HERMANTOWN - Paxson Madill's goal with 3:46 left in the second period held up as the game winner as Hermantown beat Hibbing/Chisholm 2-1 on Tuesday in a matchup of the top two teams in Class 1A at a jammed NorthStar Ford Arena.

With the score tied 1-1, Madill stole the puck at the Hermantown blue line then raced into the Hibbing/Chisholm end, briefly putting on the brakes to elude a sliding Bluejackets defender. Madill, a sophomore, jammed at the puck several times after his initial shot, eventually poking it into the net.

The victory likely assures No. 2-1A Hermantown (13-1-3) of the top playoff seed in the ultra-competitive Section 7A playoffs. The loss snapped a nine-game unbeaten streak for No. 1-1A Hibbing/Chisholm (13-2-1).

Mick Martalock scored his 18th goal of the season in the first period to give Hermantown a 1-0 lead. Cole Swanson answered for Hibbing/Chisholm, the defending section champion, 3:18 into the second. Swanson's goal was his 17th of the season.

Both goaltenders were superb, as Hibbing/Chisholm's Gavin Lamphere and Hermantown's Bryce Francisco each made 37 saves.

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MENDOTA HEIGHTS - Senior Cole Braunshausen's power-play goal early in the third period helped propel St. Thomas Academy to a 3-1 victory over Edina at St. Thomas Ice Arena in a matchup of the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked teams in Class 2A.

Braunshausen put No. 4-2A St. Thomas Academy (10-4-2) ahead 2-0 7:07 into the third period. Tucker Johnson pulled No. 3-2A Edina (11-5-0) to within 2-1 with 3:13 remaining.

Freshman Maverick McKinnon clinched the victory with an empty-net goal in the final minute. McKinnon, who assisted on Braunshausen's goal, ranks second in the state among freshmen with 34 points, two behind Mora/Milaca's Ty Stanchfield.  

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MAPLEWOOD - Hill-Murray scored three unanswered goals spanning parts of the second and third periods as it rallied past Wayzata 4-3 at Aldrich Arena.

Landon Sampair scored with 1:04 left in the second period to put No. 6-2A Hill-Murray (10-3-2) ahead 3-2. The Pioneers' Brady Morrell scored with 3:05 left in the period to tie it at 2-2. Chase Crowley's goal with 5:54 left in the third put Hill-Murray ahead 4-2.

Tommy Colmenero scored the lone goal of the first period and Evan Lyke scored midway through the second period to put No. 13-2A Wayzata (6-7-2) ahead 2-1.

Sampair and Chaz Lentz had had a goal and two assists for the Pioneers. 

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RICHFIELD - Devin O'Donnell scored on a third-period power play as Mahtomedi defeated Holy Angels 2-1 at the Richfield Ice Arena.

Avi Kasargod opened the scoring for No. 12-2A Holy Angels with a goal with 3:07 left in the first. No. 6-1A Mahtomedi tied the game on Vinny Redpath's goal with 40 seconds remaining in the opening period.

O'Donnell assisted on Redpath's goal for the Zephyrs (9-6-2).

George Sill made 29 saves for the Stars (9-5-0) while Mahtomedi's Jackson Chesak stopped 18 shots for the win.

Redpath, a sophomore, leads Mahtomedi with 20 points. 

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ELK RIVER - Tristan Kriech's goal 2:21 into overtime lifted Elk River/Zimmerman to a 5-4 win over St. Michael-Albertville at the Furniture and Things Community Center. The game featured four goals, three by the Elks, in the final 87 seconds of regulation.

Tommy Olson scored twice for Elk River/Zimmerman, including the tying goal with 13 seconds to play in regulation. He also scored with 1:31 remaining. Kriech scored with 31 seconds left to play but Tanner Esterberg answered with a goal nine seconds later for No. 20-2A St. Michael-Albertville.

The win helps the Elks (9-4-1) with seeding position in Section 8AA.

Kriech, a senior forward, leads the Elks with 13 goals and 30 points.

Wyatt Tauer had a pair of assists for the Knights (9-6-0)

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MANKATO - Mankato West scored six unanswered goals as the Scarlets defeated Mankato East 6-2 in a crosstown, Big 9 Conference matchup at All Seasons Arena.

Mankato East (7-8-0) opened the scoring on Zacharia Lang's goal but Brodie Cox evened the game with a power-play goal for the Scarlets (10-4-2).

Mankato West broke out for five goals in six minutes in the second. Jakobe Tosch scored two of those goals and Cox had one. Grady Schmidt led Mankato West with four assists.

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ST. PAUL - Maverick Timmons scored with 14 seconds left to give Cretin-Derham Hall a 4-3 win over White Bear Lake at Highland Arena.

Timmons' goal, which gave Cretin-Derham Hall its first lead, was the No. 11-2A Raiders' second goal in the game's final 3:36.

No. 18-2A White Bear Lake opened the third period by taking a 3-2 lead on Liam Maloy's second goal of the game. Maloy also scored in the second for the Bears (6-7-1)

Max Thompson tied the game for Cretin-Derham Hall (12-5-0) with 3:36 left in regulation.

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DULUTH - Jax Edgerton scored 3:48 into overtime to give Duluth East a 3-2 win over Forest Lake at the Essentia Duluth Heritage Center. The win helped the Greyhounds (5-9-2) improve their seeding in Section 7AA.

After both teams scored in the first, Duluth East took the lead when Niko Mitchell scored with 1:52 to play in the second.

Ryder Siedow scored for the second time with 7:31 left in regulation to tie the game for Forest Lake (10-6-0).

Nolan Nygaard made 40 saves for the Greyhounds.

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