Prep report: Dimberio decides playoff marathon for Rock Ridge
Feb. 20—Grady Dimberio entered the 2023-24 MSHSL boys hockey postseason with 18 goals to his credit, but the one he scored for Rock Ridge in quadruple overtime may be the one he and his teammates remember forever.
The junior forward bagged a game-winning goal for the Wolverines 20 seconds into the fourth extra session to defeat Forest Lake 4-3 Tuesday and send fourth-seeded Rock Ridge into the Section 7AA semifinals against Grand Rapids on Saturday at Amsoil Arena.
Rock Ridge got off to a lightning start, scoring its three regulation goals in the first 6:16, two of them from Sam Troutwine. They led 3-1 after a period at Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia, but the visitors came back, tying the game midway through the third period and triggering an epic reminiscent of a 2019 triple-overtime classic between Eveleth-Gilbert and Virginia/Mountain-Iron Buhl.
The top-seeded Thunderhawks had no problems with Cambridge-Isanti in their Section 7AA quarterfinal on Tuesday night at Yanmar Arena, scoring four times in the first period and adding a fifth a minute into the second.
The Thunderhawks spread the wealth around — 14 players had at least one point and five had two or more, led by two goals an two assists from Seth Carlson and a goal and three assists from Jacob Garski.
Rapids split the goaltending duties, with Carter Casey making eight saves in two periods and Ryan Kerr stopping 10 shots in one period of work.
The Hilltoppers couldn't generate enough offense to get going in a Section 7AA quarterfinal, as host Andover held them to 13 shots on goal.
K.J. Sauer scored twice for the defending section champion Huskies, who'll face Duluth East in a semifinal on Saturday afternoon at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.
Kaenan Smith made 49 saves for Marshall, but their only goal came from Braydon Hannula in the second period. The seventh-seeded Hilltoppers finished their season 15-10-2.
Wyatt Mineheine stepped up into a starring role for the Rails as they won their playoff opener over the Storm on Tuesday night at St. Luke's Sports and Event Center.
Mineheine, a senior forward, scored 13 seconds into the game and finished with a playoff hat trick as his fourth-seeded Rails advanced to Saturday night's Section 7A semifinals against rival Hermantown at Amsoil Arena.
Mineheine also had a hat trick when the Rails routed North Shore 8-0 on Feb. 8, but the Storm were more competitive this time out. Breckin Ross made it 3-0 12 seconds into the second period, but North Shore held the line well from there. Ethan Meeks even pulled a power-play goal back for the visitors 5:10 into the third period before Mineheine finished his feat at 9:25 and Tanner Ross added a shorthanded score late.
A.J. Reyelts made 31 saves for Proctor (19-7), while Zach Bentler made 46 stops for the fifth-seeded Storm, who finish their season 12-11-3.
Isaiah Hildenbrand scored a pair of first-period goals to get the third-seeded Bluejackets going in an all-Iron Range Section 7A quarterfinal on Tuesday night at Hibbing Memorial Arena.
The hosts scored three times in the frame, with Tate Swanson notching the primary assist on all three. Hildenbrand scored in the first and last minutes of play, while Jackson Strukel struck on the power play in between.
Caiden Carpenter got Greenway on the board in the second period, but a shot count of 49-7 in Hibbing/Chisholm's favor was too much for them to overcome.
Rex Walli made six saves for the Bluejackets (18-8), who'll meet Cloquet-Esko-Carlton in the nightcap of the "Super Saturday" quadrupleheader at Amsoil Arena. Greenway, which finished the season 5-18-3, got 45 saves from Derek Gibeau.
Bobby Thornton led the way for the Lumberjacks in a Section 7A quarterfinal rout at Northwoods Credit Union Arena, notching his third hat trick and first multi-goal game since the Heritage Holiday Classic in December.
Thornton added two assists for a five-point game. Cooper Ellena and Niko Gentilini had four assists apiece, while Grady Knutson finished with a goal and three assists. Joey Antonutti and Jace Stewart scored two goals each.
Jamis Halverson made 10 saves to earn the shutout for CEC (13-13), which held a 71-10 shot advantage and will face Hibbing/Chisholm in the 7A semifinals on Saturday night in Duluth.
The Hawks put this 7A quarterfinal away early, scoring six times in the first period.
River Freeman led the onslaught with two goals and four assists. Bradford Skytta and Joshua Kauppinen also scored twice.
Dane Callaway made nine saves for the shutout for Hermantown (16-8-2), which will face Proctor in a 7A semifinal on Saturday night.
The Tigers fell victim to a Blackhawks team that got hot from the outside at the perfect time, losing their WIAA Division 3 regional opener on Tuesday night, Feb. 20 in Maple.
The Tigers led by as many as 10 early and were up 28-21 at halftime, but Bloomer made seven 3-pointers after the break and scored 43 second-half points. Brooke Petska was the chief tormentor for Bloomer, scoring 20 of her 21 points in the second half and drilling five 3's.
Shayna Wick concluded her Tigers career with a team-high 19 points, while Jillian Kunert finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks. Kunert finished with 110 blocks (4.4 per game) in her freshman season.
Northwestern finished its season 13-12.
Cairin Berger scored 22 points to lead Esko to a 17th win on the season, at home against Grand Rapids on Tuesday night, Feb. 20.
Jessika Lofstrom scored 26 to lead the Thunderhawks (12-12).
The Rebels got just enough separation in the second half to beat their neighbors on Tuesday night.
Tyler Orvedahl scored 17 and Madison Wasche 13 for Moose Lake/Willow River (9-16), which outscored the Bombers 35-27 in the second half for their margin.
Sophia Frank led Barnum (12-13) with 14 points, while Alizondra Collelo scored 13.
The Timberwolves poured in 54 first-half points and combined to make 11 triples in routing the Tigers in Iron on Tuesday night.
Grace LaTourell scored 22 for Ely, while Faith Zganjar paced Cherry with 15.
Esko took the initiative early on its home floor and came out ahead in a battle of teams both ranked inside the top 10 in Class AA in Minnesota Basketball News' statewide rankings.
Esko, ranked ninth, scored 46 points in the first half to build a 13-point cushion and hand the No. 6 Rangers only their third loss of the year.
Braedyn Male scored 21 for Esko, now 17-6. Dalton Spindler and Koi Perich kicked in 19 and 18 points, respectively, while Sam Haugen drilled four treys in a 14-point effort.
The Rangers also had four players in double figures led by an 18-point game by Noah Larson.
Jack Battaglia scored 21 as the Lumberjacks picked up a home win over Duluth East on Tuesday night and got back to the .500 mark at 12-12.
Ty Nyberg tried to lift the Greyhounds, with 25 points, while Brennan Meyer kicked in 13, but Cloquet's scoring depth was too much to overcome, as Seth Rothamel was one of four players to score in double figures as the Lumberjacks defended a 37-28 lead.
The Raiders' defense held host Bigfork to just 14 points and cruised to a road victory.
Stephen McGee scored a game-high 22 points for Greenway (13-11).
PREP SCOREBOARD
BOYS BASKETBALL
Cromwell-Wright 70, Mille Lacs 41
Esko 82, Crosby-Ironton 70
South Ridge 71, Nashwauk-Keewatin 68
Mountain Iron-Buhl 81, Ely 41
Barnum 65, Hinckley-Finlayson 42
Greenway 59, Bigfork 30
Rock Ridge 86, Hibbing 69
Cloquet 73, Duluth East 61
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Esko 67, Grand Rapids 53
Silver Bay 52, Nashwauk-Keewatin 43
Duluth East 61, Hermantown 46
Ely 87, Cherry 44
Hibbing 56, Deer River 51
Pequot Lakes 58, Proctor 50
Mesabi East 71, Two Harbors 47
Rock Ridge 82, Chisholm 50
Moose Lake/Willow River 61, Barnum 54
WIAA Division 3 Regional
Bloomer 64, Northwestern 49
WIAA Division 5 Regional
Clayton 53, Solon Springs 23
BOYS HOCKEY
Section 7A Quarterfinals
Proctor 5, North Shore 1
Hermantown 14, International Falls 0
Hibbing/Chisholm 4, Greenway 1
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 12, Ely 0
Section 7AA Quarterfinals
Grand Rapids 9, Cambridge-Isanti 0
Duluth East 5, Duluth Denfeld 1
Andover 6, Duluth Marshall 1
Rock Ridge 4, Forest Lake 3 (4OT)
GIRLS HOCKEY
WIAA Sectional Semifinals
Superior 10, Northland Pines 2
Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:20 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 21, to correct the Northwestern-Bloomer girls basketball score. It was originally published at 10:56 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 20. We regret the error.
