This year’s girls hockey state tournament has a tall task to top the excitement of last year’s.

Both of the 2025 championship games went to overtime and saw teams avenge title game losses from the prior year. Hill-Murray beat Edina 4-3, and Dodge County won its first title with a 5-4 win over Warroad in double overtime.

In our Strib Varsity state tournament takes, we predict that one team will run it back, and another will get some tourney revenge. No matter which two teams are raising trophies at Grand Casino Arena on Feb. 21, it should be a week of great hockey.

Before the tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 18, check out the schedule and our swing at predicting how games will play out:

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

11 a.m. Thursday: No. 8 Lakeville North (17-9-2) vs. No. 1 Hill-Murray (23-3-1)

1 p.m. Thursday: No. 5 Bemidji (20-5-1) vs. No. 4 Edina (20-4-3)

6 p.m. Thursday: No. 7 Farmington (22-4-1) vs. No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park (24-3-1)

8 p.m. Thursday: No. 6 Andover (17-10-1) vs. No. 3 Holy Family (24-3)

Trio at the top

No. 1 Hill-Murray, No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park and No. 3 Holy Family separated themselves atop Class 2A by the turn of the new year, beating up on one another through the regular season. None of the seven matchups between any combo of the three teams was decided by more than two goals.

These squads are all deep and likely (though, of course, nothing is guaranteed) to avoid the ranked upset No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park faced last year at the hands of No. 7 Rosemount.

Prediction: The three top seeds all make it through their quarterfinals.

In 2024, three of the four Class 2A quarterfinals were decided by five goals or more, though in 2025, all games finished within a two-goal gap.

Expect Andover, Farmington (both returning lower seeds from last year’s tournament) and Lakeville North to try to make it look like the latter.

The inevitable Edina, and Bemidji’s back

Edina may be 0-4 against the top three seeds, but it would be silly to count out an experienced team that’s been at every state tournament since 2015, winning five titles and finishing runner-up twice in that span, including last year.

But Bemidji, with the No. 5 seed, is a tough squad looking to make the most of its first trip to state since 2007.

Prediction: In the quarterfinals, the Lumberjacks come up just short as the Hornets clinch the win with a late empty-netter, 3-1.

Semifinals

6 p.m. Friday: Winners of No. 1/8 and No. 4/5

8 p.m. Friday: Winners of No. 2/7 and No. 3/6

Predictions: Hill-Murray, which beat Edina 4-3 in November, wins the rematch of the last two Class 2A championship games, this time in the semis.

Centennial/Spring Lake Park and Holy Family split their four regular-season meetings this year, battling through three one-goal games.

A semifinal between the two teams, both looking for their first state title, is another great matchup as Holy Family gets past the No. 2 seed, winning 3-2 in overtime.

Championship

7 p.m. Saturday: Winners of Friday semifinals

Prediction: Like last year, the Pioneers peak at the right time, repeating their late-season win over Holy Family, this time in a 4-3 championship victory.

Class 1A

Quarterfinals

11 a.m. Wednesday: No. 8 Luverne (19-9) vs. No. 1 Warroad (21-5-1)

1 p.m. Wednesday: No. 5 Proctor/Hermantown (18-6-2) vs. No. 4 Dodge County (20-6-1)

6 p.m. Wednesday: No. 7 St. Cloud (18-9) vs. No. 2 Breck (25-1-1)

8 p.m. Wednesday: No. 6 Mankato East (24-2-1) vs. No. 3 Blake (21-6)

Prediction: The Mirage, on their sixth consecutive trip to state, double down on their 5-1 December win over Dodge County and deny a semifinal rematch of the last two state championship games between Dodge County and Warroad.

Mankato East’s high-scoring offense, led by sophomore forwards Laina Peterson and Ella Fugazzi, makes Blake’s matchup require an overtime winner, but the top three seeds advance.

Semifinals

11 a.m. Friday: Winners of No. 1/8 and No. 4/5

1 p.m. Friday: Winners of No. 2/7 and No. 3/6

Prediction: Warroad hasn’t lost to a Class 1A team all season and opened the season with a 4-1 win over Proctor/Hermantown. The Warriors return to their fifth consecutive Class 1A title game.

Meanwhile, the Breck and Blake rivalry writes a new chapter, this time in the state tournament.

The two metro private schools used to share a section, and after Breck won its first Class 1A state title in 2012, Blake kept a hard grasp on their section’s state tournament bid — and made the most of it, winning four state titles in five years.

Once Blake opted up into Class 2A for a few years, Breck went on a streak of its own, with three straight 1A championships from 2018-20.

Breck outscored Blake 10-2 in the teams’ three regular-season matchups, and the Mustangs add to that in the semis with another defeat of the Bears.

Championship

4 p.m. Saturday: Winners of Friday semifinals

Prediction: Breck stays in it until the third period, but state tournament experience wins out, and Warroad gets back on top of Class 1A, winning 3-1 for its fourth title in five years.

Fun fact: With the return of Breck and Blake to the state tournament, this year’s Class 1A field includes the five winners of every Class 1A title since 2016.