News

St. Paul, MN -  The Hermantown Hawks showed enough resiliency to last a lifetime during their 2017 State Class A tournament appearance.  They endured three overtime games including the championship game that featured not one but to celebrations.  The Hawks outlasted the Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake Moose (MAML) and delivered a 4-3 double overtime victory to claim their second straight state championship.

Reed Larson Award winner and Mr. Hockey finalist Dylan Samberg ripped in the game winning goal from the left point off a faceoff win by Parker Simmons at 16:40 of the second overtimel to propel the Hawks to their second straight Class A championship title and third in school history.  

It marked the third overtime game for the Hawks (29-1-1) who trailed or were tied a mind- boggling 156:03 out of 186:11 minutes play.  Consider the Hawks didn’t lead for a minute in the semi-final or final game until they scored the game’s last goal to earn the victory.

The Hawks did not panic and relied on their depth and leadership to capture the win.  What made things more impressive is they climbed back from a pair of two goal and even a three goal deficit to rally back from.  Mr. Hockey finalist Ryan Sandelin cemented himself as a top senior by scoring 4 goals in the semi-final win against St. Cloud Cathedral including the game winner in overtime.  He was held in check by the Moose, at least to a degree, as he was ‘limited’ to a pair of assists in the championship game.  

“We just had to scratch and claw and fight for our lives,” Sandelin said.  “You can do anything if you believe it.” His team played with a buzz-saw like mentality and never once hung their heads.  While it may have appeared on paper they over-matched their opponents on paper all three days yet the Hawks were forced to find a way.  

They were involved in one game that was decided by one goal this past year and that was a 4-3 win against Grand Rapids. Their only loss this year was to defending Class AA champion Wayzata (5-1) and the tie was to Lakeville South (1-1), both of which were Class AA tournament teams this year.  The Hawks outscored their opponents by a staggering 165-30 this year and  being in close games was not the norm for them this season for the Hawks.  

Two years ago the Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake Moose lost in the Section 8AA finals and lost to Bemidji 6-0 in the Section 8AA semi-finals.  They had never qualified for the State Tournament as a Class AA or A school in their history and dropped down to the Class A and found their way in the state final against the giants of the class.  

With a team that featured a pair of Division I Athletes in sports other than hockey Nick Zwack (Baseball Xavier) and Herb Brooks Award winner Charlie Voller (Track NDSU), the Moose worked their way through tournament by taking out the highly regarded and talented Delano Tigers (3-2) and the Northfield Raiders (3-2).  While they were outshot by a 15-1 margin in the first period, the game went to the intermission scoreless with goalie Tyler Klatt slamming the door on the Hawks.  

Goals in the second period’s first two minutes by MAML’s Casey Chiodo and Ben Ward put the Hawks in another hole.  They responded on a Tyler Watkins goal at 3:16 of the second period yet the game went to the second intermission with the Moose holding a 2-1 lead.  The Moose struck again early in the third on Nick Zwack’s goal at 0:26 of the third period opening another two-goal cushion for the Moose.  

While they were forced to play much of the game in the defensive zone, the Moose kept the Hawks at bay from defensive zone coverage and the play of Klatt in goal.  Jessie Jacques and Dylan Samberg scored 2:09 apart late in the third period to force overtime.  

Each team essentially played a two-line game and it extended to overtime with each team looking to outlast the other.  As time wore on and it moved to the second overtime, the Moose were clearly the more tired of the two teams.  The Hawks continued to press for scoring chances and outshot the Moose 18-7 over the course of the two overtime periods.  

The Hawks thought they had won the game and raced on the ice in the traditional celebratory fashion, helmets launched in the air, gloves and sticks strewn across the ice and the mobbing celebration ensued.  The Moose were consoling Klatt as the Hawks coaching staff was in the group hug of the ages.  Even the cameras from 45 KSTC were on the ice as were the cheerleaders for the Hawks.  

Suddenly, public address announcer Dave Wright announced, “The play is under review.”  It was as though the crowd collectively said, ‘Wait, what?”

The Moose all gazed at the scoreboard in wonder hoping maybe they have a second chance.  The Hawks elected to ignore the announcement and loosely carried on with their celebration.  Hanging up the phone from the penalty box, the official skated to the center ice area and washed his arms signaling no goal.  

The camera’s cheerleaders and coaches stepped off the ice and the Hawks had the unenviable task of collecting their helmets and gloves and then find a way to get back into game mode.  The Moose had new life and the puck was dropped. The Moose had new life breathed in them and had a jump although it was short lived as their legs continued to show fatigue. Faceoff wins that were occurring earlier in the game were not as frequent and it was the defensive zone win by Simmons.

With the hockey world pleading the Hawks to move up, it may be worth noting it is ok to have a top team in the Class A to have teams strive to get to.  Consider that there were six one goal games this year and three overtime games out of 16 played.  It proved that depth in talent in individuals and teams is what makes the game special.  

Moreover, even in losing, MAML head coach Erik Nelson put it best and said, “It was a fun ride.  They’re gonna look back and have a lot of good memories.”

Indeed it was.

Notes:  
-Hermantown became the 5th team to play 3 overtime games in tournament history and first to win all three.  

-The Class A final marked the 12th overtime game in tournament history and the 4th in Class A.  It was the third involving Hermantown who had lost the previous two (2011 St. Thomas Academy and 2015 East Grand Forks)

-This game marked the 4th double overtime game in championship game history.

-MAML goalie Tyler Klatt made 104 saves in the tournament which is good for 9th all-time.