Prep hockey: Mirage exact revenge on Northern Stars, Duluth Marshall boys blank Pine City
Around the Northland, Proctor/Hermantown girls hockey outlasted Duluth 4-2 while Duluth Marshall boys overpowered Pine City Area 8-0 on Saturday.
On the girls side, this was the second meeting between the two in the last three weeks, with the previous one ending in a victory for the Northern Stars.
Midway through the first, the Mirage were in the offensive zone and capitalized. Although Grace Nichols’ try was stuffed, Mya Gunderson followed up on the rebound to poke it in.
Once the contest went into the second, not much changed. Nichols fed Gunderson in front and she stuck it for her second tally of the day. It was the senior’s second multi-goal performance of the year and third straight game with a score.
Later on in the period, Presley Paulson found Ella Kaups to make it 3-0. Duluth cut the deficit to one in the third thanks to a pair of goals from Mae McCall before Kaups added an empty netter to seal the deal.
Overall, the Mirage outshout the Northern Stars 37-19 to split the season series. Despite the loss, Aaili Anttila made 33 saves in net, which was her second-most of the year.
Regardless, Proctor/Hermantown moved to 14-5-2 ahead of its road meeting with Superior at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Duluth fell to 14-7-1 and looks to bounce back when it travels to face Grand Rapids/Greenway at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Over to the boys side, where Duluth Marshall began its three-game homestand against Pine City, which had won two in a row.
The Hilltoppers began the day two minutes in when Rilo Heydt scored on a power play and then Viljami Sinisalo tacked another in the 10th minute. Later on, Sinisalo stole the puck away and dished it to Kellan Obester right in front who dunked it in.
Marshall’s offense kept humming in the second. Elijah Thorson sent it to Dane Hoffbauer who sniped it from downtown to extend the lead. The Toppers tacked on one more in the frame courtesy of Easton Grumdahl to give them a 5-0 advantage heading into the third.
Shawn Bartlette’s squad put another three on the board with contributions from Kyler Black, Benson Peterson and Viljami Sinisalo. When it was all said and done, Marshall outshot Pine City 38-29.
Still, Dragons goalie Milo Babolik notched 30 saves to tie his third-best outing of the campaign.
Nevertheless, the Hilltoppers recorded their sixth shutout of the season and now sit at 15-2-2 before they welcome Grand Rapids to town at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. On the other hand, Pine City dropped to 10-7-1 and hopes to turn things around when it battles North Shore on the road at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
For Related Stories: Duluth Marshall Athletics  Duluth Northern Stars  Pine City  Proctor/Hermantown Mirage