Hill-Murray overcomes stunning start for successful title defense

SAINT PAUL – A reporter shared with Hill-Murray coach Bill Schafhauser his observation that the Pioneers appeared to be uptight in the first period of their Class 2A girls’ state championship game against Minnetonka.

“You’d be uptight too … if you got scored on the first shift,” Shafhauser quipped.

But the Pioneers persevered through that early deficit and sluggish first period to rally for a 2-1 win over Minnetonka and capture a second consecutive state championship on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Jess Bonfe notched the game winner 2:03 into the second period and the Pioneers withstood a late Minnetonka surge to defend their title in their third straight trip, and fourth overall, to St. Paul.

“Hats off to Hill-Murray, they were a better team tonight,” Minnetonka coach Eric Johnson said. “They’re deep, they’re fast, they rebounded after the first period and they played really good hockey.”

The teams took turns outplaying the other in the first two periods so it was only appropriate the east and west metro powers would be tied 1-1 entering the third.

Shortly thereafter, however, Pioneer junior forward Jac Kaasa won a battle below the goal line before feeding the puck to an open Bonfe in the slot and the senior forward netted her 26th of the year and, perhaps, the biggest goal of her career.

Just as Blake did in the Class 1A title game, Minnetonka jumped out to a quick lead just 21 seconds after the opening faceoff. The Skippers’ Lucy Hoelscher carried the puck out of the left corner and fed a pass to the weak-side post to a waiting Emma Bigham who buried it for a 1-0 Tonka lead.

Hill-Murray coach Bill Schafhauser said the early goal was a “kind of a stunner” and threw his team off in the opening period.

“It threw me off and I can’t imagine the girls were much different,” Schafhauser said. “But it took some time to work through that, fortunately we kind of weathered it and [played] probably our best second period we’ve had in a long time.”

“It was really unexpected but we kind of took it, turned it around and just took that as energy,” Bonfe said.

Hill-Murray potted the equalizer when Laura Anderson carried the puck down the left side to the bottom of the circle before roofing a short-side wrist shot over Minnetonka goaltender Tatyana Delaittre’s shoulder at 10:43 of the second. The goal was the fourth of the tournament for Anderson who, along with teammate Meckenzie Steffen, was named to the All-Tournament team.

“They capitalized on a couple of our turnovers, had speed through the neutral zone and they’re a very, very good team,” Johnson said. “Our girls competed extremely hard and we thought this game would be a one-goal game, close matchup, and it was.”

The Pioneers nearly took their first lead with just over a minute to play in the second period but were thwarted by Minnetonka All-Tournament defenseman Kelsey Crow’s quick reflexes.

Hill-Murray’s Abigail Boreen fired a shot from the right circle which caromed off Crow’s skate and headed for the goal line. But as Crow fell back toward the crease she managed to get a stick on the puck and send it out of harm’s way.

Crow demonstrated maturity beyond her years and exhibited tremendous grace in defeat while recalling the goal she and her teammates set prior to the season to simply win their section and earn a chance to compete for another state title.

“We accomplished exactly what we set out to do,” Crow said. “State was just icing on the cake. It’s really tough to win state, to be the one out of 64 teams to be the No. 1 team in the state, and I think just winning sections and getting to state is the biggest accomplishment there is.

“In the end it comes down to the small things and Hill-Murray just did it better than us.”

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Bergland goal lifts Thief River Falls over two-time defending champ Blake

SAINT PAUL –When Thief River Falls hired Whitney Restemayer to be the next coach of their girls’ hockey team in 2014-2015, Restemayer took on the task of ending the Prowlers’ state tournament drought.

Thief River Falls fell to East Grand Forks 2-1 in double overtime in the Section 8A final last season, falling just short of their first state tournament appearance and the players on Thief River Falls made clear to their new head coach that needed to change.

“They were really upset that we were not here last year,” Restemayer said. “We had that conversation of, ‘I know you want it and I want it as much as you do, so we’re going to do everything we can to make it [to state]’.”

Not only did the Prowlers make their first state appearance in school history in 2015, they won the whole thing. Thief River Falls dethroned the two-time defending Class 1A state champion Blake 3-1 in the 2015 state final on Saturday evening at the Xcel Energy Center. After defeating the Blake School, who some argue should move up to 2A, the Prowlers couldn’t have been happier with ruining the Bears’ plan for a three-peat.

“To come in and show not only a metro school, but also a private school kind of what we’ve got, I’m proud to be apart of it,” Restemayer said. “We succeeded in not only showing what Northern Minnesota has but also what Thief River Falls has.”

But right away in the state championship, it was Blake who showed what they have.

After firing a shot on the Blake net, Thief River Falls turned over the puck in the neutral zone and Bears junior forward Carly Bullock took advantage as she sped down the ice and scored off a backhand shot, just 21 seconds into the state final.

The Blake Bears also limited a Prowler offense that averaged nearly 56 shots through the first two state tournament games. But even with the Bears’ ability to limit Thief River Falls to a tournament low 28 shots, the Prowlers netted the equalizer when sophomore forward Kora Torkelson knocked in a loose puck sitting in the Blake crease. Torkelson’s goal, her third of the tournament, came in the final 18 seconds of a Thief River Falls power play.

Bears goaltender Anna Kruesel played a key role in slowing down the Prowler offensive attack, even making saves without a stick. Yet, the freshman couldn’t quite get her glove in the way of a top-shelf goal from Prowler forward Emily Bergland that gave Thief River Falls a 2-1 lead with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.

For the senior forward, it was a surreal moment sealing the deal for her team.

“I knew I had to get it up top,” Bergland said. “Once I saw [the puck] go in, it was unbelievable.”

Unbelievable also describes Restemayer’s first season as head coach of Thief River Falls, where she won a state championship against state-tournament-regular Blake for both the Thief River Falls community and Northern Minnesota.

“Our girls just saw it as another game, but there was a little a grit behind that saying, ‘we’re from small town Northern Minnesota and we’re going to put our stamp on this’,” Restemayer said.

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Edina puts Hill-Murray loss behind them to earn third place

SAINT PAUL – After heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Hill-Murray the night before, Edina coach Laura Slominski wasn’t quite sure how her team would respond this morning. But she was proud of what she found out about her players’ resolve.

Much to their coach’s delight, the Hornets bounced back from their semifinal defeat to skate away with a third-place trophy after a 3-1 win over Lakeville South on Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.

Freshman forward Emily Oden’s 5-on-3 power-play goal 4:25 into the third period was the difference in a tight-checking affair which saw the Cougars outshoot the Hornets 17-14. Senior Taylor Williamson scored twice, including an empty netter, to notch her 39th and 40th goals of the season.

“We had a conversation last night about how you kind of can grieve the loss but we wanted to wake up this morning and just have that energy to us,” Slominski said. “The first time I saw our team this morning I was so impressed and that just goes back to our senior leadership.

“Ultimately, you’re playing for third place in the state of Minnesota and that’s a pretty big deal.”

Williamson, a vital cog to the senior leadership Slominski alluded to, spoke with tear-filled eyes about her teammates after the game.

“It was so much fun to just come together again for one more win and just give it everything we had,” Williamson said. “This team is more special than any other team I’ve gotten to play with. We are so close, we are just a family, and to us it was really just leaving everything that we could on that ice today.”

Williamson got the Hornets on the board, tying the game at 1-1 at 12:46 of the second period firing a shot from the high slot past Lakeville south goalie Chloe Crosby.

“She’s obviously been a star for us for years and this year she stepped up her game even more,” Slominski said. “We wouldn’t have been in this tournament had it not been for her, not just because of the on-ice stuff she brings, but because of the leader that she is.”

Williamson praised the Cougars’ defensive effort while also saying she actually enjoyed playing in a game in which every square inch of ice was so tightly contested.

“They had some amazing players out there and they’re very strong on their sticks,” Williamson said. “It’s really fun just to get to play in games that really challenges you like that.”

Lakeville South opened the scoring at 5:52 of the second period on a goal by Morgan Morse, her 33rd of the season and fifth of the tournament. Morse’s five goals accounted for the Cougars’ entire goal -scoring output in their three games in St. Paul.

“I think our biggest frustration is, if you look at all three games, we outshot our opponents and most possession was in their end,” Lakeville South coach Natalie Darwitz said. “We just don’t have the skill the other team has to bury them.

“If we said going into this tournament only one person’s going to score our goals … you’re not betting on Lakeville South then, are you?”

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Taylor Heise makes the most of shot at redemption in  3-2 Red Wing win

SAINT PAUL – All Taylor Heise wanted was another chance. Her Red Wing teammates are thankful she got it.

The freshman forward who missed an open net early in the third period, bounced back to score the game winner with 52.4 seconds remaining in the Wingers’ 3-2 Class 1A girls’ third-place win over South St. Paul on Saturday morning at Xcel Energy Center.

After watching her redirect of a 2-on-1 pass from teammate Reagan Haley sail over the crossbar the Wingers up 2-0 to start the final period, Heise wasn’t about to let the opportunity get away when the identical situation presented itself in the final minute.

“When I missed that [first one] I was really mad,” Heise admitted. “But when we came back I said I wasn’t going to miss the second one.”

Heise scored twice, with Haley assisting on each, after Kayla Oberding opened the scoring at 9:50 into the game. The win gives Red Wing and coach Scott Haley a third straight, and fourth overall, Class 1A third-place trophy.

“We are the master of the third-place game,” coach Haley said. “That’s a three-peat.”

Before Heise’s misfire, Red Wing nearly extended its lead to 3-0 with half a minute to play in the second but was thwarted by the brilliant effort of South St. Paul goalie Sydney Conley.

With Red Wing’s Maddy Hardyman racing into the Packers’ zone all alone, Conley opted to charge at the Winger’s junior forward, knocking the puck away with a diving poke check above the hash marks. Conley then quickly recovered to deny Haley, a Minnesota-Duluth recruit, with a terrific toe save.

In the ensuing mayhem Conley pulled down a Red Wing player to earn herself a tripping penalty to complete an eventful 20-second sequence. Conley said her decision to challenge Hardyman the way she did was a matter of her instincts taking over.

“It was kind of just an adrenaline rush,” Conley said. “I was just, ‘I might as well do something and not let her have a chance,’ and it worked my way.”

“It was as great a goaltending display that I’ve ever seen, I think,” South St. Paul coach Dave Palmquist said. “I mean, it was point-blank robbing them, stealing goals from them.

“We kind of motivated the team by saying, ‘Look at what your senior goaltender is willing to do for you guys, you guys gotta pick it up,” and in the third period we played really well and were right there, it just didn’t go our way today.”

The Packers indeed came back in the third to tie the game on goals by AJ Deering and Taylor Cashman 3:03 apart past the period’s halfway mark making Heise’s heroics necessary.

“To get the two goals to tie it up, that was a great effort, gutty effort,” Palmquist said. “Except for the end result, I’m really happy with the way we played today and, obviously our goaltender was again outstanding.”

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Keller scores twice as Minnetonka returns to title game

SAINT PAUL – Lakeville South appeared destined to head to the first intermission of Friday night’s Class 2A girls’ state semifinal matchup with top-ranked Minnetonka trailing by just a goal. But Skippers’ star Kippin Keller quickly reminded the Cougars — along with everyone else at Xcel Energy Center — that periods are 17 minutes long, not merely 16:57.

Keller drove to the net from the left corner on her backhand before tucking the puck between the legs of Lakeville South goalie Chloe Crosby with just 2.1 ticks left on the first-period clock. Adding insult to injury, Keller scored again 1:08 into the second to send the Skippers on their way to a 5-1 win and a return to the title game for the 2013 state champions.

While acknowledging she had no idea how much time was left leading up to her first goal, Keller is aware of the impact her pair of goals 71 seconds apart had on her team.

“I definitely think it got us some more confidence and some more momentum going into the period and ending the period,” Keller said.

Minnetonka goaltender Tatyana Delaittre took it from there, only allowing a late Morgan Morse goal — her fourth of the tournament — to finish with 27 saves.

“Lakeville played an awesome game and they’re a tough team to play against,” Johnson said. “We were just fortunate to get some goals and some bounces and Kippin was a big part of that Taty did a great job of shutting the door.”

A bit of a fluky goal got Minnetonka on the board first just short of the 10 minute mark of the opening period. Camille Von Steinbergs’ shot from the left point was stopped by Crosby but Lakeville South’s Kelsey Olsen’s clearing attempt rebounded off Skippers’ forward Emma Bigham’s skate and into the Cougar net.

“It was just one of those nights where the hockey gods were not on our side,” Lakeville South coach Natalie Darwitz said. “It’s too bad that, the stage we were on, it happened to be tonight. I think if we played them again it’s a different story.”

Awaiting the Skippers is defending state champion Hill-Murray, 2-1 winners over Edina earlier in the evening. The matchup of the past two state title holders promises to be a memorable one.

“Hill-Murray’s deep and they’re talented and we respect them a lot,” Johnson said. “I think it’s going to be a close game, it’s going to come down to who’s making the plays.”

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Hill-Murray tops Edina 2-1 despite Goldstein’s 45 saves

SAINT PAUL – Edina goaltender Anna Goldstein constantly denied the Hill-Murray Pioneers scoring opportunities with 45 saves in the Class 2A semifinal game, Friday. From doing the splits to stopping the Pioneers on the breakaway, Goldstein put her body on the line to stop just about every puck.

But she had no chance on Laura Anderson’s late power-play tally which gave her team a 2-1 Class 2A girls’ state hockey semifinal victory over Edina at the Xcel Energy Center.

After the Pioneers went on a five-minute power play, Anderson converted as she put the puck in an open Edina net with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.

As wide open as the Edina net was, the junior forward worried the shot was too easy.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t whiff so I tried to get [the puck] into the net fast,” Anderson said.

With the win, the Pioneers return to the state championship for the second consecutive year and will face the winner of the Lakeville South vs. Minnetonka game.

When Edina forward Taylor Williamson clobbered a Pioneer player on an open ice check, she received a five minute major for contact to the head with 8:57 left in the game. Only one thing went through Anderson’s mind as her team went on the five-minute power play.

“I just knew we needed to capitalize on the moment and get shots on net and crash the net,” Anderson said

Anderson did just that when she scored the eventual game-winner, but they couldn’t celebrate the victory just yet. Pioneer Mekenzie Steffen headed to the box with just under two minutes remaining in regulation for interference. And with Edina pulling Goldstein, the Hornets had 6-on-4 hockey for the final 1:44.

Despite a barrage of shots as the clock ticked down in the final minute, the Hill-Murray defense and goaltender Leah Patrick held strong and preserved the victory, something they hope they can do again in less than 24 hours.

“During that time, I trusted my team and trusted Leah [Patrick] and the players and knew that somehow we’d find a way to win,” Anderson said.

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Prowlers act like they’ve been there before in beating Packers

SAINT PAUL – The South St. Paul girls’ hockey team is no stranger to state tournaments. The 2015 girls’ state hockey tournament is the Packers’ 14th in their history, the most of any school in Minnesota. For the Thief River Falls Prowlers who made their first state tournament in girls’ hockey history in 2015, facing a state tournament tested team such as the Packers may have seemed a daunting task.

But not for the Prowlers.

Thief River Falls overcame their lack of state tournament experience to outlast South St. Paul 4-1 in the Class 1A state girls’ hockey semifinal. The Prowlers will move on to play in their first ever state final against the reigning state champion Blake Bears Saturday afternoon at the Xcel Energy Center.

“It’s nice to put a Thief River falls stamp on it,” Prowlers coach Whitney Restemayer said. “Not only are we the only Thief team to be here, but we are beating good teams too that have a lot of history and have been here a lot. We’re just doing our thing.”

Even with a 53-8 final shot differential in their favor, the Prowlers found themselves only up 2-1 with 13:44 left in regulation after Packer forward Corbyn Jenkins took a pass and buried the puck just inside the left pipe.

Despite the lack of experience with close games at state, Thief River Falls displayed the confidence of a veteran squad when faced with adversity.

“I could hear it on the bench, ‘we’re going to put up one more. This game is ours’,” Restemayer said.

The Prowler bench turned out to be right when junior defenseman Briana Jorde went five-hole on Packer goaltender Sydney Conley with 1:42 left in the game to give her team the 3-1 lead.

With Jorde sealing the victory with her goal, the Prowlers are set to play for their first state championship, Saturday. As they look to make history themselves, they hope to end a historic storyline for the Blake Bears.

“We are trying to make a history for ourselves and be that team to win the state tournament. But it would also be kind of nice to be that team that ends Blake’s [two year] streak.”

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Freshman breaks scoreless tie sparking Blake over Red Wing

[ Box Score ] | [ Game Sheet ]

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.”

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Morse hat trick enough for Lakeville South to nip Blaine

[ Box Score ] | [ Game Sheet ]

SAINT PAUL – Senior forward Morgan Morse made her last appearance in the state tournament as an eighth-grader in 2011 when the Lakeville South Cougars fell short to Hill-Murray 4-3 in the state quarterfinal.

Morse single-handedly made sure that didn’t happen again four years later.

With a hat-trick performance, Morse lifted her team past the Blaine Bengals with a 3-1 Class 2A quarterfinal victory Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center. The Cougars will face the top-seeded Minnetonka on Friday night at 8 p.m.

Lakeville South coach Natalie Darwitz, a former Eagan star who saw her fair share of state tournaments, believes the real Morgan Morse was on display Thursday night.

“I think Morgan [Morse] is one of the most underrated players in the state,” Darwitz said. “No doubt that there is a great senior class of hockey players. But I don’t think [Morse] got the credit she deserved all year.”

Blaine’s Sam Auman fires a shot toward the Lakeville North net as the Cougars’ Kelsey Olsen defends. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

While she may not have been given credit all year, Morse was given credit for three goals in the first night of the state tournament. Compared to her experience at state in eighth grade, Morse’s 2015 state tournament is already off to a better start.

“This year is a lot more exciting,” Morse said. “My eighth grade year, I maybe got a few shifts here and there. But now being one of the lead players getting shift after shift, it’s much more exciting when you get to experience everything in a better view.”

Before the state tournament even started, Morse experienced what she called the biggest play of her career when she ended Lakeville South’s four-year state tournament drought with an overtime winner against cross-town rival Lakeville North in the section 1AA final.

Now set to play the battle-tested Minnetonka Skippers in Friday night’s state semifinal, the Lakeville South Cougars may very well need Morse to make another big play in order for them to play for a state championship.

And if Thursday’s hat trick performance is any indication, Morse will be more than ready to provide a spark for the Cougars.

“Getting that goal to finish [the game] off just lit a match and it just kept me rolling,” Morse said of her game-winning goal in the section final. “It’s exciting to be back and not being at home if we had lost that game.”

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Keller scores twice to lead Tonka over Andover

[ Box Score ] | [ Game Sheet ]

SAINT PAUL – Left wing Kippin Keller, a former member of the Benilde-St. Margaret Red Knights, is no stranger to the state tournament. As an underclassman, Keller and the Knights made a trip to the state final. But now as an upperclassman, she hoped her state tournament experience could provide leadership opportunities at state in 2015.

And Keller is off to a strong start in her new role with Minnetonka.

Keller scored two goals in Minnetonka’s 5-0 victory over the Andover Huskies in the Class 2A girls’ state hockey quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center. The Skippers will play the winner of the Lakeville South-Blaine game, on Friday at 8 pm.

In her first state game as a Skipper, Keller enjoyed herself as a leader.

“I think it went well,” Keller said. “I think the team helps out a lot. Presley [Norby], my linemate having her there and this team is always grinding and going 100 percent, so it is really fun to play with them.”

Minnetonka didn’t make the trip to the Xcel Energy Center last year after winning the state championship in 2013, so Keller helped speed up the re-acclimation process.

Minnetonka peppered Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo all night while limiting the Huskies to just four shots on goal in Thursday’s win. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

After Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo deflected the initial shot, Keller came from behind and knocked the puck in as it sat in the crease. And just two minutes later, Skipper Emma Bigham took the puck and went five-hole on Stumo, giving Minnetonka a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

While the Skippers often found success on offense, the Huskies couldn’t say the same. The Huskies’ struggled to muster anything offensively all game. With only four shots through three periods, Andover didn’t even register a shot in the third period.

“Our plan was to try and control the puck and work it into the offensive end,” Minnetonka head coach Eric Johnson said. “They were clogging up the middle in the neutral zone and in their own defensive zone. We wanted to move the puck around the perimeter, but then eventually get it to the net.”

Keller not only provided her team a strong start in the game, but also the state tournament, allowing her team to re-adjust to the state atmosphere in pursuit of another championship.

“I definitely wanted to get ahead because everyone can settle down and take a deep breath and relax,” Keller said. “Just having a good start, you know you can have a good game and not get frustrated.”

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