Hermantown is winding down its 2024-25 boys hockey regular season schedule, with only rugged home games remaining against Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Friday and versus Grand Rapids next Tuesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. both nights.
“BSM which will be another high-end AA test for us,” said Hawks coach Patrick Andrews. “The goal of this schedule is to make us battle-tested and ready for playoffs.”
Indeed, 1A top-ranked Hermantown’s rugged schedule reached nearly an all-time mark, resulting in nail-biting home losses against 1A, No. 2 Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 3-1 and 2A, No. 1 Moorhead 2-1.
“We had two good games last week and came out on the wrong side of both,” said Andrews. “Cloquet was a game of missed opportunities from the lack of forecheck to going oh-fer on the power play. Overall, it was a well-paced game, but we didn't do enough to generate opportunities; credit Cloquet for making it hard for us to get to the scoring areas, but we need to be better at getting into the dirty areas and making hard plays, something we look to remedy going into playoffs. It was exciting to see sophomore Ethan Aysta score his first varsity goal, and (junior goaltender) Bryce Francisco was excellent once again. He gives up a chance to win night in and night out, but we need to help him out and score more than one goal a game.
“On Friday night, our effort was outstanding against a tremendous Moorhead team. You can see why they are ranked number one in the state and have won 22 games in a row. Their team skill and speed were phenomenal. However, I was very pleased with our ability to handle it and push back with quality opportunities ourselves. Charlie Marchand came through on the power play, which was good to see as the power play has been quiet lately. Scoring only one goal a game will not lead to great outcomes. Bryce was absolutely stellar, showing once again why he is the best goalie in the state.”
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
Duluth Denfeld, W 5-2 -- Overall: 5-1-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 4-0-1. Road: 1-1-1
Rosemount, L 4-1. Overall: 5-2-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 4-0-1. Road: 1-2-1
Delano, W 3-0. Overall: 6-2-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 5-0-1. Road: 1-2-1
White Bear Lake, L 5-2. Overall: 6-3-2. LSC: 1-0-1. Home: 5-0-1. Road: 1-3-1
Rock Ridge, L 1-0. Overall: 6-4-2. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 5-1-1. Road: 1-3-1
Eden Prairie, W 4-0. Overall: 7-4-2. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 5-0-1. Road: 2-3-1
Proctor, 3-3 OT. Overall: 7-4-3. LSC: 1-1-2. Home: 5-0-2. Road: 2-3-1
St. Cloud Cathedral, W 6-0. Overall: 8-4-3. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 6-0-2. Road: 2-3-1
Warroad, W 4-1. Overall: 9-4-3. LSC: 1-1-1. Home: 6-0-2. Road: 3-3-1
Hibbing-Chisholm, W 6-3. Overall: 10-4-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 6-0-2. Road: 4-3-1
Shakopee, W 3-2 OT. Overall: 11-4-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 7-0-2. Road: 4-3-1
Superior, W 3-1. Overall: 12-4-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 7-0-2. Road: 5-3-1
St. Thomas Academy, L 5-2. Overall: 12-5-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 7-0-2. Road: 5-4-1
Mahtomedi, W 4-0. Overall: 13-5-3. LSC: 2-1-2. Home: 8-0-2. Road: 5-4-1
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, L 3-1. Overall: 13-6-3. LSC: 2-2-2. Home: 8-1-2. Road: 5-4-1
Moorhead, L 2-1. Overall: 13-7-3. LSC: 2-2-2. Home: 8-2-2. Road: 5-4-1
Friday – Benilde-St. Margaret's, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 – Grand Rapids, 7 p.m.
Home games listed in boldface.