DULUTH — One of the last times I saw John Gilbert was out at a Duluth East girls soccer game last fall.
He was at the top of the bleachers — not a place he typically sat at 82 years old. I made the climb up to chat with him and he said something vague about wanting to see “this girl from East.”
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“Ohh you mean Lilly,” I asked. “She’s special — you’re gonna enjoy this.”
John knew exactly who he was there to see and it was typical that he would be a little vague, but he was there to see Lilly Kuettel. As I recall, she put on a show for the home crowd, there weren’t many games she didn’t put on a show this season and that’s why she was the All-Area Player of the Year.
John Gilbert is an absolute icon of Minnesota hockey. He was there at the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, New York, and covered the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Minnesota North Stars and high school hockey — all at the same time.
I remember thinking that night how impressed I was that John was still getting out to games, that he was still interested in the top, up-and-coming players in our area.
John died Wednesday and I think I only saw him once after that day at East — he was at the Rock Ridge at Duluth Denfeld game a little before Christmas.
John’s knowledge of hockey — at all levels — was extraordinary. How many times, did he ask me “don’t you know who this is”?
Sorry, John, I was 8 and living in North Carolina the last time he played hockey.
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All that said, I loved listening to him go off on tangents, something I’m prone to do from time to time. I was talking to former News Tribune hockey writer Kevin Pates the other day and he called John a “chatterbox” in the press box. He certainly was that and, as Pates said he had his opinions, hockey and otherwise.
I’ll miss John and I’ll grieve John for a few days, but I also believe this.
John Gilbert loved sports and he loved hockey. He was out doing what he loved the best way he knew how until just a few weeks before his death.
We should all be so lucky.
So this week, we’re renaming the Twin Ports Power 5 the Gilbert Power 5 to honor my friend and, as my partner Reagan Hoverman would say, an absolute legend.
— Jamey Malcomb
Rules of the Five
- This list and its comments are based on games prep sports reporters Jamey Malcomb and Jake Pryztarski have watched and/or stats that have been submitted to the Duluth News Tribune.
- This is a ranking of the top five boys hockey teams in the Northland, regardless of class.
- We are allowed to be prisoners of the moment. If a struggling team gets a fun win, they might pop up on the Five and disappear the next week.
On to the ranking …
1. Rock Ridge (17-3-1)
As a highly physical, heavy-checking team, Rock Ridge can, at times, run the risk of playing with fire in the form of penalties, as shown during Tuesday’s game against Hibbing/Chisholm.
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The Wolverines gave up five power play attempts and were fortunate to only give up one goal in a 3-1 win over the Bluejackets inside a jam-packed Iron Trail Motors Event Center.
Rock Ridge did not come away completely unscathed, though, as a late boarding major and game misconduct could keep star center Caz Carlson out of the lineup for a crucial Section 7AA matchup against Grand Rapids on Thursday.
— Jake Przytarski
2. Hermantown (13-5-3)
The Hawks have continued to look like the team to beat in Class A ever since a tie against Proctor early in January. Hermantown lost Friday to St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, but losing to the No. 2 Class AA team in Minnesota in their barn isn’t going to cause anyone to hit the panic button.
Hermantown came out firing against Mahtomedi Saturday in a 4-0 win. Pat Andrews’ squad still has quite a gauntlet to run through over the final weeks of the season, with a game against AA No. 1 Moorhead Friday, followed by Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Grand Rapids.
What can be said for sure is Hermantown will be battle-tested heading into the section tournament.
— JDM
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3. Grand Rapids (14-6)
The Thunderhawks took it on the chin Saturday against second-ranked St. Thomas Academy, but rebounded nicely with a 5-1 win over Duluth Marshall. It was a win where they asserted themselves early and kept the Hilltoppers off the scoreboard until late in the third period.
Saturday, Grand Rapids will face a resurgent Andover team that still has eyes on a section title. The Huskies started 0-9, but have won eight of their last 10.
— JDM
4. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton (16-4)
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton shrugged off its recent offensive struggles by erupting for a total of 12 goals in back-to-back wins over Bemidji and Duluth Denfeld in the past week.
CEC will look to carry its recent scoring surge into Thursday’s matchup against a defensively stingy Hermantown squad with plenty of Section 7A implications hanging in the balance.
— JP
5. Hibbing/Chisholm (12-7)
Hibbing/Chisholm probably deserved a better fate than its 3-1 road loss at the hands of Rock Ridge on Tuesday. The Bluejackets carried the play for long stretches of the final two periods and outshot the Wolverines 27-14.
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The hard-fought defeat drops them to 12-9 overall in what’s been a rollercoaster-like season for the junior-heavy club. Still, even with the peaks and valleys, Hibbing/Chisholm remains a legitimate threat in the Section 7A tournament with a bevy of offensive playmakers.
How they defend their own end will likely be the biggest determining factor in their postseason prospects.
— JP
Girls hockey spotlight: Proctor/Hermantown Mirage
After backstopping Proctor/Hermantown to a 7-0 shutout victory on Monday over Superior, senior goaltender Neelah McLeod not only moved the Mirage to their 18th win of the season but established a new program benchmark in the process. McLeod, now in her third year starting for the Mirage, etched her name in the program record books as the new single-season leader in shutout victories with eight — surpassing previous season-shutout record holder Abby Pajari’s mark of seven set in 2019-2020.
McLeod has been a rock of consistency this season with a 1.89 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. She is currently tied for third statewide in shutouts.
The combination of McLeod’s dependability in net with the well-rounded scoring punch powered by five skaters with eight goals or more—Reese Knight (8-6—14), Ella Rothe (10-8—18), Ella Kaups (9-10—19), Mya Gunderson (10-16—26), and captain Jane Eckstrom (18-9—27) — makes the fifth-ranked Mirage remain the team to beat in Section 7A.
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