Short Handed Hermantown Falls in State Hockey

When Dodge County needed a goal or two early to settle its nerves, Brody Lamb provided them. When the Wildcats required some late goals to stem a Hermantown comeback attempt led by the irrepressible Zam Plante, Lamb scored those, too.
In between, more Lamb goals.

Lamb, the state scoring leader, finished with six goals as he led the unseeded Wildcats past Hermantown — the No. 1 seed turned prohibitive underdog — 7-3 at Xcel Energy Center in one of the strangest and most captivating Class 1A quarterfinals in boys’ hockey tournament history.

In a devastating twist for Hermantown — Class 1A champion in 2007, 2016 and 2017 and appearing in its 17th state tournament — the Hawks were forced to play with mostly junior varsity players.

Hermantown (19-2) learned Monday that after beating Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl in a March 23 section semifinal, two Blue Devils subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. Plante and Cameron Pietrusa didn’t play in that game because of injuries. Backup varsity goaltender Cole Thorsvik also didn’t see action.

All three players were cleared to play in Tuesday’s game. The rest of Hermantown’s varsity is in quarantine.

Still recovering from a separated shoulder and playing with a broken thumb, Plante, a sophomore who ranks fourth in the state in scoring with 61 points, had a goal and two assists and rarely left the ice.

He went to the bench for a breather twice in the second period and once in the third.