No. 1 Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (CEC) and No. 3 Hibbing/Chisholm battled it out for the championship title in the Section 7A boy’s hockey championship matchup Wednesday night at AMSOIL Arena. The Bluejackets would be the one to earn the 4-3 win in overtime, and advance to the state tournament.

CEC’s Lucas Gentilini begins the scoring with just 3:24 left in the second period, finding the back of the net. Hibbing/Chisholm’s Joey Gabardi wastes no time responding with a goal of his own, tying things back up. With just 32 seconds remaining in the period, the Bluejackets take their first lead of the game with a goal from Tate Swanson.

In the third period, the Lumberjacks would find themselves on the board early with a sunk shot from Karson Young, and they would return their lead with another goal with 8 minutes left in the period by Nikolas Gentilini. But history would repeat itself, with Hibbing/Chisholm putting another point on the board just a minute later thanks to Cole Swanson. With the score tied at the end of the third period, the game would go into overtime.

Hibbing/Chisholm would work as a team to end the game, and it would be freshman Whitaker Rewertz who would sink the puck, winning the Section 7A championship title for the Bluejackets.

“Yeah, it’s a dream come true to finally be going to the state tournament. It’s amazing, it’s the best feeling ever,” said Whitaker. “Scoring the goal, anyone could have done that; it’s just an easy path and team effort. It’s a great plan.”

Cloquet-Esko-Carlton ends their season with a 20-8 record, taking home the Section 7A runner up title. Hibbing/Chisholm takes the Section 7A championship title and will compete in the Class A state tournament quarterfinals beginning on March 5th. This marks the Bluejackets first trip to the state tournament since 2011.

Click here to view the Class A State tournament bracket.