In the closing minute and his team clinging to a two-goal lead, Duluth East senior forward Ash Altmann stole the puck and skated down the ice towards an empty net.

He had fellow senior Luke Dow skating alongside him on the 2-on-1 rush, but Altmann also had a wide-open chance at his second goal of the game.

Just as he crossed the blue line, Altmann slid the puck to Dow, who scored the empty-netter to seal Duluth East's 5-2 win over Elk River Saturday night at the Heritage Sports Center in Duluth.

Greyhounds coach Mike Randolph said the play perfectly characterizes Altmann’s team-first attitude. 

“He’s very (much) like a captain,” Randolph said. “He could have shot it, but he played it over to Dow. That’s always nice to see.”

Randolph views Altmann as a catalyst for his team—both offensively and defensively.

“He means a whole lot. When he’s going, the whole team’s going. And he has the ability to beak a game open, which he did (today),” Randolph said.

“He’s just gotta lead by example and play his two-way game. He’s doing a lot of the little things and they’re turning to big things.”

With the win over Elk River, Duluth East extended its winning streak to six games.

Altmann has 17 points over that span, including two against the Elks that gives him a team-leading 29 on the season.

Several of his fellow seniors aren’t far behind on the score sheet as Ryan Peterson has 24 points, Dow has 20 and defenseman Shay Donovan has 14.

“You’re not going anywhere without seniors,” Randolph said. “We got a great senior group last year, and this senior group has continued the tradition.”

Last year's upperclassmen led the Greyhounds to a second-place finish in the Class 2A state tournament, a trip they earned after defeating Elk River in the Section 7 championship game.

Altmann also sees the senior class as a key component to this season's success.

“If we’re all rolling, the team’s rolling. Everyone looks up to us, (the seniors) all have different roles. And if everyone’s playing their roles, we’re a good team,” Altmann said.

It was Duluth East’s second consecutive win over the Elks, whom beat in the section 7AA finals last year in a 5-4 overtime thriller, with the help of another large senior class.

He also said the rematch with Elk River was a good test for his team.

“We’ve been rolling lately, and I thought we played our most complete game of the year (today)," Altmann added.

If the Greyhounds face the Elks again in the section playoffs, they’d go at it with the same mentality, said Altmann, who admitted Saturday's victory is a confidence booster. 

First Report

Ash Altman scored the game-winning goal and finished with two points in Duluth East’s 5-2 home win over Class 2A, Section 7 rival Elk River on Saturday.

In their first meeting since the teams combined for nine goals in last season's section championship (won by Duluth East 5-4 in overtime), the Greyhounds’ 1-0 lead at the start of the third period seemed like an anomaly.

But what followed was a six-goal outburst, including five scored over a six-minute stretch, that punctuated the intensity and closeness of this matchup.

Even with the back-and-forth final period, Duluth East never trailed in the game thanks to Altmann’s second-period strike. After Luke LaMaster scored early in the third, the No. 16-2A Greyhounds (12-7-0) maintained a two-goal lead for the remainder of the night.

Benton Maass led Elk River (13-7-1), ranked No. 8 in the Class 2A coaches' poll, with a goal and an assist.

The Greyhounds' Luke Dow finished with a team-high three points after recording two assists and an empty-net goal with 22 seconds remaining.

Elk River goalie Ben Meyers was tested early and often but finished the night with 31 saves.

Duluth East’s Kirk Meierhoff stopped 17 of 19 total shots. 

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