MENDOTA HEIGHTS - Junior defenseman Brody Dietz’s first-period goal on a point shot through traffic held up as the winner and sophomore Cody Niesen earned the shutout as St. Thomas Academy beat Hermantown 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at St. Thomas Ice Arena.
Jordan Tacheny scored in the third period to put the No. 12-2A Cadets (11-5-0) ahead 2-0. Tommy Cronin added an empty-net goal with 1:51 remaining to complete the scoring. The goal was Cronin’s team-leading 18th of the season.
St. Thomas Academy limited No. 2-1A Hermantown (12-1-1) to 20 shots on goal. The shutout loss was the first for the Hawks since the 2015-16 season, when they suffered a 3-0 road setback to Minnetonka on Dec. 18. Hermantown's streak of scoring at least one goal was halted at 182 games.
The Hawks were coming off an emotion-charged 3-2 victory over Moorhead on Friday night in Hermantown in which defenseman Will Esterbrooks scored with 10.3 seconds left in regulation to secure the win.
Hermantown, playing its ninth Class 2A opponent of the season, was limited in shots but did have a handful of quality scoring chances, including a third-period breakaway.
The shutout was the fifth of the season for St. Thomas Academy and second for Niesen, a sophomore who shares time in goal with senior Tyler Magozzi.