Hawks fly high into top spot

#1 Hermantown (2-1-1)

It was probably only a matter of time before Hermantown took over the top spot in the Class A rankings. The Hawks defeated another perennial top 5 team in Mahtomedi 5-, outshooting the Zephyrs 37-28 in the game.

Henry Peterson, River Freeman, Noah Thurston and Beau Christy all had a goal and an assist in the win.

Bryce Francisco stopped 26 shots to earn the win in goal.

#2 Cloquet/Esko/Carlton (4-0-0)

The Lumberjacks got a late goal on a penalty shot from Nikolas Gentilini to defeat No. 7 East Grand Forks 4-3 in a battle of northern foes.  It was gentility’s second snipe of the night and he now has nine points in four games as the Lumberjacks stayed undefeated and moved into the No. 2 slo tin the rankings.

They will battle No. 5A St. Cloud Cathedral Dec. 19 in a much-anticipated match up.

#3 Warroad (2-1-1)

The Warriors fell out of the top spot after a 6-1 loss to No. 15AA Grad Rapids last week. They will have a tough couple games coming up when they take on No. 12A Mahtomedi Friday and No. 11A Orono on Saturday.

#4 Hibbing Chisholm (5-2-0)

The Bluejackets got back on the winning track with a 4-1 win over Totino-Grace last week. Tate Swanson had two goals and an assist and Rex Galli stopped 28 shots to earn the win. Swanson also had three assists in their 5-0 win over No. 16 Proctor.

They will play No. 10 Little Falls this Saturday.

#5 St. Cloud Cathedral (1-1-2)

Maybe a little slow out of the gate for the Crusaders, but they’ve hung in the Top 5 this week. They tied No. 10 Northfield, who moved up to No. 8 in a game that saw 83 shots.

The tie came after another shootout, a 7-6 win over Gentry Academy. Jaeger Wood netted the game winner with just a little over a minute to play. Wood and Bo Schmidt each finished with a goal and three assists. Joey Gillespie, a 32-goal scorer last season, notched a pair of goals, and Griffin Strum added three helpers in the win.

The Crusaders will play No. 20 Alexandria and Rock Ridge this week.

LPH Class A Boys Rankings Presented by Tradition Companies