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I believe today marks the 20th anniversary of when Hermantown upset of (defending champion and no.1 ranked) Red Wing in the 1998 state tournament. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since. The Hawks were heavy underdogs against Johnny Pohl and that Winger team that year(Red Wing was the defending state A champions) but pulled a 2-1 stunner in what I think was one of the great upsets in tournament history. The result marked the rise of Hermantown's program and decline of Red Wing's. I was in 10th grade and it was the first state hockey tournament I attended by the way. Who else remembers that game?

hermantown2000 wrote:I believe today marks the 20th anniversary of when Hermantown upset of (defending champion and no.1 ranked) Red Wing in the 1998 state tournament. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since. The Hawks were heavy underdogs against Johnny Pohl and that Winger team that year(Red Wing was the defending state A champions) but pulled a 2-1 stunner in what I think was one of the great upsets in tournament history. The result marked the rise of Hermantown's program and decline of Red Wing's. I was in 10th grade and it was the first state hockey tournament I attended by the way. Who else remembers that game?

I think you are stretching it just a bit.......

Unless the Minnesota boy's site by MinnHock is incorrect, the 1998 tournament went like this:

1998 Quarter
(1) Red Wing (24-1) (8) East Grand Forks (19-5-1) 5-3
(2) Hermantown (20-4-1) (4) Fergus Falls (14-10) 7-0
(7) Eveleth (19-6) (3) Mahtomedi (19-5-1) 1-0
(5) St Louis Park (15-9-1) (6) Mound-Westonka (21-4) 3-2 (ot)

Semis
(2) Hermantown (21-4-1) (5) St Louis Park (16-9-1) 2-1
(7) Eveleth (20-6) (1) Red Wing (25-1) 4-1
Finals

(7) Eveleth (21-6) (2) Hermantown (22-4-1) 4-2


I was at this tourney supporting EGF.
Hermy didn't even play against Red Wing.

Or is that a typo and Hermantown beat Red Wing 2 -1 in the semis?

TTpuckster wrote:Unless the Minnesota boy's site by MinnHock is incorrect, the 1998 tournament went like this:

1998 Quarter
(1) Red Wing (24-1) (8) East Grand Forks (19-5-1) 5-3
(2) Hermantown (20-4-1) (4) Fergus Falls (14-10) 7-0
(7) Eveleth (19-6) (3) Mahtomedi (19-5-1) 1-0
(5) St Louis Park (15-9-1) (6) Mound-Westonka (21-4) 3-2 (ot)

Semis
(2) Hermantown (21-4-1) (5) St Louis Park (16-9-1) 2-1
(7) Eveleth (20-6) (1) Red Wing (25-1) 4-1
Finals

(7) Eveleth (21-6) (2) Hermantown (22-4-1) 4-2


I was at this tourney supporting EGF.
Hermy didn't even play against Red Wing.

Hahaha. That’s right. I remember those titans from the small town on the range taking that one. Their goalie was amazing.

Hermantown did beat Red Wing though.

http://history.vintagemnhockey.com/page ... 41189-1998

hermantown2000 wrote:I believe today marks the 20th anniversary of when Hermantown upset of (defending champion and no.1 ranked) Red Wing in the 1998 state tournament. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since. The Hawks were heavy underdogs against Johnny Pohl and that Winger team that year(Red Wing was the defending state A champions) but pulled a 2-1 stunner in what I think was one of the great upsets in tournament history. The result marked the rise of Hermantown's program and decline of Red Wing's. I was in 10th grade and it was the first state hockey tournament I attended by the way. Who else remembers that game?

I do vividly recall watching that semifinal game between Red Wing and Hermantown on TV. Hermantown winning was definitely a surprise, but I’m not sure I would go so far as to call it one of the great upsets in tournament history. Of course, I was rooting for Red Wing, as I’m pretty sure were most people in the state. It was neat to see a powerhouse program develop from that area of the state, and it would have been nice to see Johnny Pohl leave with an exclamation point on his amazing career.

I do disagree with your statement that the loss marked the end of Red Wing’s run of relevance at the state level. They made a trip to the tournament the following year, and finished as runner up in 2002. They were also moved into a section with Mahtomedi, and later STA, which blocked them from a few more tourney chances. It wasn’t until the past several years that Red Wing fell completely off the map.

TTpuckster wrote:Unless the Minnesota boy's site by MinnHock is incorrect, the 1998 tournament went like this:

1998 Quarter
(1) Red Wing (24-1) (8) East Grand Forks (19-5-1) 5-3
(2) Hermantown (20-4-1) (4) Fergus Falls (14-10) 7-0
(7) Eveleth (19-6) (3) Mahtomedi (19-5-1) 1-0
(5) St Louis Park (15-9-1) (6) Mound-Westonka (21-4) 3-2 (ot)

Semis
(2) Hermantown (21-4-1) (5) St Louis Park (16-9-1) 2-1
(7) Eveleth (20-6) (1) Red Wing (25-1) 4-1
Finals

(7) Eveleth (21-6) (2) Hermantown (22-4-1) 4-2


I was at this tourney supporting EGF.
Hermy didn't even play against Red Wing.

Or is that a typo and Hermantown beat Red Wing 2 -1 in the semis?

My site is incorrect.

[edit: Fixed]

Lee

Personally, I think the more interesting story from the 1998 Class A tournament, was the run to the championship by goaltender Pete Samargia and Eveleth, which (aside from a - yawn - Tier II title in 1993) essentially had done nothing at the state tournament since the 1950s.