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Hutchinson uses avalanche of third-period goals to bury Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato

By Loren Nelson, SportsEngine , 02/24/20, 5:30PM CST

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Seniors Hayden Jensen and Austin Jozwick scored twice as the Tigers scored six unanswered goals to defeat the Dragons.


Hutchinson's Tristan Hoppe (20) stops behind his own net during Wednesday night’s Class1A, Section 3 final against Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato. Hoppe put the Tigers ahead for good in their 8-1 victory over the Dragons. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

Hayden Jensen is a senior. He’ll get his high school diploma in the spring, although if Hutchinson coach Matt Telecky had his way … maybe not. 

‘He’s been fabulous for three years,” Telecky said Wednesday after Jensen scored twice in the third period in the top-seeded Tigers’ 8-1 triumph over No. 2 seed Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato in the Class 1A, Section 3 championship at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. “The goal is to graduate him … but we’re definitely going to miss him.”

At this point you can picture the wheels turning in Telecky’s head — hmmm, if we could keep Jensen in school by altering his birth certificate or creating a new identity, then craft a foolproof disguise … we’d be going to state every year!

Leaders like Jensen just don’t come around that often, as Telecky, in his 16th season coaching the Tigers, can attest.


Hutchinson goalie Austin Hagen (33) tries to see around the screen being set by L/D-C's Cole Evjen (7) during Wednesday night’s game in St. Peter. Hagen had 23 saves in the Tigers’ 8-1 victory over the Dragons. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

First Report

Seniors Hayden Jensen and Austin Jozwick each scored twice as top-seeded Hutchinson rolled past No. 2 seed Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato 8-1 on Wednesday in the Class 1A, Section 3 championship at the Lund Center on the Gustavus Adolphus College campus in St. Peter.

Jensen scored twice and Jozwick once in the third period as part of an avalanche of six unanswered goals for the Tigers (19-8-1).

Blake Schmidt and Logan Holtz scored goals 1 minute, 41 seconds apart in the third period to give Hutchinson a 4-1 lead. The goals just kept coming, as Jensen scored back-to-back followed by Jozwick’s second goal. Brady Knorr completed the scoring with a power-play goal with 2:28 remaining.

Junior defenseman Tristan Hoppe stepped out of the penalty box, caught a long pass and streaked in for a breakaway goal to put Hutchinson ahead 2-1 with 4 minutes remaining in the second period. Gavin Hutchins, a sophomore defenseman, fired the pass that found Hoppe at center ice and sent him in alone. The goal was Hoppe’s ninth of the season.

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Hutchinson scoring first on a close-range shot from senior forward Austin Jozwick. The goal came at 12:09, 15 seconds after the Tigers had killed the game’s first penalty, a roughing call on Alex Staples.

Sophomore forward Gavin Hanson opened the scoring for Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (12-15-1) with 3:20 left in the opening period.

Hutchinson goaltender Austin Hagen finished with 23 saves. Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato’s Cade Marquardt made 31 stops.

Hutchinson will be making its fifth state tournament appearance and first since 2009. 


Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato's Jake Johnson (12) battles Hutchinson's Hayden Jensen (11) for control of a faceoff during Wednesday night’s Class 1A, Section 3 final at Gustavus. The Dragons fell to the Tigers 8-1. Photo by Jeff Lawler, SportsEngine

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