Bears Chute back to title game

Freshman breaks scoreless tie sparking Blake over Red Wing

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SAINT PAUL – For almost two periods, the Blake Bears couldn’t figure out Red Wing goaltender Ashley Corcoran.

From making glove saves to stopping second and third rebounds, Corcoran stifled the Blake offensive attack. The Bears continued to pepper her with shots, but they couldn’t figure out the Winger puzzle named Ashley Corcoran.

But with 1:07 left in the second period, center Sarah Chute solved the complex puzzle.

Chute took the puck down the ice and buried the puck just over Corcoran’s left pad, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

After Chute figured out Corcoran, her teammates followed suit. The No. 2 seeded Blake Bears scored two more goals to defeat Red Wing 3-0 in the Class 1A girls’ state hockey semifinal.

Coach Shawn Reid and the Blake Bears look forward to playing for a third consecutive Class 1A girls’ state title on Saturday. (MH Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

The Bears now move on to the Class 1A state championship game where they will face the winner of Thief River Falls and South St. Paul Saturday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center.

While she is only a freshman on a team with talented seniors, Chute brought it upon herself to be the player who began the scoring run.

“Someone had to do it, so it was great to get momentum for our team,” Chute said.

Even though Corcoran gave up three goals, her performance on the back end of the Red Wing defense kept her team in the game with the reigning state champion Blake Bears. Her 44 saves on the day after a shutout on Wednesday doesn’t surprise her head coach Scott Haley because he knows the work Corcoran puts in.

“She’s probably the hardest working player on our team,” Haley said. “She is on the ice first and she is on the ice after [the team leaves]. The amount of time and effort she has put in to become a better goaltender is incredible.”

Despite the strong goaltending from Corcoran, senior forward Jordan Chancellor later scored two goals in the third period. But Chancellor said it was Chute’s goal that ultimately sent the Bears back to the state championship where they will look to win their third straight.

“It was really important to get that momentum going into the third period after Chute scored and that carried us through the game,” Chancellor said. “You get the first one and it was really good for our team to be able to capitalize on that and take the game into our own hands.”