Hermantown Will Play Quarterfinal Game With Junior Varsity Team

COVID-19 and hockey are having a hard time getting along, as yet another playoff hockey game is affected by the pandemic.

This time instead of college hockey, it's the beloved Minnesota State Hockey tournament getting a COVID wrench thrown into the mix, Hermantown is the number one seed in Class 1A and will now be forced to play their junior varsity team in Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup against unseeded Dodge County.

Most of the varsity team is currently in  COVID-19 quarantine after someone on the team was exposed to the virus. Hermantown will take the ice with 11 total players, 10 skaters, and one goaltender. Normally around 18 players and 2 goalies would be suited up for a game like this.

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The Hawks do expect a couple of varsity players to play in the game, one of them is the team's leading scorer Zam Plante, who was injured and sat out for the Section 7 semifinal against Virginia.

If the junior varsity players do manage to win the quarterfinal game tomorrow, some members of the varsity team could be able to play in the semifinal game if they get negative COVID-19 test results back in the meantime.

The girl's hockey tournament has also been affected by the pandemic, as the Centennial girls team had to drop out of their Class 2A games because of a COVID exposure. Hill-Murray is also consulting with the league after a recent opponent had a COVID exposure.

Tuesday's game is scheduled to get underway at 6 PM, with full coverage on The Northland FAN 106.5 FM.