Hunters-Hawks Play to O.T. Tie

Photos by: Rod Behm

Monday night at Public Schools Stadium two of the top teams in section 7A battled to a scoreless tie as the match-up Monday between Hermantown and Duluth Denfeld might be a preview of the section finals on Thursday October 17th.

The Hawks the top ranked team via the QRF in section 7A and the first place team in the Lake Superior Conference saw the match-up with the Hunters who were second both in the conference and section standings as a wonderful tuneup to the section playoffs which begin this Thursday at various sites.

The Hawks who earned the top seed in the section playoffs and the Hunters the second seeded team in section 7A saw their efforts Monday night move into overtime as neither team could get past either goaltender Monday.

Allison Samberg picked up her fifth shutout of the season as she stopped 14 shots on goal by the Hunters. The Hunters goalie Megan Lazzaro stopped five shots in the shutout tie, it was Lazzaro’s sixth shutout of the season.

The Hawks close out the regular season with an overall record of 12-1-3 on the season and the Hawks with the top seed in the section 7A playoffs will have a bye in the first round of the section playoffs. Hermantown will face either Zimmerman or Esko as those two teams play Thursday night in Zimmerman. Hermantown beat Esko earlier this season 3-1 and did not face Zimmerman during the regular season.

The Hunters earned the number two seed in the section playoffs and the Hunters will also have a bye in the first round of the section playoffs. The Hunters will face the winner of Duluth Marshall and Hibbing-Chisholm on Saturday afternoon. The Hunters shut out Marshall twice this season, with both games finishing 3-0, and the Hunters also beat the Bluejackets 5-2 in mid September in Hibbing.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com