There's a nice article posted yesterday in the Duluth News Tribune about Hermantown's undefeated season a couple of years ago and drawing a comparison to this year's team. The team of 2006-2007 was lead by current St. Cloud State Husky Drew LeBlanc and this year's team is led by a player UMD was able to convince to stay in the Twin Ports Adam Kruase.
Last season Krause had 26 goals and 33 assists as one of the top junior forwards in the state. Link to the article HERE or pasted below.
By: Rick Weegman, Duluth News Tribune
That’s what Hermantown’s boys hockey team found out the past two years in following up on the school’s undefeated, Class A title-winning season in 2006-07.
This season’s team, however, has a chance at a championship sequel.
Led by high-scoring senior center Adam Krause, a future Minnesota Duluth player, the Hawks hope to contend for a second state title.
“We think about that all the time,” said Krause, who has seven goals and 11 assists in the fourth-ranked Hawks’ 4-1 start. “The ’07 team had a lot of role players — they had the scoring line and the hustle line. We have the same ingredients, but it’s just about mental toughness and having confidence. That was a special team — I don’t think there will ever be another one like it — but I think we can accomplish what they did.”
The Hawks were impressive in defeating Superior 4-2 on Tuesday night, despite missing four players to injury and suspension. The return of 14 seniors and good depth at all positions has coach Bruce Plante sensing similarities between this team and its 2007 predecessor.
“We have good leadership at the top from our seniors, and that’s what we had that year,” Plante said. “But we don’t know how tough we are mentally; we still have a bit of panic mode going on. That team in ’07 was so tough mentally that they weren’t going to get beat by anybody.”
Hermantown followed its record-breaking 29-0-2 campaign in 2006-07 by going 17-10 and 24-4 the past two years.
“We have a lot of expectations on this team,” Krause said. “We know we’ll have some off nights, but we have to be consistent. The last couple years we haven’t been consistent.”
That fault doesn’t pertain to Krause, who had 26 goals and 33 assists last season. Toss in fellow senior forwards Charlie Comnick, Willis Kantonen and Cody Christopherson, and the Hawks have several scoring options.
“[Krause] has it all — size, speed, strength, vision, a little bit of everything — and he’s a good leader,” Plante said. “He’s a special player — you don’t get one like that very often.”
Defending Section 5A champion St. Cloud Cathedral is perhaps the main obstacle in Hermantown’s path, though Duluth Denfeld hopes to factor in the race despite a 5-1 loss to the Crusaders last week. The Hunters (3-2) just hope to survive a season-opening seven-game road trip before they play 16 of their final 18 games at the Heritage Center.
Seniors Keith Tomassoni (6-5–11) and Logan Talarico (2-8–10) have started strong, while Levi Talarico (5-5–10) is one of the highest-scoring freshmen in the state. But the Hunters are still trying to replace defenseman Judd Peterson and forward Josh Wentz, who transferred to Duluth Marshall before the school year.
“Any time you have any unexpected holes to fill, it takes time for kids to get up to speed,” Hunters coach Kevin Smalley said. “With the quality teams we have on our schedule, there’s no room for error. I feel we’re competing at a high level, but we’re making some mistakes that need to be corrected.”
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