Ryan Sandelin scored a goal and added three assists to spark the Hermantown boys hockey team to its 20th consecutive win, 6-3 over Brainerd on Friday night in Hermantown.
The Hawks (20-1-1), Class A's top-ranked team, jumped on the Warriors and led 5-0 early in the second period. Six players scored for Hermantown, including Dylan Kolquist, who tallied 36 seconds after the puck dropped.
As the Hawks skate toward the top seed for the Section 7A playoffs, they're playing some of their best hockey of the season. They've blanked four of their past six opponents and haven't won by fewer than three goals since clipping Grand Rapids 4-3 on Jan. 10.
Moorhead 4, CEC 3
Ryan Nelson's goal in the final minute of regulation gave the host Lumberjacks (12-8-3) a chance to upset the 13th-ranked Spuds, but Jacob Holtgrewe scored in overtime to make a winner of Moorhead (16-3-3).
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GIRLS HOCKEY
GRG 4, CEC 1
Sadie Peart had a pair of goals as the third-seeded Lightning cruised past the Lumberjacks in a Section 7AA quarterfinal Thursday night in Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids-Greenway (18-5-3) heads to second-seeded Forest Lake (18-6-2) for a 3 p.m. semifinal today.
Duluth Marshall 3,
International Falls 2
The fifth-seeded Hilltoppers went on the road to claim a Section 7A first-round upset Thursday night.
Victoria Thorson scored her second goal of the game 4:56 into overtime to seal Marshall's spot in today's semifinals opposite top-seeded Proctor-Hermantown (19-5-1).
The Hilltoppers (6-17-3) split with the Broncos in the regular season, including International Falls' 8-0 win on Jan. 7.
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Marshall meets the Mirage at 6 p.m. today at Miners Memorial Building in Virginia. A second semifinal between Moose Lake Area (20-5-1) and Hibbing-Chisholm (15-10-1) will follow.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Grand Rapids 87, Cloquet 37
Heaven Hamling continued her big-time scoring and the Thunderhawks continued their persistent winning.
Hamling made six 3-pointers and finished with 36 points as sixth-ranked Grand Rapids (20-3) won its 12th consecutive game.
Proctor 61, International Falls 51
Sam Pogatchnik scored 21 points in the nonconference game as the visiting Rails (12-10) earned their ninth straight victory.
VOLLEYBALL
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Grand Rapids hires new coach
Chris Otto will replace Bryan Fideldy as Grand Rapids' volleyball coach.
Fideldy stepped down after leading the Thunderhawks back to the state tournament last fall.
Otto had been an assistant on Fideldy's staff.
