The Eagle River community grandly welcomed the Northland Pines boys’ hockey team back to Eagle River after the Eagles won the WIAA D2 State Title last Saturday in a 4-0 shutout of Amery at Bob Suter’s Legacy 20 Arena in Middleton. This was the first state hockey title for the program since the 1989 season.

It was also the first shutout in the D2 title game since the state tournament moved to two divisions in 2020, the same season the Eagles finished State runner-up.

“We believed we could do it from the beginning, even though we’re a very young team.”

Those words from coach Zach Otto after his Northland Pines High School boys hockey team beat Amery. The Eagles roster included just three seniors and five juniors.

The Pines boys started very strong Saturday, scoring the only two goals of the first period.

At 3:28, senior captain and leading scorer Josh Graves made it 1-0 with an assist from Sam Shrock.

Less than a minute later, Michael Schmidt lit the lamp from Jazek Jantzen and Bodie Bakken for a quick 2-0 lead.

“It was important we jumped on them early, and it was one of the biggest moments of this game,” stated coach Otto.

As he has done all season, Graves scored a huge goal. His unassisted power play tally at 10:51 of a penalty-filled second period gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead they took to the third stanza.

Five minutes into the third, Graves was awarded a penalty shot after a slashing call against Amery. He was stopped, and the score remained 3-0.

The Eagles removed any doubt about the outcome when Cooper Saari, who scored the winning goal in the semifinal victory over Somerset, planted the puck into an empty net at the 15:53 mark, and a roaring Pines crowd cheered away the rest of the time in a 4-0 win for a state title.

“Our defense played great, and all the credit goes to him,” said coach Otto about junior goalie Evrett Leslie, who stopped all 24 Amery shots on goal against him for the shutout win.

When asked why he chose to be a goalie, Evrett said, “I liked that I didn’t have to chase after the puck.”

When asked about his great season, Graves commented, “I don‘t care about how many goals I scored because it’s all about this team. Playing with this group of guys is unbelievable,” he said.

The Eagles, who finished the season with a 23-6 record, got home to find vehicles lining the streets from the city limits to the Eagle River Sports Arena, sounding their horns to welcome home their conquering heroes.

They were also honored during the Eagle River Falcons game at the Dome.
“It was awesome to see the big crowds showing up at all our games this season,” said coach Otto. “I’m so proud of everybody; the team, the fans and the coaches. I can’t say enough about them.”

How it started

The Northland Pines boys’ hockey team came back from a 2-1 deficit in the third period in the WIAA D2 state semifinal to beat Somerset 3-2 after Saari found the back of the net with 24 seconds left in the game to take the lead.
“It feels amazing to be moving into the championship game.”

That was the reaction of Northland Pines boys hockey coach Zach Otto after the Eagles beat the Somerset in the riveting Division Two state semifinal matchup.

“It certainly wasn’t our prettiest win, but we got it done,” stated Otto. “Our team captains pulled through with a pair of goals by Josh Graves and an unbelievable game in net by goalie Evrett Leslie with 32 saves.”

The semifinal game between the Spartans and Eagles was a rematch of a Dec. 12 meeting, where the Eagles won 5-2. Pines got out to a 3-0 lead seven minutes into that game, but it was a much different feel at state.

Pines took the lead Thursday on a first-period unassisted power-play goal by Graves at the 9:54 mark.

Somerset later capitalized on a late Pines penalty and scored with a minute left to make it 1-1 heading to the second period.

Neither team scored in the second. And though Somerset controlled the action and outshot the Eagles 13-3, Pines’ goalie Leslie stopped every one.

The Spartans took their first lead of the afternoon at 2:55 of the third, which made it 2-1.

At the 7:43 mark, Graves slipped behind Somerset defenders and was taken down in the goal crease.

After some discussion, the officials awarded Graves a penalty shot, and he brought the big group of Pines fans to their feet by putting the biscuit in the basket to tie it at 2-all.

Somerset had a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal in the period but could not score, and with 24 seconds left in regulation time, Saari fired the puck home from Michael Schmidt and Jazek Jantzen.

The team enters next season with plenty of experience from this state championship team as they defend the D2 title.