Hermantown vs Mahtomedi

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Who wins?

Hermantown
10
83%
Mahtomedi
2
17%
 
Total votes: 12

elliott70
Posts: 15425
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:47 pm
Location: Bemidji

Hermantown vs Mahtomedi

Post by elliott70 » Fri Jan 27, 2023 12:26 pm

Hermantown vs Mahtomedi - Polar Lakes Park 1:00 PM CST Saturday

two and three - in single A
Who wins?

ClassAGuy
Posts: 2564
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 6:51 pm

Re: Hermantown vs Mahtomedi

Post by ClassAGuy » Fri Jan 27, 2023 5:39 pm

#2 Hermantown (14-2-1) vs #3 Mahtomedi (11-5-0) Preview

Hockey Day Minnesota does not disappoint as it brings us two of the premier Class A programs clashing in a great match up on National TV. Both teams come in having played mainly Class AA schedules and have competed well in those contests and they appear to both be heavy favorites to win their Section again and this could be a preview of SemiFinal Friday Game at 11:00 AM in March at St Paul.

Deep Offensive Units- Both teams come in having the luxury of getting scoring from up and down their lineup card. The Zephyrs have rolled three lines much of the winter. They are led up front by a great core of seniors #11 Charlie Drage, #4 David Wolsfeld and #24 Corey Bohmert makes up one line. While another all senior group of #15 Seth Nelson, #9 Jonny Grove and #22 Carter Haycraft makes up a very good 2nd line. Both lines could be considered their top line and to add depth their 3rd line of underclassmen #21 Jimmy and #17 Patrick Egan along with #8 Jake Hodd-Chlebeck makes a very deep lineup. While the Zephyrs don't have that wow elite scorer they have 9 forwards who can all play and have all contributed well offensively.

The Hawks will counter with their typical three good lines of depth of their own. Seniors #4 Wyatt Carlson and #17 Matthew &#19 Joshua Kauppinen has been the top line most of the year for the Hawks. They also feature depth, as well as while they play sometimes as 3rd line, the line of Senior #11 Kade Kohanski, Junior standout #24 Dallas Vieau and sophomore #23 River Freeman gives the Hawks a very dangerous top 6 of their own. Hermantown has mixed in matched a few different bodies looking for their third line #7 Evan Gunderson, #3 Samuel Swenson, #18 Bradford Skytta, #16 Mason Sundbom have all seen time as the Hawks work on finding that grind it out defensive shut down line to complement their top 6.

Blueline Blue Chippers - Both teams have good blue lines. The Hawks are led by #22 George Peterson who has been a game changer for them all season running their power play and is currently their 2nd leading scorer. #9 Will Esterbrooks has been an excellent defenseman in his own right when those two are paired together they are tough core to break through on. #8 Drew Nelson and #12 Nolan Baker to add to solid Hemrantown D-core but the loss of #2 Henry Peterson has been a void but it has given players like #13 Weston Bohlman has more opportunities to develop and when Peterson returns from injury they will have a deep defensive core.

The Zephyrs have strong defensive core of their own led by senior #2 Cav Bruner who runs the powerlay and controls the play when he is on the ice and he is often paired with #7 William Brummel. Smooth skating sophomore #6 Sam Harris is one to watch as he plays mega minutes for a youngster and is very talented. Add in 6’3 #5 Cole Swanson and 6’5 #26 Carson Marshall and there is not a lot of time in space given by the Mahtomedi d-core which has become the backbone and blueprint of their success over the last decade.

Goaltending Duos- The Hawks have split their goaltenders this year but the stud is #32 Dane Callaway. He has posted good numbers at (6-1-0) record 1.87 GAA .905 SV%. The senior #31Garron Opsahl has been just as good this winter posting (8-1-1) 1.18 GAA .933 SV % but it's Callaway’s turn in the rotation. Due to it being HDMN I could see a scenario where they might split the game to give both a chance at the experience of the event.

Obviously the big question mark for the Zephyrs was who would replace Ben Daris this winter and Mahtomedi has used a tandem of their own but of recent games it looks like Junior #30 Charlie Brandt (6-5-0) 3.54 GAA 865 SV% had gotten the bigger game but Senior #29 Andrew Reister has better numbers going (5-0-0) with a 1.59 GAA and .923 SV% again another situation where both may see time due to it being HDMN.

Outdoor Hockey- Obviously one of the big variables in this game will be that it is being played outside in some frigid temperatures. Also being played in front of a national audience can be intimidating but both these teams have big game experience. How quickly both teams can adapt to their surroundings will be big. This looks like a great match-up and more than likely the preview for the Class A Semifinal game we will see again in March.
Last edited by ClassAGuy on Fri Jan 27, 2023 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

elliott70
Posts: 15425
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:47 pm
Location: Bemidji

Re: Hermantown vs Mahtomedi

Post by elliott70 » Fri Jan 27, 2023 7:29 pm

Hermantown may have the edge playing outdoors having gone through youth hockey playing and practicing a good deal of the time outdoors.

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