Tanner Zolnosky ties it up for Woodbury Saturday night
In dramatic fashion, Hermantown ended an era.
The Hawks downed Osseo-Maple Grove Crimson 4-3 in a shootout, ending the Leafbirds' four-year reign at the top of the Squirtacular. The Hawks have shown they can win with defense (two shutouts) or offense (21 goals in four games) throughout the tournament, and will carry that impressive resume into the semifinals on Sunday against Eden Prairie.
The Eagles shut down Edina Green in the semifinals 2-0, with Dylan Vornwald and Cole Saterdalen scoring in the first period. The Eagles avenged an earlier loss to the Hornets with the win, having fallen in the teams' first meeting 5-4 on Dec. 10.
Chaska/Chanhassen cruised past Orono 5-2 to earn a spot in the semifinals, giving the Stormhawks ten consecutive wins dating back to a New Year's Day loss to OMG Crimson. Among those ten wins was a 4-2 victory over Woodbury, the Sunday semifinal opponent for the Stormhawks.
The Predators earned a slot in the semifinals like Hermanotown-in style. Woodbury scored late in the third period to tie Moorhead at 3-3 before moving into overtime. Eight seconds into the extra session, Woodbury's Will Skahan launched a rocket that cleanly beat the Moorhead netminder and pencil the Preds into semifinal action.
SEMIFINAL LEADING SCORERS
Hermantown: Evan Gunderson 7G/4A
Eden Prairie: Marcus Fechko 5G/3A and Teddy Townsend 3G/5A
Chaska/Chanhassen: Brodie Ziemer 7G/4A
Woodbury: Ben Miller 5G/8A
Brodie Ziemer, Chaska Chanhassen