Hermantown Trounces Rochester Lourdes 7-2 in First Round of Boys State Hockey Tournament

The undefeated Hermantown Hawks took the ice yesterday at the Xcel Energy Center against Rochester Lourdes in the first round of the Class A Boys State Hockey Tournament, looking to bring their winning streak to 29 games in a row this season. Hermantown entered yesterday's game with a perfect 28-0 record and #1 seed in the Class A bracket. Rochester Lourdes entered the tournament with a 20-8 record and bottom seed.

Bo Gronseth netted a quick opening goal of the game at 00:33, setting offensive pace for the night. Jared Thomas added a second goal halfway through the first period, and Lourdes struck back at 10:07 in the 1st to make the game competitive at 2-1. The Hawks and Lourdes each added another goal to end the period at 3-2.

Coming out of the first intermission, the Hawks locked down on defense, going on to shut out the Lourdes offense for the remainder of the game while expanding their lead. Hermantown's Chris Benson, Jared Kolquist, and Jared Thomas each netted a goal in the first half of the second period, going into the second intermission with a 6-2 lead.

In the final period of the contest, Andrew Mattson converted a power play opportunity at the 07:41 mark to bring the game to its final score of 7-2.

Hermantown moves on to play #4 Thief River Falls (22-4-2) at 1pm Friday.