Mar. 4—ST. PAUL — The blueprint worked well for Dodge County for almost two full periods.

The only time it didn’t was a 90-second stretch at the end of the second period here Wednesday afternoon.

That stretch was enough, though, for top-ranked and top-seeded Hibbing/Chisholm to pull away from the pesky, physical, eighth-seeded Wildcats, en route to a 4-1 win in a Class 1A boys hockey state tournament quarterfinal game at Grand Casino Arena.

Dodge County isn’t the first team to see this side of the Hibbing/Chisholm boys hockey team.

“When they score, they score in droves,” Wildcats co-head coach Bryce Wilcox said.

“They’re definitely a good team,” Wildcats sophomore captain Camryn Koch added. “They’re the (number) one seed for a reason, so the best thing you can do is come out and play the best you can.”

Hibbing/Chisholm is 25-2-2, averages 5.46 goals per game, and 2.18 goals against per game. It was the toughest test of the season so far for the Wildcats (19-9-1), who’ll play at 10 a.m. Thursday in a consolation semifinal game at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis.

Dodge County’s eight seniors — defensemen Cooper Bebee and Jeremiah Peterson-Gordon, and forwards Gabe Coshenet, Dylan Allen, Cohen McNeilus, Evan Hain, Isiah Holtermann and Carson Brown — still have at least one game remaining in their high school careers; two if they win their consolation game Thursday against the loser of Wednesday’s second quarterfinal, between No. 4 seed Mahtomedi and No. 5 St. Cloud Cathedral.

And though their dream of playing for a state championship is no longer possible, the Wildcats are soaking in every moment of getting a chance to do what so few hockey players in the State of Hockey get to do: play in The Tourney.

“Yeah, obviously, it’s a dream,” said Coshenet, the team’s leading scorer, with 61 points. “Every kid wants to be here. And to do it with this group is super special. Me as a senior and a lot of my group coming up, we’ve been together a lot. And then Camryn and a bunch of the sophomores … it’s just a great feeling. And obviously playing out there is unreal.”

Most, if not all, of the Dodge County players have been to Grand Casino Arena before, whether to watch the Minnesota Wild, the recent IIHF World Junior Championships, or the Wildcats girls team, which has played in three consecutive state tournaments. Some of the Wildcats players were even in the stands five years ago to watch Dodge County play in the 2021 state tournament, amid COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, when it reached the championship game.

But skating on the home ice of an NHL team, getting introduced before the game to a state-wide television audience, and being the ones to represent the co-op program that includes the Kasson-Mantorville, Byron and Triton school districts, is a different experience than watching.

Dodge County showed no nerves. It held its ground Wednesday for more than 30 minutes, trailing just 1-0 with two minutes to go in the second.

“Obviously, we’re all amped up out here to be here, and we just came out hot,” Coshenet said. “And, if we would have maintained that, I think we could have had a better outcome. But it was definitely — we were all jittered up and getting it going. And I think starting off hot like that is going to help.”

But Section 7 champion Hibbing/Chisholm — led by senior forward Tate Carlson, one of 10 finalists for the 2026 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award — took control late in the second.

The Bluejackets opened the scoring five minutes into the period on a goal by Carlson.

Dodge County had a golden opportunity to tie the score with 4:34 to go in the second, when Koch forced a turnover, then skated past a defender and in alone against Bluejackets goalie Gavin Lamphere. Koch looked to shoot five-hole and said he elevated the puck a hair too much, and Lamphere made a pad save.

Then, with 1:27 to go in the second, Carlson won a faceoff in the Dodge County zone and the puck slid to the wall, where Isaiah Hildenbrand won a battle with two Wildcats for it, skated past another defender and put it around the leg pad of WIldcats goalie Wes Wegner.

Hibbing/Chisholm wasn’t content to go into the intermission with a 2-0 lead, though. The Bluejackets buzzed off the ensuing faceoff and after Wegner made back-to-back saves on a scramble, the Joe Gabardi was there to poke a rebound into an open net for a 3-0 lead.

“From watching video, if you give Hibbing an inch, they’re going to take a mile,” Wilcox said. “Their transition game is phenomenal. It’s the best in the state. It was unfortunate to get to the end of a period where your guys start running out of gas a little bit. … It’s a storm we needed to weather. Climbing a 3-0 mountain in the third is a lot different than if it’s 1-0 or 2-0.”

Sophomore defenseman Whitaker Rewertz, who has 46 points this season, made it 4-0 when he sniped the top corner with 5:34 to go in the game.

Though the Bluejackets got four, Wegner was outstanding, making 43 saves on a day when the puck never seemed to stop coming at him.

“It’s definitely a lot of pressure,” he said with a smile. “I think once I get that first shot, it’s definitely a lot of weight off my shoulders. (Facing) 47 shots in a game, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that many shots other than our last game against Northfield. But it’s a lot of pressure to get that many shots.”

Dodge County snapped the shutout bid when freshman Nolan Steele scored a highlight-reel goal worthy of ESPN’s SportsCenter. Steele gathered the puck at his feet just in front of Hibbing/Chisholm goalie Gavin Lamphere. As Lamphere moved to his right, Steele put the puck between his legs, then reached his stick between his legs and fired the puck into the top of the net.

Though the outcome wasn’t what the Wildcats wanted, their season isn’t done. If they win Thursday, they’ll have the day off Friday, then play for fifth place at 10 a.m. Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

HIBBING/CHISHOLM 4, DODGE COUNTY 1

Dodge County 0-0-1 — 1

Hibbing/Chisholm 0-3-1 — 4

First period — no scoring. Second period — 1. HC, Tate Swanson 28 (Hunter Gustavsson 10, Jackson Strukel 19) 5:01. 2. HC, Isaiah Hildenbrand 18 (T. Swanson 43) 15:33. 3. HC, Joe Gabardi 6 (Whitaker Rewertz 26, Ben Galli 13) 16:31. Third period — 4. HC, Whitaker Rewertz 11 (Blake Riccio 7) 11:26. 5. DC, Nolan Steele 19 (Braylon Fredrickson 4, Maxwell Hain 5) 13:44.

Shots on goal — DC 8-4-6 — 18; HC 11-22-14 — 47.

Goalies — DC, Wes Wegner 43 saves (47 shots); HC, Gavin Lamphere 17 saves (18 shots).

Power-play opportunities — DC, 0-for-3. HC, 0-for-3. Penalties — DC, 3-6 minutes; HC, 3-6 minutes.