Junior goaltender Luke Olson stopped 23 shots to help Hermantown win the Duluth Marshall Hilltopper Holiday Tournament championship with a 3-0 victory over East Grand Forks at the Mars Lakeview Arena on Wednesday.

The victory was the seventh in a row for the Hawks (10-2), ranked No. 1 in the Class 1A coaches poll.

Hermantown coach Bruce Plante said Olson’s play stood out and carried the team in the holiday tournament. 

“Our main goalie, Luke Olson, played really well in all three games this weekend,” Plante said. “And he's been really good all year for us."

Olson has played in all but two games for Hermantown this season, posting a 9-1 record. He has a 1.55 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. The shutout was second of the year. He led the Hawks to an 8-0 victory over Cloquet-Esko-Carlton on Dec. 2.

Olson put his skills on display against East Grand Forks, helping Hermantown stymie the Green Wave.

"I think we did a nice job defensively, and attacked really well,” Plante said.

With the Hawks playing lockdown defense, Hermantown’s offense need only one goal to win the game. It tallied three.

James Lindberg opened the scoring when he pounded one-timer pass from linemate Matt Valure into the back of the net just 4:32 into the first period.

Kyle Amundson tallied a power-play goal late in the second period, and Ryan Kero had an empty netter late in the third.

Plante said he was pleased with how his team played in the tournament.

“(We) played some great teams,” he said. “It’s just nice for us to win those games.”

The Hawks outscored their opponents 13-4 in winning three games against a loaded field at the event that included several top teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

Hermantown not only defeated No. 3-1A East Grand Forks in the finals, but they also topped No. 2-1A Duluth Marshall 6-2 in the semifinals on Dec. 30. The Hawks recorded a 4-2 victory over Notre Dame Academy (Wisc.) in the quarterfinals.

"It is a very good weekend for us, and to gauge ourselves halfway through the season now," Plante said. "We still need to get better and be ready for the run through playoffs at the end of the season, but right now I think we are in a good place."

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