NEW PRAGUE VS. #1 HERMANTOWN

This one likely won’t be very pretty. Hermantown won a 2014 semifinal between these two by a 4-2 margin.

New Prague (11-15-2, Unranked, 4-seed in 1A)

State appearances: 3 (last in 2015)

Key section wins: 3-2 (2 OT) over #7 Northfield, 5-3 over 3-seed Albert Lea 

The Trojans shocked 1A with an upset of top-seeded Northfield in the section semifinals, and while the record is ugly, they did play a significantly harder schedule than the rest of the section.

It’s a committee effort offensively, with John Schmidt (27) and Will Andersen (18) pacing the scoring pace and some younger talent, including freshman Luke Portner (3) and sophomore Willy Seymour (10) on their heels and looking to build this team for the future. The forwards carry pretty much the entire offensive load.

Carter Puente (30) has put up solid numbers considering the amount of pressure he’s seen in goal, and the Spartans will need all of that and more to keep this one close.

Hermantown (27-2, #1, 1-seed in 7A)

State appearances: 18 (3 in a row)

Championships: 3 (2007, 2016, 2017)

Key section win: 11-0 over #8 Duluth Denfeld

It’s no surprise to see the Hawks here, though this may be their best team yet, at least when it comes to high-end skill.

Zam Plante (27) may be the best player in the Tourney in either class, though younger brother Max (26) is not far behind. They have impressive depth, with Dallas Vieau (24) also showing D-I potential, Kade Kohanski (11) sharing a line with the Plantes, and Wyatt Carlson (4) casually putting up 30 points for this team, which has a 41% power play.

On defense, Ty Hanson (2) is yet another Hawk UMD commit and can act like a fourth forward, while Beau Janzig (13) add a necessary dose of heaviness and senior steadiness.

Sophomore Dane Callaway (32) has won the goaltending job and may be the most skilled netminder the Hawks have had since they started their run of dominance in Class A. They should waltz into the final, where, barring a major surprise, a rematch of a 2-1 overtime regular season thriller with Warroad will occur.