscored Class A competition 59-13 in that stretch. Again the overall record may not look as glitzy as normal but this Hawks team is still been a very difficult team for any Class A opponent to match up with and they enter the Tourney as the #1 seed.
Hawks Special Teams- The Power Play is at 18.3% and Penalty Kill is at 86.6%
(6A) Alexandria Cardinals (18-9-1)
Alexandria enters the state tournament for the 3rd straight year and for the 8th time overall. The Cardinals really found their footing late in the year and went an impressive (14-2-0) in their last 16 games and they are playing their best hockey of the year. Alexandria has a large group of Seniors playing in their 3rd straight state tournament so they won't be intimidated by the big stage and they do have some program history when it comes to knocking off the Hawks as they upset them back in 2018 and they will look to do the same in this one.
Alex Leaders- Seniors #8 Gavin Olson (19-16-35 pts), #21 Evan Anderson (17-20-37 pts), #3 Leonard Kompelien (14-18-32 pts) have led the way up front and have plenty of Tourney experience. Seniors #2 Jack Lamski (4-23-27 pts.) & #4 Gage Castle (6-8-14 pts.) are the leaders of the blueline as they both have some good state tournament experience under their belt as well and will need to be good in their own end.
Alex Goalie- Senior #1 Brady Metcalf (15-8-1) 2.03 GAA .919 SV% has done a nice job stepping into the starting role this year in net. He has been especially good during their 2nd half push going (12-2-0) in his last 14 starts with a 1.71 GAA and .925 SV% and he will need to be at his best vs the mighty Hawks.
Alex Annual 2nd Half Push- Alex, as they tend to always do, has had a fantastic 2nd half push and they are now (14-2-0) in their last 16 games. The youngsters on this team are big reason for this is Sophomores #10 Brody Berg (10-9-19 pts) & #17 Evan Klimek (7-18-25 pts) and 9th graders #25 Grady Olson (8-13-21 pts) & #22 William Thornburg (7-10-17 pts) up front and blueliners Sophomore #15 Niklas Schultz (2-10-12 pts) & 9th grader #18 Grady Suchy (1-4-5 pts) having all stepped up and played well in very big roles for this team down the stretch and helped them get back to state this week.
Alex Special Teams- The Power Play is at 16.3% and Penalty Kill is at 85.2 %
Hermantown enters the state tournament for the 14th time in the last 15 years and the 20th time overall. This year's version of the Hawks has struggled more than normal as the offensive woes and high number of losses were noticeable throughout the season. However, much of that was attributed to playing a heavy dose of State’s Top AA Programs and having a very young group of forwards. When the Hawks have played Class A competition they have still been very dominant and they will look to win their program’s 5th Title this week.
Hawks Leaders- Junior #23 River Freeman (19-22-41 pts) and Sophomores #4 AJ Francisco (8-16-24 pts) & #18 Ford Skytta (16-18-34 pts) make up the Hawks top line. Seniors #9 Will Esterbrooks (13-22-35 pts), #13 Weston Bohlman (4-14-18 pts), #8 Drew Nelson (4-11-15 pts) & Junior Henry Peterson (9-9-18 pts) make up a very impressive defensive unit that controls most games and can add needed offensive punch.
Hawks Goalie- Senior #32 Dane Callaway (18-8-2) 1.75 GAA .938 SV% is one of the most decorated and impressive goalies in all of Class A. He has backboned 2 State Tourney runs already and won a Title in his Sophomore year. He is no stranger to the St Paul lights and he will be comfortable in net.
Hawks Class A Domination - The Hawks did have their struggles this year as they racked the most losses they have had since 2008. However, when playing Class A opponents they remained as dominant as ever and went (10-1-0) in those games. Adding to that gaudy record is the fact that they averaged over 5 goals a game in those 11 contests and have outscored Class A competition 59-13 in that stretch. Again the overall record may not look as glitzy as normal but this Hawks team is still been a very difficult team for any Class A opponent to match up with and they enter the Tourney as the #1 seed.
Hawks Special Teams- The Power Play is at 18.3% and Penalty Kill is at 86.6%
(6A) Alexandria Cardinals (18-9-1)
Alexandria enters the state tournament for the 3rd straight year and for the 8th time overall. The Cardinals really found their footing late in the year and went an impressive (14-2-0) in their last 16 games and they are playing their best hockey of the year. Alexandria has a large group of Seniors playing in their 3rd straight state tournament so they won't be intimidated by the big stage and they do have some program history when it comes to knocking off the Hawks as they upset them back in 2018 and they will look to do the same in this one.
Alex Leaders- Seniors #8 Gavin Olson (19-16-35 pts), #21 Evan Anderson (17-20-37 pts), #3 Leonard Kompelien (14-18-32 pts) have led the way up front and have plenty of Tourney experience. Seniors #2 Jack Lamski (4-23-27 pts.) & #4 Gage Castle (6-8-14 pts.) are the leaders of the blueline as they both have some good state tournament experience under their belt as well and will need to be good in their own end.
Alex Goalie- Senior #1 Brady Metcalf (15-8-1) 2.03 GAA .919 SV% has done a nice job stepping into the starting role this year in net. He has been especially good during their 2nd half push going (12-2-0) in his last 14 starts with a 1.71 GAA and .925 SV% and he will need to be at his best vs the mighty Hawks.
Alex Annual 2nd Half Push- Alex, as they tend to always do, has had a fantastic 2nd half push and they are now (14-2-0) in their last 16 games. The youngsters on this team are big reason for this is Sophomores #10 Brody Berg (10-9-19 pts) & #17 Evan Klimek (7-18-25 pts) and 9th graders #25 Grady Olson (8-13-21 pts) & #22 William Thornburg (7-10-17 pts) up front and blueliners Sophomore #15 Niklas Schultz (2-10-12 pts) & 9th grader #18 Grady Suchy (1-4-5 pts) having all stepped up and played well in very big roles for this team down the stretch and helped them get back to state this week.
Alex Special Teams- The Power Play is at 16.3% and Penalty Kill is at 85.2 %