Hermantown head coach Bruce Plante has dubbed his team the public school champion for the past three years after they have lost to St. Thomas Academy and Breck. He will have an opportunity to take home a more coveted prize Saturday when his team plays for the championship again. The Hawks 4-3 win in double overtime may have excersised demons against the Mustangs, but the team has a bigger target in the two time defending champ Cadets. Hawks junior Zach Kramer picked up a loose puck and rifled it past Breck goalie Henry Johnson to send Hermantown back to the title game.
Twice the Hawks fell behind, but twice they battled back to tie the game in the third period. After the Mustangs tied the game at a goal each with 14 seconds, they continued their momentum scoring 12 seconds into the third period to take a 2-1 lead. The Hawks quickly countered as Koepke tied the game at the 5:56 mark of the third. After Matt Colford scored to put the Mustangs up, it was Koepke who tallied again to send the game to overtime.
The overtime saw a Breck powerplay and a Hermantown penalty shot that couldn't produce a goal. It was Kramer who followed line mate Bo Gronseth to the net picking up a lose puck and sending the Hawks to the title game.
