Hermantown, Duluth Denfeld to Meet in Third Straight Section 7A Boys Hockey Title Game

Puck drop on Wednesday is set for 7:00 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena. 

DULUTH, Minn. – Hermantown and Duluth Denfeld have been ranked in the top 10 of class A for the entire season, but only one of them will be making it to the Xcel Energy Center. Both teams are preparing for a battle on Wednesday night in what’s become not only one of the top boys hockey rivalries in the Northland, but also in the entire state.

“I was kind of hoping it was, I really like playing Denfeld,” Hermantown defenseman Beau Janzig said.

“There’s no other team that we want to take,” Duluth Denfeld defenseman John Bloomquist added.

Both teams posted shutouts in their semifinal games, which gives them confidence going into Wednesday’s section championship.

“Our back end is young and it helps those younger guys get a little learning process going,” Duluth Denfeld head coach Dale Jago said.

“Our penalty kill and our team defense we take the most amount of pride in. If we play great in our own end and transition quick then the other stuff seems to work out,” Hermantown head coach Patrick Andrews added.

Offensively, they’ve both dominated the scoreboard all season long, with the Hunters averaging 4.7 goals a game and the Hawks averaging 5.6 goals per game.

“It shows our depth, it shows we’re deep everywhere, we’ve got good defensemen, good forwards and a super good goalie,” Janzig said.

“It’s great that we can run both our defense and forwards coming up and we have so many talented guys up front that it’s awesome to just even watch from the bench,” Bloomquist added.

While the Hawks have had the Hunters’ number lately, both teams say that this rivalry has only made both teams stronger.

“They push us to be the best that we can be and hopefully we push them to be the best they can be and that’s kind of what a rivalry is,” Andrews said.

“They’re the staple of section 7A and in order for us to be able to compete against them, our kids have to play their best,” Jago added.

“We’re two similar teams, they might have a little bit more skill but Denfeld’s a hungry team, we always have been. We’re hard working and that’s what it’s going to come down to,” Bloomquist said.

This will be the third season in a row that Hermantown and Duluth Denfeld will play each other in the section 7A title game, with the Hawks winning the previous two meetings. Puck drop on Wednesday is set for 7:00 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena.