It is officially time for the Minnesota state boys high school hockey tournament. On Wednesday Hermantown, earning the number one seed in Class A, will drop the puck in their fifth straight state tournament.

“A lot of guys have never done this before in this group. We lost a lot of seniors, a big group of seniors last year, and so it’s just rewarding for them who put in a lot of work. We had a great year, but it definitely wasn’t a dominating year and they learned a lot of lessons along the way to be playing our best hockey right now,” head coach Patrick Andrews said.

The Hawks as a whole though have great state experience, making 14 of the last 15 state tournaments. They only missed 2019, and have won four state titles starting in 2007 with their most recent in 2022.

Three current players were on that 2022 title team; Josh Kauppinen, Will Esterbrooks and Dane Callaway. Callaway, now a senior goalie, currently sits fifth in the state in save percentage with a .938, and is ninth in goals against average with a 1.75.

“Three years he’s been our backbone, he’s our stud. This whole season has been built from Dane outwards. We got great D,” Andrews said.

“Well, it’s just been really easy,” laughed Callaway. “[The defense] keep it well in front of me and I just hold them down. We’re just going to have to drive the pace, work faster than any team there, and score goals.”

Hermantown’s quarterfinal foe will be Alexandria, a program they haven’t faced since the 2022 tourney.

Puck drop is 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center. The full tournament will be televised on WDIO. For the full bracket, Click here.