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Kohanski leads Hermantown past Mahtomedi on Hockey Day Minnesota

By Luke Hanlon, SportsEngine, 01/28/23, 9:00AM CST

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The senior tallied a trio of goals as the Hawks pulled away from the Zephrys on a frigid Saturday afternoon.

Kade Kohanski celebrates a hat trick goal in the third period. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, Hockey Day Minnesota

Kade Kohanski celebrates a hat trick goal in the third period. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, Hockey Day Minnesota

Hermantown hosted the fourth-ever Hockey Day Minnesota back in 2010.

Current Hermantown head coach Patrick Andrews was coaching the bantams that year, and he spent that day on the shoveling crew.

Now 13 years later, Andrews coached the Hawks to a 6-3 win over fellow 1A-power Mahtomedi on the 17th edition of Hockey Day Minnesota.

Andrews said he was humbled to be able to coach a game during the State of Hockey’s annual tradition.

“This is unbelievable. It’s really cool to see how it's grown in 13 years,” he said. “This is pretty amazing and super special to be a part of, we’re just so honored that they asked us to be a part of it.”

The Hawks got into the game right away after Josh Kauppinen found the back of the net just over three minutes into action. While every coach would love to get an early goal on a stage like this, Andrews thought it harmed his team’s performance for the rest of the first period.

“It’s almost one of those things with high school kids where you score that first goal quickly, they kind of get an adrenaline rush then it’s gone,” he said. “(Mahtomedi) really responded well to us scoring, and the rest of that period they totally outplayed us”

The team, however, played better as the game wore on, Andrews said. A big reason behind that was due to the play of Kade Kohanski. The senior forward has missed a majority of the season due to a broken wrist, but he returned to the lineup a few games ago and came through on the big stage.

Kohanski scored midway through the second period to give the Hawks a two-goal lead. He added two more goals in the third to record the hat trick and match his season’s output of goals in one game.

“It’s tough to think about missing a bunch of games my senior season cause you can’t get them back,” Kohanski said. “I’m trying to make up for it a bit.”

Playing in his first game without a brace around his wrist, Kohanski took full advantage. 

“It’s been difficult with the brace,” he said. “It felt really good (to play without it) and I could finally shoot a little bit.”

Despite the scoreline, Saturday's game was a fairly even contest. The Zephrys trailed by two goals on two separate occasions, but would cut that deficit in half each time. It kept the pressure on the Hawks before they eventually pulled away. Mahtomedi head coach Jeff Poeschl said he was pleased with his team’s performance.

“I was proud of our guys, they fell down by a two-goal deficit a couple of times and didn’t give up,” he said. “That was a good sign for me that they had the fortitude to stay with it.”

And the loss won’t diminish the honor of playing on Hockey Day Minnesota for him or his players.

“This is a hockey memory that will last a lifetime for our team, so it was great to be able to be a part of it,” he said.

Matthew Kauppinen (17) and William Brummel (7) fight for a puck on the ice. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, Hockey Day Minnesota

Matthew Kauppinen (17) and William Brummel (7) fight for a puck on the ice. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, Hockey Day Minnesota

First Report

Hermantown and Mahtomedi braved frigid temperatures at Polar Lakes Park on Hockey Day Minnesota Saturday afternoon, with the Hawks coming out on top 6-3.

Hermantown opened the scoring barley three minutes into the game. Matt Kauppinen brought the puck into the zone and fed a pass to his brother Josh Kauppinen, who fired a wrist shot past Charlie Brandt.  

Mahtomedi responded with 8 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first. Wyatt Tarnowski took a shot from the blue line that got deflected and wound up on Patrick Egan’s stick. He fired a backhand shot on goal right away and tied the game at 1-1.

The Hawks (15-2-1, 4-0-0) came out strong in the second period. After Matt assisted Josh in the first period, Josh returned the favor in the second, as Matt scored from near the goal line to give Hermantown the lead again.

The Hawks' Kade Kohanski then made it 3-1, but the Zephyrs got one back late in the second after Carter Haycraft led a three-on-two break that ended with Jonny Grove assisting Cav Bruner to slim the deficit to 3-2 with 3:20 left in the second. 

Kohanski answered with his second of the game about five minutes into the third period, redirecting a Nolan Barker wrist shot from the blue line to put the Hawks up 4-2.

The Zephyrs (11-5-0, 4-1-0) battled back again midway through the third period, as Seth Nelson deflected a wrist shot from Grove that went straight down and bounced off the ice and over the goal line.

A major penalty with less than five minutes left on the Zephyrs helped the Hawks close it out, as Kohanski finished off his hat trick with a power-play goal. Wyatt Carlson added an empty-netter to seal the win.

Mahtomedi celebrates their first goal of the game. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, Hockey Day Minnesota

Mahtomedi celebrates their first goal of the game. Photo by Brennan Schachtner, Hockey Day Minnesota

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