DULUTH — Hibbing/Chisholm’s Ethan Sundvall wasn’t really looking to score either of his two goals against Duluth Marshall Monday at Mars Lakeview Arena.
Late in the third period and Hibbing Chisholm trailing by 2-1, Sundvall was carrying the puck into the zone and saw a teammate driving toward the net. He took a shot, hoping there might be a rebound.
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Instead, it slipped past Hilltopper goalie Landon Wheeler and forced overtime.
In the overtime period, Sundvall found himself with the puck behind the net and plenty of space.
“I see I’ve got a lot of room, so I started skating it,” he said. “I get in the zone and cut to the middle. I put it on net and it finds the back.”
Sundvall’s two goals gave the Bluejackets a 3-2 overtime win and snapped a three-game skid that included losses to Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids, Grand Rapids and Hermantown.
“We’ve been struggling a little, as of late, finding the net, but the guys just stuck with it,” Bluejackets coach Aaron Jamnick said. “They grabbed the momentum and we were able to claw back. Sundvall made some big plays at the end and a lot of guys were jumping in — it was a great team effort.”
Sundvall knew Hibbing/Chisholm had played some tough competition during the skid, including top-ranked Hermantown, but it was important to get this win.
“We wanted to get back on track and get out of that losing streak,” he said. “We were in this little drought, but I think we’re coming out of it strong and we’re going to keep it that way.”
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For Marshall, it was important to come out and play well against the Bluejackets. In their two previous matchups under third-year coach Shawn Bartlette, the Hilltoppers haven’t scored a goal.
“Our goal was to be opportunistic tonight, to really bear down when we got some good grade-A scoring opportunities,” Bartlette said. “We wanted to focus on the opportunities that we had and really bear down to get on the score sheet early.”
Marshall didn’t get on the scoresheet that early. In fact, Hibbing’s Tate Swanson scored just at 1:17 of the second period, but Kyler Black answered back quickly to tie it and Bennett Scissons put the Hilltoppers in front at the 5:15 mark of the second period.
“We know Hibbing is an extremely skilled team,” Bartlette said. “We were hoping to take away a little of their creativity and make them play in areas that we thought we could control the game a little bit. I thought we did a really good job of that, but they’re a team that always seems like they know where each other are and they’re making some pretty plays.”
Bartlette was also happy with the way Scissons came out and played against the Bluejackets. Scissons missed the Rock Ridge game because of illness and has been “fighting some things,” according to Bartlette.
“Bennett looked a little more like Bennett tonight,” he said. “He played with a lot of pace today, made some really good decisions with the puck, and in the face-off circle he’s always a factor for us. I was just really pleased with the effort — not only him, but his whole line put forward tonight.”
Goalie Rex Walli was excellent in net for the Bluejackets, making 33 saves and helping “calm down” his team during a second period where they struggled a little.
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Jamnick was happy that they got the monkey off their back before a trip to International Falls Tuesday and playing Eden Prairie at Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday in Shakopee.
“It’s all a learning process,” Jamnick said. “We thought we’ve had a lot of good moments in those games. Marshall is a really good team — they were tough — and I’m just glad the guys found a way.”
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