{"id":131843,"date":"2025-07-19T21:35:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T21:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/131843\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T21:35:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T21:35:50","slug":"bluejackets-overpower-hawks-to-advance-to-section-final-duluth-news-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/131843\/","title":{"rendered":"Bluejackets overpower Hawks to advance to section final – Duluth News Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

DULUTH \u2014 Hibbing\/Chisholm\u2019s Benny Galli tipped a puck into the net late in the second period to put the Bluejackets in front of Hermantown in the Section 7A semifinal Saturday at Amsoil Arena.<\/p>\n

Before the Hawks could catch their breath, Isaiah Hildenbrand and Cole Swanson found themselves out in front of the defense. They kept the puck floating back and forth between them as they came down the ice for a rare 2-on-0 against a defenseless Bryce Francisco.<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Kyler Berg (19) of Hermantown passes the puck against Joey Gabardi (4) of Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

It was Hildenbrand who banged home the goal and Hibbing\/Chisholm was suddenly up a pair heading to the third period, a lead they held for a 5-3 win and a spot in the Section 7A title game Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole way down I was thinking, \u2018Just score,\u2019\u201d Hildenbrand said. \u201cWe started passing a little bit. It was great, the puck movement froze the goalie and I was able to score.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hermantown, it\u2019s the first time they haven\u2019t appeared in a section title game since 2008 and only the second time they won\u2019t win a section title since 2009. The Hawks lost the Section 7A title to Greenway in 2019, but before that the last time they didn\u2019t win a section was when they fell to St. Cloud Cathedral in 2009, when they played in Section 5A.<\/p>\n

Charlie Marchand put the Hawks up a goal 4 minutes into the game, but Tate Swanson tied the game at the 8:54 mark with a power play goal.<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hermantown players celebrate a first-period goal against Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

After Tate Swanson put the Bluejackets up a goal early in the second, Hermantown had nearly 90 seconds of 5-on-3 play. The Bluejackets killed the two-man advantage, but they finally allowed a goal to Gabe Swenson with 9 seconds of 5-on-4 play remaining.<\/p>\n

Nearly five minutes later Galli struck, and in a flash, the Hawks were down two, and the Bluejackets’ Cole Swanson made it three with a little under 12 minutes remaining.<\/p>\n

Freeman had a breakaway score of his own, but a too many men on the ice penalty put Hibbing\/Chisholm back on the power play with less than three minutes to play and the Bluejackets were able to resist the Hermantown extra attacker.<\/p>\n

For Hibbing\/Chisholm, it\u2019s been a roller coaster of a season. Ranked in the top five of Class A most of the season, the Bluejackets struggled early on but got on the same page late with a 5-2 win over Cloquet-Esko-Carlton in the regular season finale.<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hermantown goaltender Bryce Francisco (35) makes a save against Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of ups and downs, but good teams \u2014 state teams \u2014 always find a way to get going at the right time,\u201d Hildenbrand said. \u201cGreenway in 2019, they were a 3 seed like us. They got hot at the right moment and I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The season ended in disappointment for Hermantown, but coach Pat Andrews was proud of his team and the way they responded when they were down in the third.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a hard season,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought our group had a lot of adversity, but I thought we grew from a lot of of it and we got better. I know these kids got better. It\u2019s not the result that anybody wants, obviously, but it\u2019s great for the section. It\u2019s good for the section, it\u2019s good for northern Minnesota hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hibbing\/Chisholm will play Cloquet-Esko-Carlton for the Section 7A championship Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Lumberjacks defeated Proctor 7-2 to advance.<\/p>\n

Hibbing\/Chisholm 1-3-1\u20145<\/p>\n

Hermantown 1-1-1\u20143<\/p>\n

First period \u2014 1. H, Charlie Marchand (River Freeman, Ford Skytta), 4:13; 2. HC, Tate Swanson (Ethan Sundvall, Cole Swanson), 8:54 (pp).<\/p>\n

Second period \u2014 3. HC, T. Swanson (Isaiah Hildenbrand, C. Swanson), 4:15; 4. H, Gabe Swenson (Freeman, Mick Martalock), 8:00 (pp); 5. HC, Benny Galli (Jace Kampsula, Sundvall), 12:55; 6. HC, Hildenbrand (C. Swanson, T. Swanson), 13:48.<\/p>\n

Third period \u2014 7. HC, C. Swanson, 5:36; 8. Freeman (Skytta, Marchand), 8:28;<\/p>\n

Saves \u2014 Rex Walli, HC, 27; Bryce Francisco, H, 22.<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

River Freeman (23) of Hermantown skates with the puck against Raidyn Scott (25) of Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Jaxsen Ericksen (12) of Hermantown emerges from the Hibbing\/Chisholm bench after a check sent him over the boards during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Tyler Raatsi (17) of Hibbing\/Chisholm and Cam Lukovsky (44) of Hermantown fight for the puck during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Bradford Skytta (18) of Hermantown passes the puck against Ethan Sundvall (6) of Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Whitaker Rewertz (40) of Hibbing\/Chisholm skates with the puck against Cam Lukovsky (44) of Hermantown during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hermantown players celebrate a first-period goal against Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Isaiah Hildenbrand (5) of Hibbing\/Chisholm scores a goal against Hermantown goaltender Bryce Francisco (35) during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Isaiah Hildenbrand (5) and Jackson Strukel (28) of Hibbing\/Chisholm celebrate a second-period goal against Hermantown during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hibbing\/Chisholm players celebrate a second-period goal against Hermantown during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Isaiah Hildenbrand (5) and Jackson Strukel (28) of Hibbing\/Chisholm celebrate a second-period goal against Hermantown during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hermantown players react after losing to Hibbing\/Chisholm during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

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Hibbing\/Chisholm players celebrate a victory over Hermantown with goaltender Rex Walli (30) during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hibbing\/Chisholm players celebrate a victory over Hermantown with goaltender Rex Walli (30) during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

\"high<\/p>\n

Hibbing\/Chisholm players celebrate with their classmates in the student section after beating Hermantown during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

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Hibbing\/Chisholm goaltender Rex Walli (30) makes a save against Kole Lendzyk (13) of Hermantown during the Section 7A semifinals on Saturday at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.<\/p>\n

Clint Austin \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jamey<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Jamey Malcomb has a been high school sports reporter for the Duluth News Tribune since October 2021. He spent the previous six years covering news and sports for the Lake County News-Chronicle in Two Harbors and the Cloquet Pine Journal. He graduated from the George Washington University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in history and literature and also holds a master’s degree in secondary English education from George Mason University.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DULUTH \u2014 Hibbing\/Chisholm\u2019s Benny Galli tipped a puck into the net late in the second period to put…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5108],"tags":[3644,5180,23289,897,230,5179,23290,5,23291,23293,23292,4,23294,23295,23296],"class_list":{"0":"post-131843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-columbus-blue-jackets","8":"tag-blue-jackets","9":"tag-bluejackets","10":"tag-cole-swanson","11":"tag-columbus","12":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","13":"tag-columbusbluejackets","14":"tag-hermantown-class-aa","15":"tag-hockey","16":"tag-isaiah-hildenbrand","17":"tag-minnesota-high-school-boys-hockey","18":"tag-mshsl-boys-hockey-tournament","19":"tag-nhl","20":"tag-rex-walli","21":"tag-river-freeman","22":"tag-tate-swanson"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/114882057776196804","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}