Warroad Victorious

Warroad Survives Wild Championship Battle, Wins Class A Title in Overtime

If you want to explain Minnesota high school hockey to someone, you could just show them this game.

Small towns. Packed arena. Momentum swings. Goaltenders standing on their heads. A comeback that looked impossible — and an overtime winner that’ll live in Warroad for the next 50 years.

Saturday’s Class A state championship between Warroad and Hibbing/Chisholm had all of it.

Both programs came in carrying plenty of history, but also a long wait. Hibbing/Chisholm hadn’t won a title since 1973. Warroad — a place where hockey is basically part of the town’s DNA — hadn’t lifted the Class A trophy since 2005.

And these teams already had a bit of familiarity. Hibbing/Chisholm took their regular-season matchup 4–2 back in January.

But state tournament games tend to ignore what happened earlier in the year.

Warroad struck first.

Early in the opening period, Connor Lund found space high in the right circle, pulled the puck in, and snapped a clean shot past the Hibbing/Chisholm goalie to give the Warriors a quick 1–0 lead.

That’s the kind of shot you see a lot in big games — catch the goalie moving, pick your corner, and get it off quick before the defense closes.

But after that early punch, the ice tilted.

Hibbing/Chisholm controlled most of the first period. Their forecheck started causing problems, they were winning battles along the boards, and they kept funneling pucks toward the net. By the end of the period the Bluejackets had built an 11–4 advantage in shots.

The only thing missing was the equalizer.

Warroad held onto the one-goal lead heading into the intermission — but anyone watching could tell the game was far from settled.

Early in the second period the Warriors had a chance to stretch the lead with a power play, but Hibbing/Chisholm’s penalty kill stayed aggressive and cleared the danger. That kill kept the game within reach — and a few minutes later the Bluejackets cashed in.

Whitaker Rewertz jumped on a rush chance, cut toward the middle of the ice, and slipped the puck past the goaltender to tie the game 1–1.

Momentum swung immediately.

But championship teams have a way of responding quickly — and Warroad did exactly that.

Not long after the tying goal, Ayven Hontvet stepped into space in the circle and fired a clean shot that beat Gavin Lamphere low. No screen, just a well-placed release that restored the Warriors’ lead.

Warroad kept pushing late in the period and eventually extended the margin.

The play started with a gritty effort from Ryan Shaugabay, who raced into the corner to win a puck battle. He turned quickly and fed the puck to the front of the net where Gavin Anderson was waiting. Anderson buried the chance, giving Warroad a 3–1 lead heading into the third.

And while the Warriors were finding the net, their goaltender was quietly putting together one of the best stretches of the night.

Patrick Kennedy faced wave after wave of Bluejacket pressure in the second period. Hibbing/Chisholm kept generating chances from the slot and the circles, but Kennedy stayed composed, turning aside 21 of 22 shots in the frame.

That performance kept Warroad in control — at least for the moment.

Because the third period turned into chaos.

Hibbing/Chisholm started the comeback early.

A net-front scramble led to multiple attempts before Isaiah Hildenbrand finally jammed the puck across the line, cutting the deficit to 3–2.

You could feel the shift in energy.

The Bluejackets kept pressing, and with less than five minutes remaining, Rewertz struck again. Finding space in the middle of the ice, he snapped home his second goal of the game to tie things up.

Now the momentum had completely flipped.

And then it got even wilder.

Just 51 seconds later, Hibbing/Chisholm took the lead. Ben Galli came in on the rush, had his first shot blocked, chased down the rebound along the boards, and fired another attempt past Kennedy.

In barely a minute, the Bluejackets had gone from trailing by two goals to leading 4–3.

For a moment, it looked like the comeback story was complete.

But Warroad still had one more push left.

With the clock ticking under a minute, the Warriors created one final opportunity. Broden Hontvet threaded a pass through traffic that found Gavin Anderson near the net. Anderson buried the chance with 45 seconds remaining, tying the game and sending the championship to overtime.

Season on the line. Next goal wins.

And overtime didn’t last long.

Just over a minute into the extra period, Warroad found its hero.

The state tournament has a long history of moments like this — the kind that turn high school players into legends in their hometowns. Last season it was Mason Kraft, scoring four goals for Moorhead in the Class AA final.

This year it was Ryan Shaugabay.

Shaugabay buried the overtime winner, sending the Warriors pouring off the bench and giving Warroad its first state championship since 2005.

For a town that lives and breathes hockey, it was the kind of moment people will be talking about for decades.