Dane Callaway is something of a wild child.

Part of the Hermantown goaltender’s pregame routine is to bang his head against the crossbar. Sort of like the forwards and defensemen getting that first big hit out of the way early, Callaway says.

After games he’s been know to lift the net off its moorings and flip it end-over-end into the boards. Yup, he’s strong. 

Callaway doesn’t like players invading his personal space, and has numerous ways of expressing his displeasure. Legal or not.

“I love contact,” Callaway says. “I’ll fight in the crease with you, I don’t care.”

The other thing Callaway does is stop pucks. Lots and lots of pucks. 

The senior goaltender made 16 saves — 12 in the first period — in the No. 1-seeded Hawks’ 6-0 victory over unseeded Alexandria on Wednesday in a state Class 1A quarterfinal at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

In the locker room after the game, Hermantown coach Pat Andrews told Callaway he only had to make two saves over the final two periods. Not to be argumentative, but Callaway insisted it was at least three or four.

“He knows,” Andrews said. “He’s keeping track.”

Callaway’s shutout was the 15th of his career, tying the school record set by Garron Opsahl. 

“I think it’s a great accomplishment,” Callaway said. “I’ve worked really hard for it. But I can’t do it without them.”

Callaway was joined by defensemen Henry Peterson and Will Esterbrooks in the postgame media session, and, as all good goalies do, Callaway was pointing to his teammates when talking about his accomplishments.

Maybe more so than in any other season, defense and goaltending is Hermantown’s identity. The Hawks have shut out their opponents in 12 of their last 14 periods. Callaway ranks third in the state with a .940 save percentage and sixth with a 1.65 goals-against average. Six of his career shutouts have come this season.

“The last couple of years we’ve been kind of able to rely on our forwards a little bit more, because of the talent we’ve had,” Callaway said. “This year we have a lot of new guys, a lot of youngsters on the team, and our D is just holding it down.”