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Hermantown hockey coach Patrick Andrews is known for not mincing his well-chosen words. Take his call on the Hawks’ humbling 1-0 overtime home loss to Class 2A, unranked Rock Ridge last Thursday night as an example. “Rock Ridge was a disappointing result and honestly, the result we deserved,” he said after practice on Monday evening. “We didn't play poorly but the team lacked purpose and hats off to Rock Ridge for playing hard and making it difficult for us to get to the net. Bryce Francisco was the bright spot once again playing exceptionally well in the net.”
Class 1A, No. 2 Hermantown (7-4-2) rebounded by blitzing host Eden Prairie 4-0 on Saturday.
“We played like the team we expect to be night in and night out,” Andrews said of the win against the 2A, unranked Eagles. “We were very hard on pucks, moved the puck exceptionally well, especially in the neutral zone, and played well in our own end. Bryce was again fantastic earning his fourth shutout, honestly making it look easy, which gave our team tremendous confidence playing in front of him.
“River Freeman stole the show with a natural hat trick in the first period, and on the third goal earned his 100th high school career point which is the benchmark for an elite high school goal scorer. Ford Skytta also found the back of the net on a beautiful individual effort. Special teams again came through with another power-play goal, and our team speed was the best it's been all season. We were extremely happy with our overall game on Saturday and as a coach, I was incredibly proud of the way the boys responded after a disappointing effort at home on Thursday. If this team can learn to play like they did Saturday, every night, the future will be very bright.”
The Hawks will host rival 1A, unranked Proctor (8-6-0) at 7 p.m. today and 1A, No. 5 St. Cloud Cathedral (7-4-2, before Tuesday’s home game against Little Falls) at 7 p.m. Thursday, in a rematch of last year’s Class 1A state championship game.
Former Hermantown standout Max Plante, fresh off a gold medal performance for Team USA at the 2025 World Junior Championship in Canada, will drop the ceremonial first puck before Thursday’s much-anticipated game against the Crusaders.
“We’re excited to honor Max's achievement representing Hermantown on the World's stage,” said Andrews.
The Hawks will cap off the week with a road game on Saturday afternoon against 1A, No. 5 Warroad (7-3-1).
“(Warroad) is always a tough test, especially in their rink,” Andrews said.
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
Today – Proctor (7-6-0), 7 p.m.
Thursday – St. Cloud Cathedral (7-4-2), 7 p.m.
Saturday – at Warroad (7-3-1), 3:15 p.m.
Jan. 17 – at Hibbing-Chisholm, 7 p.m.
Jan. 18 – Shakopee, 3 p.m.
Jan. 21 – at Superior, 7 p.m.
Jan. 24 – at St. Thomas Academy, 6 p.m.
Jan. 25 – Mahtomedi, 2 p.m.
Jan. 30 – Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 – Moorhead, 7 p.m.
Feb. 7 – Benilde-St. Margaret's, 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 – Grand Rapids, 7 p.m.
Home games listed in boldface.
