SHAKOPEE -- Landon Huh buried a sharp-angle shot from the right circle a little more than five minutes into overtime to help lift Shakopee to a thrilling 2-1 victory over visiting Hermantown Saturday afternoon at the Shakopee Ice Arena. 

In a showdown featuring two of the state’s top-five ranked teams in their respective classes, a standard 51 minutes wouldn't suffice.

Scoreless into the third, Shakopee, No. 5 in Legacy’s latest Class 2A rankings, took the lead on a power-play goal by senior captain Daylin Cline, to put the Sabers ahead 1-0.

In the final minute and with its goalie pulled for an extra attacker, Hermantown evened it with a power-play goal of its own, punched in by leading scorer Micklain Martalock for his 19th of the season.

In overtime, Hermantown (13-2-3) was forced to kill another penalty (its seventh of the game), and Shakopee went to work. The Sabers pounded away with pressure until the door opened with Huh’s goal, his ninth of the season, and 20th point.

Though not a powerplay goal, it came so quickly after the kill that Hermantown wasn't able to get its feet back under them. 

“It was a big-time win for us,” Shakopee coach Calvin Simon said. “We found a way to score a gritty one."

On the offensive side of the red line, Simon encourages positionless hockey, where team structure dictates F1, F2, F3 regardless of where you line up. As the Sabers maneuvered around the zone on the attack in the extra session, Huh, a defenseman with a shooter’s touch, slipped down low to find the soft spot. 

“We read and we fill,” Simon said. “It’s creating a lot of opportunity for everyone to take their turn.”

Hermantown, ranked No. 2-1A, had seen goalie Bryce Francisco make 39 saves up to that point as the Sabers (14-3-0) outshot the Hawks 41-23. 

Francisco lowered his goals-against-average to 2.64, and raised his save percentage to .918.

“Bryce gives us a chance every night, no matter who we’re playing,” Hermantown coach Pat Andrew said. “His technical (ability) and his demeanor makes it tough to score on him. He doesn’t give up much, and he doesn’t beat himself.”