Playing defense as a sophomore last season, Hermantown’s Ryan Sandelin saw limited scoring opportunities and totaled just three goals in the regular season.
Back at forward for his junior year, Sandelin tallied his first varsity hat trick on Saturday against Roseville, scoring twice in the second period and walking in his third on an empty net in the waning seconds of the game to deny a Raiders' comeback in the Hawks' 5-3 win at Roseville Skating Center.
“This year (my play is) starting to turn the corner a bit, so I’m excited for what’s to come,” Sandelin said.
The return of junior Dylan Samberg, who missed time after breaking his ankle blocking a shot in captain’s practice last year, allowed Sandelin to return to forward, the position he played before high school.
“I’ve been playing with Ryan since we were little kids,” Samberg said. “I like playing with the guy, and he’s a good player to be around.”
With five and a half minutes left in the second period, Samberg and Sandelin were in the Raiders’ zone as their teammates skated to the bench for a line change.
“We were in the zone 2-on-5 - most of our guys switched - and I found a soft spot in the high slot where he [Samberg] fed it to me and I got it off as quick as I could,” Sandelin said describing his second goal.
The period's final goal proved to be the game-winner, but that didn’t stop Sandelin, who was seeking pay dirt in the game's last minute as he stick-checked the puck from a Roseville player, scurried around him, and curled to the net to walk in an empty-net goal with 12 seconds remaining.
“Last year, we played Roseville into overtime,” Hermantown coach Bruce Plante said. “They got a lot of scrappy guys over there and they’re coached really well.”
This early season trip to the metro has been a boon for Sandelin and the Hawks (2-0), the top-ranked team in the Class 1A coaches' poll.
Sandelin scored the final two goals in a 5-3 win over No. 5-2A Wayzata on Friday night and currently leads Hermantown with six points to earn the team's Most Valuable Player trophy - a pink bike helmet.
The Hawks had seven skaters participate in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League this fall, including Sandelin and Samberg.
Samberg played for Team CCM, but the rest won the league title as members of Team North.
Samberg played two games for Team North earlier in the season, allowing him to reacquaint himself with his high school teammates in game situations. It paid off on Saturday as he assisted on both of Sandelin’s goals in the crucial second period.
“We’ve been good buddies since Day 1,” Sandelin said of Samberg. “We haven’t played together for a while, so it was good to finally get a pass from him and pop one in like the good ol’ days.”