Hermantown boys hockey’s hot start fuels 6-0 state tournament win over Luverne

ST. PAUL, MN (Northern News Now) - Six different goal scorers carried Hermantown to a commanding shutout win over Luverne in the first round of the Class A Minnesota State Boys Hockey Tournament Wednesday.

The No. 2 seeded Hawks defeated the Cardinals 6-0 and now advance to the semifinals at 11 a.m. Friday. They will play the winner of Alexandria and Mahtomedi at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Hermantown, which is looking to repeat as state champions, didn’t waste any time getting on the board Wednesday. Forward Aaron Evjen, a senior, scored the Hawks’ first goal with 10:32 to go in the first period.

The team kept piling it on, when just minutes later, forwards River Freeman, a sophomore, and Bradford Skytta, a freshman, notched two more goals for Hermantown within 30 seconds of each other. That gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead with 9:21 to play in the first period.

Skytta’s goal was reviewed for possible goalie interference, but it was ultimately ruled a good goal.

The rest of the first perioid and the entire second period were quiet, until about six minutes in the third period when Hermantown’s senior forward Wyatt Carlson extended the Hawks’ lead to 4-0, scoring his 21st goal of the season.

Then, with just 2:22 to play, junior forward Dallas Vieau scored to make it 5-0. Seconds later, Hawks captain George Peterson, a senior defenseman, netted another one, bringing the game to 6-0.

Junior goalie Dane Callaway spent the entire game in the net for Hermantown, blocking all 13 of the Cardinals’ attempts.

Hermantown ended the game with 49 shots on goal.

The Hawks will get some clarity on their next opponent after Alexandria and 3-seed Mahtomedi play at 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center.

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