MAPLE, Wis. – The Northwestern girls basketball team continued to dominate on Friday night, getting the 67-39 win over Saint Croix Central in the second round of the playoffs. The Tigers, who won the Heart O’North Conference for the first time in 21 years, will return to action on Saturday hosting Bloomer in the section semi-finals. Categories: Friday Night Frenzy,…
ESKO, Minn. – In the final night of the regular season for boys basketball, Esko defeated Virginia 84-65. The Eskomos got 33 points from James LaGarde, while the Blue Devils’ Jayden Bernard led all scorers with 36 points. In other action, Duluth East got the rivalry home win over Duluth Denfeld 98-64 and Cloquet got the road win over Proctor…
DULUTH, Minn. – For this week’s Coaches Corner, we chat with the Proctor girls basketball team, including head coach Matt Solberg and seniors Liz Frase and Morgan Nylund. The Rails are getting set to defend their section crown beginning this weekend. Categories: Coaches Corner, Friday Night Frenzy, High School, Sports
CROMWELL, Minn. – Senior guard Taya Hakamaki led the way with 22 points as the Cromwell-Wright girls basketball team defeated Northeast Range 65-8 Thursday night in the first round of the Section 7A playoffs. The Cardinals move on to face South Ridge, who defeated Floodwood 51-47 behind 16 points from eighth-grader Svea Snickers. That game will take place Saturday at…
DULUTH, Minn. – Zach Kilen and Blake Biondi each scored twice as the Hermantown boys hockey team blanked Duluth Denfeld 6-0 in the Section 7A championship game Wednesday night at Amsoil Arena. Aydyn Dowd and Jackson Lucia also scored for the Hawks who are heading back to the Class A state tournament, which begins next week. Hermantown now awaits the…
CULVER, Minn. – South Ridge High School has announced that Steve Jezierski has been named the new head coach of the Panthers softball team. He’ll take over for Robert Plachta who resigned after one season due to medical reasons. Jezierski has over 30 years of softball and baseball coaching experience, including stops at Cloquet and Duluth Marshall. South Ridge is…
HAYWARD, Wis. – Ryland Achtor would score the go-ahead goal in the second period as the Hayward boys hockey team knocked off Superior 4-3 in the WIAA Division 2 playoffs Tuesday night. Cade Delisle scored twice for the Hurricanes while Blake Loder also scored. The Spartans got goals from George Hansen, Alex Hanson and Drew Scharte. Categories: High School, Sports
CLOQUET, Minn. – Allie Bussey of Hibbing would score the game-winner in overtime as Team Ice defeated Team Fire 7-6 in the 16th annual K1 Stars of the North Girls High School Hockey All Star Game. Among the other goal-scorers were CEC’s Kiana Bender and Proctor/Hermantown’s Aurora Opsahl. Categories: High School, Sports
DULUTH, Minn. – The Section 7A Boys Hockey Tournament has been whittled down to just two teams the top seed Hermantown Hawks and number two seed Duluth Denfeld Hunters. Hermantown is coming off an 8-0 win over Eveleth Gilbert to make it to their twelfth straight championship game. “Everything right now is just building for that first period on Wednesday…
PROCTOR, Minn. – The story of this season’s proctor girls basketball team didn’t begin at the start of the season or even last year when they won their first section title in 17 years. You have to go back to elementary school for the six seniors on the team: Sam Pogatchnik, Taylor Bradley, Morgan Nylund, Sam Parendo, Katelyn Marunich and…
CLOQUET, Minn. – Members of the Cloquet, Esko, and Carlton communities gathered at Northwoods Arena to honor and celebrate the Lumberjack girls hockey team a day after they were Class A runner-up. The girls took the ice one final time this season. This time it was not to play a game but stand with the hardware they won for being…
DULUTH, Minn. – The No. 1 seed Hermantown boys hockey team continued to dominate the section playoffs, getting the 8-0 win over No. 4 seed Eveleth-Gilbert to advance to the section 7A final. Drew Sams scored twice, while Blake Biondi, Zach Kilen, Aydyn Dowd, Cayden Sunde and Matt Erickson each scored once for the Hawks. In the other sectin 7A…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A three-goal first period would be a hole too deep to dig out of for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team as they fall 6-0 to Breck in the Class A state championship game Saturday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center. Mustangs would get two goals from Sadie Lindsay while Ava Lindsay, Josie Lang, Olivia Mobley and…
PROCTOR, Minn. – The Proctor girls basketball team ended the regular season on a high note, dominating Two Harbors 73-21 in the final game of season. The Rails end the regular season 23-3 and will now prepare to defend their section 7AA title when playoffs start next week. In boys action, Esko lost a nailbitter at home, as Perham got…
DULUTH, Minn. – For this week’s Coaches Corner, we spoke with Esko boys basketball head coach Derek Anderson. The Eskomos are ready for the postseason as they get set to defend their section title. Categories: Coaches Corner, Friday Night Frenzy, High School, Sports
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Hermantown star Blake Biondi has been named a finalist for the 36th annual Mr. Hockey Award. The future UMD Bulldog is second in the state in points and fifth in goals scored. Two other finalists are UMD commits as well: Andover’s Wyatt Kaiser and Eden Prairie’s Ben Steeves. Also, Grand Rapids goalie Carter Clafton was named…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Senior forward Taylor Nelson finsihed with three goals and two assists as Cloquet-Esko-Carlton knocked off Warroad 5-3 in the Class A state semi-finals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Kiana Bender scored the other two goals for the Lumberjacks, who move on to face Breck, who beat Rochester Lourdes in other semi-final. The Class…
ESKO, Minn. – Grace Kirk and Gianna Kneepkens each finished with 28 points as the Duluth Marshall girls basketball team defeated Esko 69-56 Thursday night. In other girls action, Barnum picked up a road win over Duluth Denfeld 72-40 while Superior was victorious at home over Hayward 66-44. And in boys action, Virginia improved to 12-2 in their section with…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Gunnar Hansen and Kobe Hansen each scored twice as the Superior boys hockey team defeated Medford 8-0 in the opening round of the WIAA Division 2 playoffs at Wessman Arena. Ethan Welch, Carson Gotelaere, Drew Sharte and Gavin Tetzlaff also scored for the Spartans, who now move on to the section semi-finals next week. Categories: High School,…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Jenna Zdebski and Dana Jones each scored in the first period and freshman goaltender Araya Kiminski held her own the rest of the way as the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team blanked Hutchinson 2-0 Wednesday in the Class A state quartefinal at the Xcel Energy Center. Kiminski finished with 18 saves to pick up the shutout for…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – Blake Biondi and Zach Kilen each scored hat tricks as the Hermantown boys blasted North Shore 12-1 Tuesday night in the Section 7A quarterfinals. Here are other results from the rest of the playoff games: SECTION 7A North Shore 1, Hermantown 9 International Falls 1, Eveleth-Gilbert 5 Virginia/MIB 0, Greenway 8 Proctor 1, Duluth Denfeld 4 SECTION…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – The Hermantown boys basketball team used a big second half as the Hawks got the 82-68 home win over section rivals Grand Rapids. John Sutherland led the way with 34 points. In other prep boys basketball action, Duluth Marshall got the 84-80 road win over Cloquet in overtime. Categories: High School, Sports
CLOQUET, Minn. – It was all about celebration Tuesday in the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton community as the Lumberjacks girls hockey team was treated to several send-off events from all three towns. After their final practice at 6:30 a.m., CEC had five school send-offs, including a special hall run at Cloquet Middle School. It culminated with a special police escort that takes them…
CROMWELL, Minn. – Monday night was a historic night for the Cromwell-Wright girls basketball team. The Cardinals defeated South Ridge 62-29 and during the game, both Taya and Shaily Hakamaki each scored their 2,000th career point. According to Cromwell head coach Jeff Gronner, it is believed to be the first time in state history that two teammates hit that milestone…
ESKO, Minn. – The Nashwauk-Keewatin boys basketball team led by as much as 14 early in the first half, but Esko would rally and hold on for the 77-74 win Monday night. Eli Blue led the Eskomos with 37 points, while Jager Nash scored 24 points for the Spartans. The Eskomos will have a quick turnaround as they host South…
CLOQUET, Minn. – With last week’s Section 7A championship win, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls bought themselves an extra week of hockey. The Lumberjacks were back on the ice Monday, five days after winning their first section title in eleven years. Now, CEC must transition from celebrating a historic win to focusing their attention on a deep run in the state tournament….
PROCTOR, Minn. – The Proctor boys hockey team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as the Rails got the 12-2 win over Ely in the first round of the section 7A playoffs. Reece Ward led the way with four goals while Isaac Mosher scored twice. No. 7 seed Proctor will play No. 2 seed Duluth Denfeld…
CLOQUET, Minn. – The girls hockey state tournament brackets and seedings for Class A and AA were released on Saturday morning and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton learned who they will be facing in the first round of the tournament. The Lumberjacks, who are making their first state tournament appearance since 2009, earned the No. 3 seed after posting a 22-3 regular season record,…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – It was a back-and-fourth battle between two of the top girls basketball teams in the Northland, but in the end, Proctor got the 64-61 road win over Hermantown, avenging an early season loss to the Hawks. Liz Frase and Sam Parendo led the way with 17 points each, while Sam Pogatchnik chipped in with 16 points for…
DULUTH, Minn. – The section 7AA boys hockey tournament seedings and bracket were released on Friday morning, with the fun getting started on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The higher seeds will host the first round matchups. No. 8 seed Duluth Marshall vs. No. 1 seed Andover No. 5 seed Duluth East vs. No. 4 seed Forest Lake. No. 7 seed…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Superior High School senior Riley Rehnstrand announced his commitment this week to play baseball at Bryant and Stratton College in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The 6’2″ infielder hit .393 last season with 19 RBI and 22 runs, helping the Spartans finish 16-6 in his junior year. Rehnstrand also plays on the Superior football team. Categories: College, High School, Sports
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – The Hermantown to Minnesota Duluth hockey pipeline continues as Hawks junior defenseman Joey Pierce announced on Twitter on Friday that he has verbally committed to joining the Bulldogs. Pierce finished the regular season with 15 goals and 32 assists. Pierce is the next Hawk to become a Bulldog. Current teammate Blake Biondi and former teammate Darian Gotz…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – On a night where head coach Beth Clark was honored for recording her 500th win, the Hermantown girls basketball team continued to roll, getting the 53-39 home win over Esko. Kristy DeMuth led the way for the Eskomos and recorded her 1000th career point in the loss. The Hermantown boys also defended home court on Thursday night,…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth Denfeld boys hockey team continued to roll on Thursday night, getting the 7-0 win over crosstown rivals Duluth Marshall in the regular season finale. Connor McClure and Kade Shea both scored two goals each while Joe Udd, Griffin Lehet and Simon Davidson each scored once. Shawn Easty made 24 saves in the shutout. In other…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – This week, two Northland teams are heading back to the Minnesota State High School Dance tournament. This will be the second straight trip for the Hermantown Proctor team, who now have a bit of experience under their belt. “Every competition is completely different than state. State is just on a whole other level. It’s like a whole…
PROCTOR, Minn. – Kiana Bender, Dana Jones and Taylor Nelson all found the back of the net as the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team defeated Proctor/Hermantown 3-2 Wednesday night to win their first Section 7A championship in eleven years. Aurora Opsahl and Hailey Winklesky scored for the Mirage in the losing effort. The Lumberjacks now await seeding for the Class A…
PROCTOR, Minn. – Rails boys basketball coach Kory Deadrick went up against his alma mater, but it would be the Eskomos getting the road win 69-52 Tuesday night. In other prep boys action, Denfeld would win a thriller over Marshall 78-76 in overtime. The Hunters hit a three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, where…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Brady Gray and Grant Winkler each scored to help the Duluth East boys hockey team blank Superior on the road 2-0 Tuesday night at Wessman Arena. In other prep boys action, Grand Rapids got a big road section win over Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 4-0 at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena. Cooper Brodzinski, Jack Peart and Easton Young scored for…
DULUTH, Minn. – Tuesday morning, the seedings were announced for the Section 7A boys hockey tournament, which begins Saturday February 15th. Here are the match-ups: PLAY-IN ROUND #10 Ely at #7 Proctor #9 North Shore at #8 Hibbing/Chisholm QUARTERFINALS #1 Hermantown vs Winner of 8/9 Play-In Game #2 Duluth Denfeld vs Winner of 7/10 Play-In Game #3 Greenway vs #6…
PROCTOR, Minn. – The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Proctor/Hermantown girls hockey teams have met two times this season with each squad getting a blowout win on their home ice. And Wednesday night, they’ll face-off in round three with a trip to the state tournament on the line. The CEC girls hockey team have enjoyed a historically great season with a school-record 22…
DULUTH, Minn. – Denfeld baseball coach Cal Fougner announced on Twitter this past weekend that he is stepping down as head coach of the team. Fougner said he accepted a position as an assistant baseball coach at Valley City State University in North Dakota. Last year, Fougner led Denfeld to their first section title in 65 years. The Fargo native…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Cromwell-Wright girls basketball picked up another win over a ranked opponent as they topped Duluth Marshall 59-57 Monday night. And in boys basketball action, Dylan Hom finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks as the Proctor boys knocked off Barnum 61-46. Categories: High School, Sports
HIBBING, Minn. – Wrestling is one of the world’s oldest sports and even though it has been done for thousands of years, Kya Rybachek is blazing a path of her own. Rybachek is one of the highest-ranked girl’s wrestlers in the nation and just placed first in the state amongst other girls at her weight class. Because girl’s wrestling is…
PROCTOR, Minn. – Proctor football senior running back Cody Urie announced on Twitter this weekend that he has committed to Concordia College. Urie spent four years on the Proctor football team, also playing wide receiver. Urie helped Proctor to the state tournament in 2017 and led the Rails past rivals Hermantown in the annual Hammer Game this season. Urie is…
PROCTOR, Minn. – No. 2 seed Proctor/Hermantown put up four goals in the second period to get the 4-0 win over No. 3 seed Duluth Marshall in the section 7A semi-final. Michaela Phinney finished with two goals while Megan Madill and Alyssa Watkins each scored once for the Mirage. Abby Pajari finished with 18 saves in the shutout while Charlie…
HERMANTOWN, Minn. – Five different goal-scorers for the Hermantown boys hockey team as they get the Senior Night win over Superior 5-2 Friday night. Blake Biondi, Cayden Sunde, Zach Kilen, Joey Pierce and Cole Antcliff scored for the Hawks, while the Spartans got goals from Alex Hanson and Drew Scharte. In other boys action, Virginia/MIB got the road win over…
DULUTH, Minn. – For this week’s Coaches Corner, we talked with Duluth Marshall girls basketball coach CJ Osuchukwu. Among the topics discussed were the team’s need to find a consistent scorer behind Grace Kirk and Gianna Kneepkens, as well as the prospect of facing Proctor down the road in the section playoffs. Categories: Coaches Corner, Friday Night Frenzy, High School,…
PROCTOR, Minn. – It was a special senior night in Proctor as the Rails girls basketball team knocked off Ashland at home 59-36 Thursday night. The Rails improve to 18-2 as they get set to take on Roseau on Saturday. In prep boys action, it was Hermantown getting the home win over Duluth Marshall 78-55 and Superior got the best…
DULUTH, Minn. – Wednesday was the day many college coaches circled on their calendar because it’s time to restock the cupboard. It’s National Signing Day as the UMD football team announced the new recruits who officially become Bulldogs. 24 incoming freshman in this recruiting class, including nine linebackers and defensive backs, which worked out well for what the team was…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth East boys hockey team would rally from a two-goal deficit to force a 3-3 tie against Brainerd Wednesday night at the Duluth Heritage Center. William Weinkauf, Ryan Cummings and Cole Christian each scored for the Greyhounds, who push their record 8-10-2. They’ll host Maple Grove Friday night. Categories: High School, Sports
