Prep report: Marshall boys cruise in playoff opener
Feb. 17—Already cruising, Duluth Marshall finished with a flourish in its Section 7AA playoff opener, scoring five times in the third period to dismantle Northern Edge 9-1 on Saturday afternoon at Mars Lakeview Arena.
Pacey Adduono recorded the hat trick for the seventh-seeded Hilltoppers, who had a 60-20 advantage in shots on goal.
Kyler Black finished with two goals and two assists while Ethan Lindgren had a goal and two assists and Bennett Scissons three assists.Kaenan Smith and Landon Wheeler split goaltending duties for Marshall, with Smith stopping nine shots and Wheeler 10.
Marshall (15-9-2) will take on second-seeded Andover in a section quarterfinal on Tuesday.
A first-period flurry from the Broncos ended the Rebels' season on Saturday afternoon in a Section 7A first-round game.
International Falls scored four times in a period of 5:17 in the late first period to take control. Tynan Oswald had a power play goal for Moose Lake in the second period but, down 7-1 after two, the third period was largely academic. Dalton Slama scored a pair of consolation goals for the Rebels.
Eli Gilbertson stopped 42 shots for Moose Lake, who finishes its season 6-19. The Broncos move on in the 7A bracket and face top-seeded Hermantown on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Northwestern's Ian Smith seems to only get stronger on the road to securing a second Wisconsin state wrestling championship.
Smith qualified for the state individual tournament for the fourth consecutive year after recording three pins in Division 2 sectional competition on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Tomahawk, Wisconsin.
Smith, needing a top-three finish in the 215-pound class to return to state, pinned his first opponent in 39 seconds, then defeated Bradey Gottwald of Hayward/Northwood in 2:49 and then won the regional championship over Easton Stone of Rice Lake in 3:20. Smith won his 2023 title at 195 and was runner-up in back-to-back years (2021-22) at 182.
He'll be joined by teammate Ivan Woodhull at 126, who earned a third-place finish. After winning his first two matches, Woodhull lost a major decision to Talon Berg of Osceola in the first-place match, then was edged for second place by Cole Steffen of St. Croix Falls in a sudden-victory scenario.
Adeline Pooler of Northwestern won her class at 185, defeating Kendra Hamman by fall in the championship match for a trip to the state tournament, which begins Thursday, Feb. 22 in Madison.
In Division 1 at Marshfield, both Versii Kavajecz (113) and Dominic Lyons (215) of Superior were pinned in their first matches.
Cloquet got 22 points from Lelani Fonoti and 19 from Ava Carlson as they extended their winning streak to five games on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Bemidji.
The visitors scored 47 points in the first half to put themselves in the driver's seat, expanding their 15-point halftime lead.
The Spartans spread their offense around but it couldn't cover all the points necessary to defeat Chippewa Falls on Saturday, Feb. 17 in Superior.
ChiHi had a 39-33 halftime lead and held on down the stretch.
Tre Sanigar led SHS with 17 points, eight steals and seven rebounds, while four others had at least eight points. Kyle Johnson finished with 11 points and Brandon Aker 10.
However, Chippewa alls got a game-high 19 points from Carson Wedemeyer.
Superior (17-5), which had a six-game win streak snapped, will find out its playoff seed on Sunday, then play two more regular-season games next week starting with their home finale on Thursday, Feb. 22 vs. Hermantown.
