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Tonight
Class 3A, Section 7 Volleyball Championship
No.1 North Branch vs. No. 2 Hemantown, 6 p.m. Cloquet
Class 3A, Section 7 Football Championship
No. 1 Pequot Lakes vs. No. 2 Two Harbors, 6 p.m. Minnesota Duluth
Class 2A, Section 7 Football Championship
No. 2 Moose Lake/Willow River vs. No. 4 Mesabi East, 6 p.m. Esko
IX, Section 7
No. 1 Mountain Iron-Buhl vs. No. 2 Cherry, 6 p.m. Mesabi East
Friday Events
Class 4A, Section 7 Football Championship
No. 1 North Branch (7-2) vs. No. 2 Hermantown (8-1), 7 p.m. Duluth Denfeld
Pro Hockey
Neal Pionk of Hermantown scored two goals in the Winnipeg Jets' 6-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night. He has 12 points (3 goals) and is plus-5 for the Jets (9-1-0).
Pionk, signed by the New York Rangers as an undrafted free agent in May 2017 after his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota Duluth, ranked fifth among NCAA defensemen with 34 points. He played two seasons in the USHL, earning the USHL Defenseman of the Year Award with 48 points in the 2014-15 season.
After playing 48 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL, Pionk was called up by the Rangers, making his NHL debut on February 9, 2018. He scored his first NHL goal on March 24, 2018, and ended that season with 14 points in 28 games.
He was also selected for Team USA in the 2018 IIHF World Championship, contributing three points in 10 games.
