Brothers Nick and Ash Altmann scored goals and Gunnar Howg made 25 saves as unseeded Duluth East dashed No. 2 seed Edina's hopes of winning a third consecutive state Class 2A championship with a stunning 3-1upset victory in Friday's semifinals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Ash Altmann's breakway goal with 2:41 completed the scoring for the Greyhounds (16-10-4) and had much of the pro-Duluth East crowd roaring in approval.
Edina (25-2-2) played without injured senior Dylan Malmquist, the program's career scoring leader and a Mr. Hockey finalist who has committed to Notre Dame.
Patrick Haug opened the scoring for Edina in the firstperiod. Duluth East's Luke Dow tied the score at 1 late in the first, and Nick Altman put the Greyhounds ahead 2-1 just 31 seconds into the second.
The victory was the fourth straight over a higher seeded opponent for Duluth East.
Lakeville North 6, Eden Prairie 2
Lakeville North stayed in step on its march toward perfection, beating Eden Prairie 6-2 in Friday's second semifinal.
The No. 1 seed Panthers (30-0) advance to play underdog Duluth East in the championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Lakeville North aims to become the first large-class school to finish with a perfect season since Bloomington Jefferson in 1992-93.
Stars and less-heralded contributors all made plays to beat No. 5 seed Eden Prairie (19-10).
Hermantown 2, St. Cloud Apollo 0
Sophomore Jesse Jacques and junior Cole Koepke scored goals and junior goaltender Luke Olson made 13 saves to lift No. 1-seeded Hermantown to a 2-0 victory over No. 5 seed St. Cloud Apollo on Friday in the state Class 1A quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Hermantown, state runner-up the last five years and the state's top-ranked small school for most of the season, advances to the championship game Saturday against defending champion East Grand Forks. The Green Wave beat the Hawks 7-3 in last year's title game.
After a scoreless first period, Jacques scored on a blast from the top of the right circle 6:44 into the second period to open the scoring. Koepke one-timed a centering pass from Ryan Kero past St. Cloud Apollo goaltender Nick Althaus 1:23 into the third period.
Hermantown (27-2-1) won despite being held under three goals for just the second time all season. The Hawks controlled play for long stretches but had a difficult time penetrating Apollo's stingy defense.
Althaus finished with 23 saves for the Eagles (23-5-2).
East Grand Forks 5, Mahtomedi 2
Defending small-school state champion East Grand Forks best weathered a physical, intense battle with Mahtomedi and earned a 5-2 victory in Friday's Class 1A semifinal.
The Green Wave advance to Saturday's championship game and will face either No. 1 seed Hermantown or St. Cloud Apollo.
Grant Loven tallied a hat trick for No. 3 seed East Grand Forks (24-4). Kellen Campbell assisted on both goals for No. 2 seed Mahtomedi (25-2-2).
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