Four-time Minnesota Class A boys hockey state champion Hermantown closed a demanding stretch of its schedule with its most complete performance Saturday night, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to pull away for a 7-3 victory over nonconference Rosemount at Hermantown Arena.
The Hawks led 3-2 entering the final period before breaking the game open against a Rosemount team that had defeated Grand Rapids on the road the night before.
“Saturday was our best effort of the week,” legendary Hawks coach Patrick Andrews said. “Rosemount is a very good team, and I thought we played a very complete game against them. We limited their opportunities, and we were able to put them away in the third period, which was our 10th period of hockey of the week.”
Kole Lendzyk opened the scoring just 34 seconds into the game, continuing a strong offensive start to the season. Lendzyk has six goals and nine points through seven games. Beau Christy made it 2-0 midway through the first period before Rosemount answered late to cut the lead to one.
Christy – who leads the Hawks with seven goals and 12 points – scored again early in the second period to restore a two-goal cushion. Rosemount responded later in the period to trim the deficit to 3-2 heading into the third.
Hermantown took control from there. Mick Martalock, who has six goals and eight points, and Noah Thurston, who has three goals and six points, each finished with a goal and an assist as the Hawks scored four times in the final period.
Hermantown’s offense continued to come from throughout the lineup, with Bode Madill (four goals, 10 points), Gabe Swenson (five assists), Paxson Madill (six assists), Ford Skytta (six points) and Alexander Nicklin (five points) all contributing during the seven-game stretch.
“I am very pleased that we are getting scoring from all three lines and are averaging over five goals a game,” Andrews said.
Goaltender Bryce Francisco made 33 saves against Rosemount and has been a steady presence during the heavy workload. He has played 373 minutes over seven games, posting a 3.01 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
“He continues to bail us out on the back end,” Andrews said of Francisco, arguably the state's top goaltender. “We need to play better in front of him and limit the odd mad rushes.”
Hermantown (5-0-2) will visit Duluth Denfeld at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Duluth Heritage Center before traveling to face Maple Grove on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Rosemount win capped a seven-game run. The Hawks beat Rosemount 7-3, Centennial 8-6, Mahtomedi 7-2, Rock Ridge 3-1 and Cretin-Derham Hall 6-3, and tied Duluth Marshall 5-5 and Hill-Murray 2-2, both in overtime.
“We had a really good week; it was full of ups and downs, but it was a really positive week overall, not just in results but more importantly in team growth,” Andrews said.
Some of those ups and downs came defensively. Hermantown surrendered a late three-goal lead against Marshall and allowed Centennial to stay close in a high-scoring win.
“The Marshall tie on Tuesday was obviously disappointing, not because we tied a very good hockey team, but because of the way in which it happened,” Andrews said. “To have a three-goal lead with 8 minutes remaining and not get a win was frustrating. Giving up five goals was also not ideal.”
Andrews said similar issues surfaced earlier in the week.
“I thought our effort on Thursday night was better, but again, we showed inconsistencies in defensive play, which allowed Centennial to hang around; we also gave up six more goals,” he said.
Still, Andrews said Saturday’s performance reflected meaningful progress.
“All of this showed tremendous growth for our group and great coachability,” he said. “We need to refocus our efforts on the defensive side of the puck, stay above pucks in the neutral and offensive zones, and give Bryce the defensive effort he deserves.”
Against Rosemount, Hermantown did just that, closing a taxing stretch with its sharpest effort and a result that backed it up.
