Mahtomedi was walloped by rival Hermantown in the first period of Friday’s Class A state semifinal at the Xcel Energy Center.

The Zephyrs trailed 4-0 after the period, a stanza in which they were outshot 16-5. What does a coach say in that locker room in that moment?

“You come in after being down 4-0, and go, ‘OK, we’ve got them right where we want them,’” Mahtomedi’s Jeff Poeschl joked.

Then, you get serious.

“Basically, I said we have a choice in front of us,” he said. “We can either roll over and die, just throw up our hands and pack up our stuff and go, or we can make a decision to make a game of it.”

His players chose the latter. And, for that, the coach couldn’t be prouder.

The defending state champs went down swinging — throwing haymakers, really — before falling 7-6 to the Hawks in overtime.

Yes, overtime.

Mahtomedi outscored Hermantown 6-2 over the final two periods of regulation, including a pair of goals with an empty net and an extra attacker in the final two minutes of the third, as Sam Harris found the back of the net with 1 minute, 52 seconds to play and Max Strecker equalized the contest 62 seconds later. Poeschl seemed to have a look of shock on his face.

“I don’t know how many thousands of people were here today, but they probably would’ve had the same expression on their face,” Poeschl said. “(Like), ‘This really happened?’”

Mahtomedi outshot top-seeded Hermantown 16-3 in the third frame and appeared to have all the momentum heading into the extra session. But Hermantown — a championship program in its own right — found a way to make a play when it needed it most.

Henry Martinsen forced a turnover in the Zephyrs’ defensive zone. AJ Francisco — who had a hat trick of his own for the Hawks — fed River Freeman, who put away the game-deciding goal to send Hermantown into the Class A final.

The Hawks will meet third-seeded St. Cloud Cathedral in Saturday’s title game at noon back at the X.

“Just the composure from these two to make that moment in that play, gassed, that was impressive,” Hermantown coach Patrick Andrews said. “I knew once we got into the overtime and out of that crappy third period, I just knew we were going to win. Because this team is so good at clawing.”

Clawing didn’t look to be a necessity given the way the game’s first 17 minutes transpired. But once Mahtomedi got on the board — which it did with Harris’ first of two goals midway through the second, momentum started to shift. Then Jake Hodd-Chlebeck scored on the power play to make it 4-2, and it was game on.

“That first one was huge,” Zephyrs defenseman Cole Swanson said. “Once we got the second one, we were rolling.”

Even when Hermantown would score to add more cushion, Mahtomedi’s resolve never seemed to wane. Every Mahtomedi charge brought louder roars from its massive student section.

“In the game, it feels like everyone is against you, almost,” said Hermantown’s Weston Bohlman, who scored in the first period. “You hear everything when Mahtomedi scores, obviously. And that can kind of get to you, because you feel like the whole arena is against you.”

And yet, the Hawks found a way, reversing the script from the last two state tournament meetings between these two teams — the semifinals last season and the 2020 title game, both of which Mahtomedi won in dramatic fashion.

“They’ve ripped my heart out in this exact same situation the last two times we’ve played in this tournament,” Andrews said. “So yeah, there’s doubts in the back of your mind that come creeping in, but you’ve got to push them down and trust the boys, and they fricken battled.”

Both sides did, adding another epic chapter to this rivalry’s saga.

“Note to self: Don’t give Hermantown a 4-0 lead. We knew we needed a better start than we had, but we were where we were, and now it’s just a matter of trying to climb back out,” Poeschl said. “But as far as the group goes, just so proud of their grit and their resiliency. To be able to score two goals with your goaltender pulled late just shows a tremendous amount of heart and belief that, ‘OK, we can do this.’ It’s just a fun thing when everybody is pulling in the same direction, and I was proud of the way my guys were able to turn things around today.

“Obviously, super disappointed that we weren’t able to finish it off, but proud of the way that they battled back.”

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