When these teams met a year ago in the regular season, young spectators were, literally, hanging from the rafters in an attempt to get a glimpse of the action. Hermantown won that mid-January matchup in the the cozy confines of the Hermantown Ice Arena 2-1 in overtime, and then beat the Warriors again 3-2 in a thrilling Class 1A state title game in March.
Saturday’s meeting at the more spacious The Gardens Arena in Warroad should provide more easily accessible views of the action for what very well might be another capacity crowd.
The storylines are abundant in this showdown between the state’s top two teams in Class 1A, starting with the fact that No. 1-1A Hermantown (9-0-1) and No. 2-1A Warroad (12-0-0) are the state’s final two unbeaten teams entering play on Thursday.
Warroad, which beat arch rival Roseau 7-4 on Tuesday, hosts Crookston on Thursday. Hermantown, which has defeated seven Class 2A schools this season, hosts longtime Class 1A rival St. Cloud Cathedral on Thursday.
The scoring exploits of Warroad’s Jayson Shaugabay will be on statewide display on Saturday as he continues to climb the state’s career scoring list. The senior Minnesota-Duluth commit’s five-point performance against Roseau on Tuesday moves him into a tie for 20th with 250 points, including 42 this season. Junior Penn State commit Dallas Vieau leads Hermantown with 19 points.
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