The Hawks got four first-period goals — including two from Zam Plante — in the rout of New Prague in the Class A quarterfinal.
scheduled tribe. PAUL - Fans were barely in their seats at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul when the attack began on Wednesday.
Hermantown's Wyatt Carlsen scored a power play goal in 1 minute, 36 seconds into the game, and from the 3:01 mark, Zam Plante and Dominic Thomas both added goals.
A three-goal barrage at the start of the first period gave Hermanntown a 5–1 win over New Prague in the Class A state quarterfinals.
"We've been starting fast lately - in the section finals we started fast and the same thing happened today," said Hermantown coach Pat Andrews. "We got an early power play and everyone rested. You can tell they were on their heels and we've been really good when teams are on their heels and this team has been really good at tossing up an opportunity.
The Trojans were quickly overwhelmed by Hermantown's pace and the defense had trouble clearing the pucks for Carter Puente, forcing him to intercept several Hawks shots during the first period.
Zum Plante scored later in the period, but after the initial Hermanntown attack, the Trojan defense hardened.
"We want the first seven minutes to happen, but I think we're a little stuck in the moment - which we encouraged our men to do," said New Prague coach Brad Drazon. “Once we settled in for a bit, I thought we did some really cool stuff. We blocked shots, we interrupted and did what we wanted to do.”
Will Anderson got a shot by Harmantown goalkeeper Dan Callaway on a power play late in the first period, but more scoring chances were hard to come by in the final two periods.
New Prague's defense fared better in the second period, limiting Hermanntown's number of good looks, but the Trojans also struggled to generate offensive opportunities of their own.
While the Hermantown offense increased slightly in the second period, the Hawks defense was as stingy as it has been all season.
"We weren't getting that second chance and were controlling the offensive, but they were a lot less defensive, because I thought we had very good intervals and the credit goes to our D," Andrews said. "All credit to our offense, but we have phenomenal defenders who make it really tough on the teams because our differential control is so good. They look up and they have a white jersey coming on, where usually you have It takes a little time and space to raise your head up and down a play.
In addition, according to Zam Plante, the Hermantown defense helps advance the offense.
"We can't lift snow faster without them," he said. "On the first goal, Ty (Hanson) made the puck great to help me get up off the ice and get to Kohanski."
In the third period, Hermantown continued to pepper Puente with multiple shots almost every time the Hawks came into the New Prague zone.
Drazen agreed that the Harmontown defense was the key to victory and kept the Trojans off balance.
"Before him deserves all the praise in the world," Drazen said. "But I was really impressed by their D-men, too, to be able to hold the puck. Our forward would get up in the game and then D would beat us with a pass and then they would be ready to race. I think That it pushed us a little bit and it's as difficult to play the defense as we did."
Puente stood strong under attack, however, allowing just one goal from Max Plante. The Hawks beat New Prague 17–1 in the final period.
Harmontown allowed just five shots in the final two periods and the Trojans never actually threatened to return to the game.
Zam Plante led Hermanntown with two goals and one assist.
Callaway made 12 saves for the Hawks, while Puente made 42 saves for New Prague. For some work and state tournament experience, both teams scored their second goals in the game in the third period.
Andrews was overall happy with his team and the opportunities they created, but most of his praise was for his defensemen.
"I've said from the beginning of the season that this is our team's strength," Andrews said. “We have great forwards, but I like my back end. You can win games without a good back end and we have a really good back end.
Hermantown (27-2) will meet Alexandria (20-6-2), a 4-1 winner over Minneapolis, in a late game at 1 p.m. Friday in the second semi-final of two Class A in St. Paul.