Amsoil Arena was Hockey Central in the Northland as 8 teams gathered to see who would be playing in the Section 7A and Section 7AA Championships next week. Action kicked off at noon on Saturday, with the 7AA teams playing the afternoon games; and 7A action followed during the evening session.

Section 7AA

Elk River vs. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton

Section 7AA top seed Elk River asserted itself early with a strong offensive showing, scoring nine unanswered goals through the first two periods of play. Nolan Dwyer of CEC would score the only Lumberjacks goal in the opening seconds of the third period, serving as the final tally for either team. Elk River's 9-1 win earns them an appearance in the Section 7AA Championship next Thursday night at Amsoil Arena against the winner of the second game of the afternoon.

Grand Rapids vs. Duluth East

Shay Donovan struck first for the Greyhounds, tallying the only goal of the first period and giving East an early lead. Ash Altmann added a second goal for the Hounds in the second period, but Grand Rapids would answer back right away, with Alex Adams cutting the Thunderhawks deficit in half. Before the end of the second, Nick Altmann lit the lamp to extend the lead to 3-1. Trying to rally, Jonah Bischoff scored for Grand Rapids midway through the third period, but that would be the final score of the game. Following the 3-2 win for the Greyhounds, they will face Elk River at 7 pm on Thursday night at Amsoil Arena. We will be broadcasting the game, with coverage starting just before the drop of the puck on ESPN Radio 560 and on webc560.com.

Section 7A

Hermantown vs. Hibbing/Chisholm

Following an explosive offensive performance in their previous game that included 7 first period goals, the opening frame of Saturday's match saw only one goal. Parker Osborne gave the Bluejackets a 1-0 lead to head into the first intermission. Kyle Amundson, Nate Pionk, Wyatt Aamodt, and Ryan Kero all scored in the second period, easily erasing their eariler deficit. Cole Koepke and Ryan Kero each scored in the third period to give the Hawks a 6-1 win to punch their ticket to the 7A Championship on Wednesday night.

Duluth Marshall vs. Duluth Denfeld

Alex Murray earned a shutout for the Hilltoppers, blocking 24 shots in Marshall's 4-0 win. John McKenna put the first goal of the game on the board to give the Toppers the lead as the first period wound down. After a scoreless second period, Jon Hansen, Nathan Sepp, and Derek Farrell would all score for Marshall, leading the Hilltoppers the 4-0 win. Marshall will face Hermantown in a battle of the top two seeds in 7A in the section championship at 7 pm Wednesday night at Amsoil Arena. We will be broadcasting the game, with coverage starting just before the drop of the puck on ESPN Radio 560 and on webc560.com.

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