DULUTH - Senior forward Aaron Evjen whipped a shot into the upper left corner of the net with 15.8 seconds remaining as No. 1 seed Hermantown averted a major upset by beating No. 4 Hibbing/Chisholm 3-2 on Monday in a Section 7A semifinal at Amsoil Arena.
No. 10-1A Hibbing/Chisholm (16-9-1), which trailed 2-0 late in the second period, tied it at 2-2 on Christian Dickson's goal 4:25 into the third period.
Evjen scored on a 3-on-2 rush, taking a pass from Josh Kauppinen, settling a bouncing puck and then shooting over diving Bluejackets forward Beau Frider. The goal was Evjen's second of the game and seventh of the season.
No. 2-1A Hermantown, which had defeated Hibbing/Chisholm 6-0 on Jan. 17 in the teams' regular season meeting, advances to a section final for the 15th-straight season. The Bluejackets haven't reached a section title game since 2016.
Samuel Swenson and Evjen scored just more than three minutes apart in the second period as Hermantown built a 2-0 lead. Andrew Lehman answered for Hibbing/Chisholm with 8.8 seconds left in the second, converting on a 2-on-1 with Frider to cut the Hawks' lead to 2-1 entering the third.
Senior Brayden Boyer was brilliant in goal for the Bluejackets, making 41 saves. Dane Callaway had 14 stops for Hermantown, the defending state Class 1A champion.
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DULUTH - Kasey Lamppa scored three goals and Ryan Rothfork stopped 21 shots as No. 2 seed Rock Ridge steamrolled No. 3 seed Duluth Denfeld 12-1 in a Section 7A semifinal at Amsoil Arena.
No. 11-1A Duluth Denfeld (14-12-1) led 1-0 midway through the first and the score was 1-1 heading into the second. No. 8-1A Rock Ridge (18-8-1) dominated the final two periods, scoring five in the second and six in the third.
Lamppa, a junior forward, scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season in a span of 1:15 in the third period to put the Wolverines ahead 9-1. He also scored in the second period.
Dylan Hedley had a pair of goals for Rock Ridge, which has won its two section playoff games by a combined total of 21-1.
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