Prep report: Spartans stroll into boys hockey sectionals

Superior made it two easy victories in two WIAA Division 1 tournament games, sweeping aside Marshfield/Columbus Catholic 7-0 on Thursday, Feb. 16 at Wessman Arena.

Though the Spartans got away with allowing two Marshfield breakaways in the early going, the hosts had a decided territorial advantage from beginning to end, which led to a 40-12 advantage in shots on goal.

Superior broke through for the first time at 10:35 of the first period on a tip-in goal credited to Cainen Raivala. After going on the game’s first power play, Superior sent the Tigers to the locker room with something to think about when Braydon Hurtig drove to the net and deked out the goaltender for the 2-0 goal with 17 seconds to play.

Carson Gotelaere added a third tally in the second period before the dam busted open in the third frame. Caden Lia scored on the back door to make it 4-0 and Brayden Severin finished the game with a natural hat trick, surpassing his regular season goal total (two) in just one night.

Trent Peterson notched a shutout on 12 saves, as the sophomore goaltender notched consecutive clean sheets after not recording one in the regular season.

Superior (13-11), seeded third in the sectional, will travel to No. 2 Stevens Point, a 6-2 winner over Eau Claire North, for a game on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

The Hunters ended their regular season on a sour note, as the host Sabres scored five unanswered goals to win going away at Bernick’s Pepsi Arena in Sartell.

Tyler Stuart’s tally for the Hunters at 11:28 of the first period gave Denfeld a lead going back to the locker room. After Denfeld penalties led to a 5-on-3 advantage, Sartell tied the game, then gave up a shorthanded goal to Denfeld’s John Scott 11 seconds later, before tying the game a second time before the Hunters’ second penalty had expired.

The Sabres, who had a 21-6 shot advantage in the middle 17 minutes, then took the lead at even strength late in the period and scored three times in the third.

Connor Doyle made 32 saves for Denfeld, which concludes its regular season at 13-11-1 and awaits its seed in the Section 7A tournament and a quarterfinal game on Tuesday night.

Levi Maki needed only 11 saves as Rock Ridge went into the postseason on a shutout on Thursday night at Hodgins-Berardo Arena.

The Wolverines pumped 56 shots on the Greenway net, scoring twice in each period and getting the six goals from six players.

Ian Mikulich and Ethan Jacobson added assists to their goals on a night when 11 Wolverines had at least one point, but none had more than two.

Derek Gibeau made 50 saves for Greenway (8-17). The Wolverines go into sections 16-8-1.

The Hilltoppers ended up one goal short on the road on Thursday night.

Marshall tied the game on Jonas Martinelli’s second goal of the night, 27 seconds into the second period. However, the host Tigers scored the last two goals of the frame to take a 5-3 lead and the only reply Marshall managed was from Ethan Lindgren with 1:28 to play.

Martinelli added an assist for a three-point game, while Brendan Friday scored Marshall’s other goal unassisted.

Sam Pollard made 32 saves for the Hilltoppers, who enter the 7AA sectionals with an 8-17 mark.

The defending state champions left no doubt as to their intent of repeating, crushing the Lightning for a return to next week’s state tournament.

The Huskies held a 2-0 lead an 14-8 shot advantage after a period before hitting the afterburners with four goals in the second period (including a one-period hat trick from Madison Brown) and five in the third frame.

Ella Boerger finished with two goals and three assists to go with Brown’s three goals and two assists. Isa Goettl had a goal and three helpers for Andover (25-3).

Kalle Reed got the Lightning on the board with a power play goal in the third period. Riley Toivonen made 32 saves for GRG, which ends the season 16-12.

The hosts prevailed in a matchup between the No. 1 (Cass Lake-Bena) and No. 3 Class A teams in the state.

Isaac Asuma had 21 points for the Tigers in defeat, while Noah Asuma contributed 14 points and eight boards.

The Eskomos recovered in time from losing an eight-point halftime lead.

The Lumberjackets took a 61-57 edge after a Jaxon Boschee 3-pointer and Ethan Biehl layup, but Esko edged back in front, and with the teams tied 66-all with three-plus minutes remaining, the Eskomos shut the host team out the rest of the way.

Koi Perich and Dalton Spindler scored 15 points apiece for Esko (17-3). Sam Haugen added 13 and Cuinn Berger 12.

The Rebels held off a second-half charge from the Lumberjacks to get a home win on Thursday night.

Adam Neumann had a team-best 18 points for the Rebels (14-9), who had four scorers in double figures and led 36-24 at halftime.

Owen Loew added 13 points, Nolan Nelson 11 and Luke Dewey 10.

Kollin Bonneville led all scorers with 21 points for the Lumberjacks (10-12), with Jack Battaglia scoring 19 and Reese Sheldon 12. Cloquet has lost three straight for the first time since the opening of the season.

A 26-point night from Marnaries Ferguson plus 21 from Aidan Altona as the Hunters won their fourth consecutive game and evened their record at 12-12.

Rock Ridge fell to 17-5 and had a six-game win streak snapped.

A stout team defensive performance made it possible for the Greyhounds to comfortably celebrate a milestone on Thursday night.

East allowed only six points in the first half to lead 27-6 at the break, then got to celebrate Ashlynne Guenther's 2,000th career point. Guenther finished with 27 points on the night and 2,006 all-time as the Greyhounds got to 15-9 on the season.

Rachel Hagen added 16 points and Sydney Zwak 10 for East.

Emma Kivela paced Hibbing with 12.

A fast start from the visiting Eskomos provided enough cushion to see out a 13th win of the season.

Ten players scored for Esko led by 14 points from Avery Kuklinski and 13 from Hannah Swanson.

Esko, which led 40-23 at halftime, is 13-9.

Hermantown fell to 7-17 despite a 24-point game from Liv Birkeland including six 3-pointers.

Chloe Johnson racked up 28 points as the Hilltoppers won at home.

Regan Juenemann added 15 points and Mariah Lucero 14 for Marshall (14-9), which led 36-27 at halftime.

The Giants fell to 15-9 overall despite 29 points from Marta Forsline.

The Eagles capped the regular season with a comfortable win and a third-place finish in the Indianhead Conference.

Kyra Latvala led the way with 17 points and Bailey Monson 10.

Solon (16-8, 12-4 Indianhead) will host Frederic in a WIAA Division 5 regional first-round game on Tuesday night.

Tieryn Plasch scored 15 points and Madison Bobula 14 as the Tigers cruised to victory in their regular-season finale.

Northwestern (18-6, 15-3 Heart O'North) hosts Spooner in a Division 3 first-round matchup on Tuesday night.