He won the Reed Larson Award for being Minnesota's top defenseman and Saturday afternoon Dylan Samberg could add the Mr. Hockey award to his career when he scored the game winning goal with :19.4 left in double overtime to lead the Hermantown Hawks to a 4-3 win over the Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake Moose in the Class A championship game at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
It was the second consecutive title for the Twin Ports school and third overall in its 14th trip to state. MAML made its first tournament appearance.
Now to the game. Neither team scored in the first period, though the Hawks kept Moose goalie Tyler Klatt busy in the first period, out shooting the Moose 15-1.
MAML got on the scoreboard :52 into the second period as Casey Chiodo went along the right boards, cut toward the face off circle and put it past Hawk goalie Cade McEwen. They would go up by two when Ben Ward stole the puck from Elliott Peterson and drove through the center slot like the team bus heading down West 7th St., saw McEwen playing at the top of the crease and scored from his left side. Hermantown would cut the lead to one as Samberg's shot was saved by Klatt and Jesse Jacques' shot would go off of Klatt's right skate and enter the net.
Good passing was a factor in MAML's goal that opened the third period scoring. Ward slid the puck to Nick Zwach on the left side of the crease and he would put the Moose ahead by two. Would Wright County hockey fans get ready to celebrate? Not just yet since Hermantown would tie the game with two goals. First, Dylan Kolquist fed Jacques from the left boards and he converted to cut the lead to one. Then Ryan Sandelin, another Mr. Hockey finalist who will play next season at Minnesota State-Mankato, sent the puck toward Tyler Watkins on the right side of the crease and he scored to tie the game and send it to overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime, the ice was resurfaced and the game would go into double overtime. It looked like the Hawks would win the game on Watkins' goal, but after the replay officials reviewed the goal, the giant video board at the X indicated that Watkins' right skate was in the crease so the goal was disallowed. Back to the game. There would be no third overtime on this chilly Saturday in March when Samberg scored following the face off with :19.4 to go. The celebration began.
In the third place game, Nate Warner's goal with 8:02 left in regulation time led the St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders to a 2-1 win over the Northfield Raiders. In the consolation championship played at Mariucci Arena on the University of Minnesota campus, Brian Halonen and John Keranen scored two goals apiece and Ben Meyers added three assists to lead the Delano Tigers to a 6-3 win over the East Grand Forks Green Wave.
Charlie Voller of MAML was the Class A recipient of the Herb Brooks Award, which goes to a player that best represents the values, characteristics and traits of the late coach.
The attendance for the Class A championship session was 9,367 and the total Class A attendance was 34,965.
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