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The entire state will be focused on Xcel Energy Center this weekend to watch the greatest schoolboy spectacle in sports - the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament. It will undoubtedly live up to, or exceed, its build-up, but it is time once again to appreciate what it took to get there.
Duluth East arose from what seemed like a season-ending roadblock against Elk River last Thursday, and the North rode on the backs of the Greyhounds as they held onto the Section 7 Class AA hockey championship again. It seems as though the margin gets smaller every year, as the manpower levels of Northern high schools is decreasing at about the same rate that it’s increasing in the Twin Cities suburbs.
This time Duluth East was No. 1 seed and Elk River No. 2, but that mattered little. The teams battled through a scoreless first period at AMSOIL Arena, and the second period opened with stunning suddenness as Chase Springman rushed up the right side and fired a shots. When Gunnar Howg blocked it in the East goal, Reggie Lutz was there to deposit the rebound, and Elk River had a 1-0 lead 15 seconds into the session.
It stayed 1-0 until the final minute of the second period, when Nick Altmann - remember that name - rushed in for a shot that Maclean Berglove blocked for the Elks. Junior defenseman Bryton Lutzka beat the top linemates to the crease and jammed the rebound in, and East had a 1-1 tie at 16:23.
The reason the game had a sense of foreboding for East was that the Elks countered immediately. Jake Jaremko, Elk River’s best player, who might have been the most dangerous player in the game, brought the ensuing faceoff into East’s zone, filtered through a cluster of Greyhounds in the slot, and rifled a shot in off the right pipe at 16:37. The tie had lasted only 14 seconds, and the Elks took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
The ‘Hounds came out flying in the third period, with their surprisingly impressive rebuilding season facing elimination. The top line charged, with junior Nick Altmann - remember that name - stopped once, and big Jack Kolar stopped on the rebound, as Brian Bunten closed. In the aftermath, Kolar, East’s top gun, got tangled with a defenseman behind the net and went down awkwardly. When he stayed down, it brought back memories of the start of the season, when Kolar missed the first eight games because of a strained medial-collateral ligament in his left knee, and East struggled to find any scoring without him. This was the same knee.
He was helped up and to the bench, but he came back, and had a couple good scoring chances in the closing minutes. East outshot Elk River 14-1 in the final period onslaught, but nothing could beat Berglove. With 3:51 remaining, the Elks were penalized for a cross-check that left defenseman Alex Trapp against the end boards. It was one of those penalties that had to be called, even in a rough, tough physical match where most penalties were best left uncalled.
On the power play, coach Mike Randolph sent the big line, with ace defensemen Phil Beaulieu and Trapp on the points, but it wasn’t clicking. “Kolar usually runs things from the boards,” said Randolph. “But he couldn’t push off on his left leg.”
This year’s East team has been a team of opportunists, which means that with Kolar the only one of four seniors among the 12 forwards, a lot of underclassmen have had to come through. Randolph didn’t hesitate to send his second power-play unit out for the second minute. Ash Altmann, a sophomore brother of Nick’s (remember that name), got a whack at one, and when it skipped to the right, Alex Spencer, another sophomore but one who is 6-foot-4, got to it with his back to the net. He flipped a shot that didn’t go, then he whirled and jabbed at his own rebound, and it went in with 2:10 remaining to tie the game 2-2.
Overtime arrived, and when Kolar limped out to center ice with his first unit, it looked like the last brigade, reporting for duty. The East crowd was apprehensive, and with good reason. Elk River, rebuilt and ready under former North Stars defenseman Gordie Roberts, may have spent the third period on its heels, but surely they would turn up the wick for overtime.
But at 2:08 of the first sudden-death extra session, Kolar and Beaulieu collaborated to get the puck into the left corner, where it was corralled by Nick Altmann. Remember him? He carried toward the net from the left corner, looking for someone in front. He didn’t see any friendly faces, but he did spot something else. “I saw an opening,” he said, smiling in case his inquisitor was suggesting it might have been a fluke. “As the goalie started to go down, I saw an opening and I shot it right through the 5-hole.”
It was the only shot of overtime, and it was deadly accurate, and East was headed back to the state tournament.
“After two periods, they were by far the better team,” said Randolph. “I told our gys, ‘You’re fortunate to only be down 2-1.’ They were playing really well, blocking shots, and I knew they’d sit back and protect that 2-1 lead.”
I asked Randolph when, since Dave Spehar and Chris Locker were sophomores, has he ever sent out a couple of sophomores in the final minutes to get the tying goal on a power play? Randolph smiled. “They’ve scored some beauties,” he said.
One day earlier, Hermantown beat Marshall 6-2 in the Section 7, Class A final. The game was anticlimactic because of the score, not because of Marshall’s inability to keep up, but because of the aura that the Hawks seem to have at sectional playoff time. Nate Pionk, a junior who joins Scott Wasbotten and center Ryan Kero on the top line, scored three goals, Kero had two, and Wasbotten had one. For those not keeping score, that adds up to six. As in 6-2.
When the Hawks were still on the ice, celebrating and skating forward to get their medals and their big trophy, coach Bruce Plante sat on the Hermantown bench rather than joining in. Plante has retired from regular duty as a teacher, but he’s not ready to retire as coach, and he is ready for his fifth straight trip to state.
As for not joining the celebration, and not jumping up and down on the bench, Plante said: “I’m too old to be jumping up and down. I’m tired. But it does not get old. Every team is different. This one only has five players who played last year, so it’s new to them. I feed off that.”