Final results from girls hockey Class 1A and 2A semifinals at Grand Casino Arena
Strib VarsityWarroad and Breck will face off in Saturday’s 1A final. Hill-Murray will play Centennial/Spring Lake Park in 2A.
By Cassidy Hettesheimer, Olivia Hicks and Heather Rule
The Minnesota Star Tribune
There are four teams remaining in the Minnesota State High School League girls hockey state tournament.
Warroad and Breck will play for the Class 1A state title after winning their semifinal games on Friday, Feb. 20, at Grand Casino Arena, while Centennial/Spring Lake Park and Hill-Murray will square off in Class 2A.
Catch up on what happened in Thursday’s Class 2A quarterfinals and the Class 1A quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Find box scores of each game on Strib Varsity. Here is the bracket for 2A, and here is the bracket for 1A.
The championship games will be streamed on prep45.
Friday’s semifinal results
Class 1A
Warroad 6, Dodge County 5, OT
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Breck 3, Blake 2
Class 2A
Hill-Murray 3, Edina 2
Recent Coverage
Centennial/Spring Lake Park 8, Holy Family 2
Saturday’s championship schedule
Class 1A
4 p.m. Breck vs. Warroad
Class 2A
7 p.m. Hill-Murray vs. Centennial/Spring Lake Park
Read the replay of Friday’s action below:
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Cougars were ‘on one’ in semifinal rout
Centennial/SLP tallied seven goals in its state quarterfinal against Farmington. For an encore, they Cougars decided to go one better in the semifinals, getting goals from eight different players and points from 11 in an 8-2 victory over Holy Family.
No. 2 Centennial/SLP (26-3-1) took control midway through the game. They scored four goals on eight shots in the second period in their victory over No. 3 Holy Family (24-4) on Friday, Feb. 21, at Grand Casino Arena.
Cougars coach Sean Molin said it was one of the best games the program has played in his tenure.
“We didn’t expect it to go like that,” Molin said. “With our energy before the game, I really thought we were in for a good game. But they’re a really good team. They’ve got a really good goalie.
“I think we were really just kind of on one today.”
The Cougars took a 1-0 lead when sophomore Mia Sutch scored her 25th goal of the season only 55 seconds into the first period. She took the puck across to the right circle and buried a bar-down shot.
But Holy Family responded about three minutes later, tying the game only 20 seconds into its first power play. Senior winger Maddy Kimbrel got a feed in front and scored off her own rebound for her eighth power-play goal of the season.
Holy Family couldn’t capitalize on a couple of power-play chances early in the second period, then the Cougars got a favorable bounce to help them take the lead. Grace Laager’s shot bounced high in the air, into the crease, off the goaltender’s back and into the net to put Centennial/SLP ahead 2-1.
Just 13 seconds later, sophomore Annabelle Buccicone’s shot through traffic pushed the Cougars’ lead to 3-1. Centennial/SLP still didn’t feel comfortable, not after it took a 6-3 lead over Farmington and had to hold on in a 7-5 win.
“I think that was a really good game to start off with,” Laager said. “In the state tournament, everyone’s fighting for their season. So, we didn’t get too comfortable, and we just kept going.”
Ms. Hockey Finalist Alaina Gnetz scored on the power play for her 36th goal of the season to extend the Cougars’ lead to 4-1. Then Jozie Kelzenberg scored with 43.8 seconds left in the second period to give Centennial/SLP a four-goal cushion at the second intermission.
Katie Ball scored about four minutes into the third period, and this time Kimbrel had a quick answer for Holy Family only 17 seconds later to make it 6-2. Madeline Wolter and Avery Wagner rounded out the scoring for the night.
The Cougars are 3-2 against Holy Family this season. Three of Holy Family’s four losses came against the Cougars.
“Obviously, the game didn’t go our way tonight,” Holy Family coach Randy Koeppl said. “We played hard. We did a lot of good things. Didn’t get a lot of breaks, with the puck going in the net.
“It’s a tough one. It’s a tough one.”
Holy Family allowed a season-high seven goals, and Koeppl acknowledged senior goaltender Kayla Swartout (23-3-0, 1.49 goals-against average with a .944 save percentage coming into the game) “didn’t have her best game tonight.” But the Cougars are a deep, potent offense. They scored at least eight goals in a game for the 10th time this season Friday.
The Cougars face defending champion Hill-Murray on Saturday seeking their first state championship.
— Heather Rule
Final: Centennial/SLP 8, Holy Family 2
Avery Wagner added another with 5:40 to play in the third period. She was the eighth different Cougars player to score a goal and 11th to record a point in the game. The Cougars head to the championship game looking for their first state title. Kaia Weiland made 31 saves for the Cougars. Holy Family allowed a season-high eight goals and will play for third place for a second consecutive season.
— Heather Rule
Third period: Centennial/SLP 6, Holy Family 2
Katie Ball goes five-hole for the sixth Cougars goal. Just 17 seconds later, Kimbrel scores her second of the game for the Fire to make it 6-2. The Cougars have scored 13 goals so far in this tournament. It’s the 16th time this season they’ve scored six or more goals in a game.
— Heather Rule
End of second period: Centennial/SLP 5, Holy Family 1
It was all Cougars that period, at least on the scoresheet. Jozie Kelzenberg scored the fourth goal of the period with 43.8 seconds remaining on a 2-on-1 rush up the ice. She held the puck and took the shot herself, picking her spot low on the blocker side. It was Centennial/SLP’s fourth goal on eight shots in the second. The Cougars are 2-for-2 on the power play.
— Heather Rule
Second period: Centennial/SLP 4, Holy Family 1
The floodgates opened for the Cougars. Centennial/SLP took a two-goal lead about midway through the period on a pair of goals from Annabelle Buccicone just 13 seconds apart, then Alaina Gnetz scored to put her team up 4-1.
The Cougars’ second goal came just after 4-on-4 play turned into a Centennial/SLP power play. A long shot bounced in the air, came down and at some point went off Buccione and into the net to put the Cougars up 2-1.
Centennial/SLP went right back to work. This time Buccicone’s shot from the high slot extended her team’s lead with 8:26 left in the second period.
Soon after the Cougars went back on the power play and Gnetz, a Ms. Hockey finalist, used some time and space at the top of the circles to score a beauty of a goal with six minutes to play in the period. Her goal was Centennial/SLP’s third in a span of 2:39.
— Heather Rule
Second period: Holy Family 1, Centennial/SLP 1
Still a tie game, but Holy Family is outshooting the Cougars 9-2 this period after a couple of power plays and some offensive zone time. But it’ll be 20 seconds of 4-on-4 play before the Cougars get their first power play of the game coming up.
— Heather Rule
End of first period: Holy Family 1, Centennial/SLP 1
Solid action up and down the ice in the opening period. In a tie game, Cougars Ms. Hockey finalist Alaina Gnetz drove the net for a backhanded scoring chance but was denied with 3:46 left in the period. Just over a minute later, Holy Family’s Chloe King made a move around a defender at the Fire blue line to create an odd-skater rush. A quick stick by one of the Centennial/SLP defenders batted down the pass to negate a shot on net on the play.
The Cougars lead in shots on goal 12-8.
— Heather Rule
First period: Holy Family 1, Centennial/SLP 1
Holy Family’s 31% power play got to work just 20 seconds into its first opportunity. Aubrey Nichols was patient with the puck behind the net and waited to feed Maddy Kimbrel in the slot. Sliding with her right knee on the ice, Kimbrel got her own rebound for the first two Fire shots on goal and tied the game 1-1.
— Heather Rule
First period: Centennial/SLP 1, Holy Family 0
Right after puck drop, the Centennial/SLP student section chanted “this one’s over!” But the Cougars offense is just getting started. Mia Sutch pops a top-shelf shot for a 1-0 lead just 55 seconds into the game.
It’s her 25th goal of the season.
— Heather Rule
Pregame: Familiar foes Holy Family and Centennial/SLP face off
As the hockey saying goes, it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season. Well, hockey fans will find out which of these two teams can accomplish that feat in the last game of the state tournament semifinals Friday when No. 3 seed Holy Family faces off against No. 2 seed Centennial/SLP.
The other interesting piece is that this is the fifth meeting between these teams this season; they split the first four meetings, with the Holy Family Fire winning the first two. All four meetings were essentially one-goal games, with a 2-0 Fire victory in November including a late empty-net goal.
The Cougars are seeking their first state-title game since they were the runner-up to Edina in 2018. The Fire are hoping for their first state semifinal victory as a program in their second trip to the state tournament.
The winner faces defending champion Hill-Murray.
— Heather Rule
Pioneers, Hornets get “gritty”
Trailing 2-1, No. 4 Edina had nine shots on goal through the first two periods of their upset-bid against top-seeded Hill-Murray. And yet, they were one sharp shot or lucky bounce away from tying the state semifinal, which was a rematch of the last two Class 2A title games.
And after blocking shots and staying disciplined, the Hornets did tie it on a goal from senior Lorelai Nelson — playing in her fifth state tournament — with a dozen minutes left.
Edina coach Sami Cowger said three early penalty kills were major momentum boosters against a team as skilled as Hill-Murray, which scored on 47.8% of its power-play opportunities this season.
“Up until that last goal,” Cowger said, “we read them like a book.”
Of course: “That last goal.” On a power play, with 3:13 left in the game, junior forward Emily Pohl pushed in a rebound off Jaycee Chatleain’s shot to send the Pioneers to their third consecutive title game.
Pioneers co-head coach John Pohl described the 3-2 win as “gritty.”
Admittedly, a team as quick and skilled as Hill-Murray hasn’t often had to be as gritty, Pohl said. The Pioneers have gotten into a couple close games, but seemingly the quick-moving kind that let them show off some highlight reel-worthy skills.
But Edina is “a bigger, stronger team,” Pohl said. “They’re a championship team.”
“It is a very gritty win for a group of kids who necessarily, maybe, that’s not their M.O., but at the end of the year, you have to win in that way. ... You have to play strong, and some very skilled kids found a way to do that.”
Sophomore Gwynn Skoogman blocked a key shot late. Goalie Piper Tam came up big when needed. The Pioneers needed it all to advance: Sophomore defender Jahnica Holtzleicer’s gaps, senior forward Sophie Olson’s defensive play and, of course, the final power-play goal.
Every point came from a different player — for both teams — with the exception of Pioneers sophomore defender Olivia Braunshausen, who finished with a goal and an assist.
“We just need to play our game and be confident in that,” Olson said. “I think going into that (final) power play, we were just confident in ourselves.”
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
FINAL: Hill-Murray 3, Edina 2
The top-seeded defending champions are onto Saturday’s Class 2A title game, awaiting the winner of No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park vs No. 3 Holy Family.
Pioneers forward Emily Pohl’s clean-up goal with 3:13 to play stands as the winner. Edina did everything else right, it seemed, against the deep Pioneers; blocking 17 shots, asking junior goalie Soren Peacock to make a few big saves in her first state tournament and rallying to tie it twice.
But the Pioneers broke through on their fourth power play of the night and freshman goalie Piper Tam came up big late, ensuring Hill-Murray was the team piling onto one another on the ice.
Hill-Murray edged Edina in shots on goal 28-20.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Third period: Hill-Murray 3, Edina 2
Peacock has been so solid for Edina all night, but Hill-Murray is finally able to get one past her with 3:13 to play on their fourth power play. The Hornets have done well to shut down the Pioneers’ top line, but in the clutch junior forward Emily Pohl put away a rebound off a shot by junior Jaycee Chatleain. That’s the 15th goal of the year for Pohl, a Wisconsin commit.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Third period: Edina 2, Hill-Murray 2
Edina’s quarterfinal hat trick hero Lorelai Nelson gets her first tonight, cleaning up a puck coming off the stick of Pioneers goalie Piper Tam and dragging Tam right-to-left before tucking the puck in. That came after two big saves from Hornets junior goalie Soren Peacock on the other end of the ice.
All tied up with a dozen minutes to play.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
End of second: Hill-Murray 2, Edina 1
The Hornets kill yet another power play late in the second, making Hill-Murray now an uncharacteristic 0-for-3 on the player advantage. Faceoffs are even, but it’s been tough for the Hornets to create sustained pressure in their offensive zone. Edina’s been collapsing well defensively in front of goalie Soren Peacock, blocking shots to frustrate Hill-Murray’s high-scoring top line.
Shots on goal are 21-9 in the Pioneers’ favor.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Second period: Hill-Murray 2, Edina 1
Half of the second frame gone. The Hornets had to kill a second power play in the second period, handling the Pioneers’ power play. The Pioneers came into the tournament scoring on a staggering 47.8% of their power-play opportunities, but Edina’s 89.6% on the penalty kill.
Pioneers goalie Piper Tam made her best save of the night, moving laterally to get her pad on a back post chance. Shots are 17-7 Hill-Murray.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Second period: Hill-Murray 2, Edina 1
The Pioneers come out quick and are able to hold pressure in the offensive zone to start the second frame, which results in sophomore defender Olivia Braunschausen scoring her fourth goal of the season after a flurry of chances from sophomore Taylor Miller. The Pioneers take the lead 2:07 into the period.
With as high scoring as this Hill-Murray offense is, defenders like Braunschausen hasn’t had to score a lot, but she can. She’s got two goals in two games in this tournament.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
End of the first: Edina 1, Hill-Murray 1
The Pioneers and Hornets were tied at the end of the first period in the Class 2A title game last year, too, though 2-2. Edina, with junior goaltender Soren Peacock busy in net, had to kill off a Pioneers’ power play late in the first frame to keep that the case tonight. The Pioneers have an 11-4 advantage in shots on goal.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
First period: Edina 1, Hill-Murray 1
Sophomore forward Hazel Schenkelberg is another player who wasn’t in last year’s state title matchup, playing at Hopkins/St. Louis Park. But the bright lights don’t throw her off her game either, as sophomore forward Mae Fitzgerald tees Schenkelberg up for some nice stickhandling through the left faceoff circle and a shot lifted past Pioneers goalie Piper Tam. That’s Schenkelberg’s 12th goal of the season, 13:29 in.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
First period: Hill-Murray 1, Edina 0
Prior to the state tournament, Hill-Murray co-head coach John Pohl said Hannah Rychley is one of the most complete, 200-foot centers in the state, even as a freshman. She skated as an eight-grader for Forest Lake, so this is her first state tournament with the Pioneers.
It doesn’t look like it. She picked up the puck in the Pioneers’ D-zone midway through the first period and sprung the rush for their second line. Sophomore Gwynn Skoogman and freshman Anna Pohl helped reset after Rychley’s initial shot, recycling to Rychley for her 25th goal of the year, 9:10 into the first frame.
The Pioneers are outshooting Edina 6-1 early.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Pregame: 2A, No. 1 Hill-Murray vs. No. 4 Edina
Onto Class 2A semis, where No. 1 Hill-Murray looks to hold off No. 4 Edina. These two teams have met in the past two Class 2A championship games. Edina came out on top for the program’s fifth title in 2024, then Hill-Murray got revenge in double overtime last year to win its third championship.
If this one lives up to the Class 1A state title rematch we saw this morning — a 6-5 overtime win for Warroad over Dodge County — then we’ll be spoiled with fun hockey today.
Hill-Murray (24-3-1) might be this year’s top seed and beat Edina (21-4-3) in November, but take note: The lower seed won in each of the team’s last two postseason title game meetings.
We wrote about why Hill-Murray’s top line and the depth around it make the Pioneers so dangerous, but the same praises could be heaped upon Edina’s line of senior Penn State commit Lorelai Nelson, Dartmouth-bound senior Cate McCoy and junior Audrey Davis, a future Wisconsin Badger. Nelson, an All-Minnesota honoree, had a hat trick and McCoy and Davis each bagged a goal in the Hornets’ 6-4 quarterfinal win over Bemidji.
More reading, if you’d like: Strib Varsity reporter Olivia Hicks caught up with Edina players earlier this year to discuss “hockey talk” in rivalry games — I think this semifinal counts as one of those, now, considering these teams’ recent history.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
A rinse and repeat mindset led Blake and Breck back to state
When Breck faced off against Blake in the Class 1A girls hockey state semifinals, both teams were on unfamiliar ice. Breck hadn’t visited Grand Casino Arena in six years. It had been nine for the Bears. But the rivalry was familiar.
“The Blake-Breck rivalry goes back pretty, pretty far,” Breck sophomore defender Alexis Ulrich said after her team’s 3-2 win. “It was extra special to be playing them in the semifinals. It definitely meant a lot more that we knew we had to rise to the occasion. We knew who we were playing, and so I think we knew what we had to do.”
It was the fourth meeting between the two private schools during the 2025-26 season. The Mustangs won the first three, but they knew they would be tested Friday.
“I was definitely nervous to play them a fourth time, because I know it’s hard to beat a team four times in a row in one season,” sophomore forward Ashley Babbitt said.
Fueled by the last two Breck shutouts — a 4-0 loss on New Year’s Eve and a 2-0 loss fewer than two weeks later — the Bears skated to state for the first time since 2017 with a vengeance.
Breck sophomore defender Aleah La Fleur opened the scoring in the first period with a shot from the blue line, but Blake was quick to respond. The Bears tied it up when junior Lou Dalum’s shot slid past Breck goalie Clara Milinkovich.
“We respond with motivation,” Blake head coach Kristi King said. “We know we can’t get too high, we can’t get too low. We’re gonna face adversity. And how we respond to those things are important, especially in that first minute after setting the tone, making sure that this game is far from over.”
The Mustangs scored two more goals from sophomore forwards Mackenna Schlieman and Taylor Hall to go up 3-1.
But Blake proved it’s good at resetting and “flushing” the team’s memory: “The kids like to do a toilet bowl, like flush it,” King said.
With 12 seconds on the clock, sophomore Bryn Heinmiller found the net one last time.
Blake walked away fired up despite the loss. The Bears knew they had outshot their rivals 45-32 and had one final game to play.
“We’ve got one more game, and it’s not over,” Dalum said. “We’re gonna take Dodge County, and we want that third place. We want that banner.”
Breck had a similar mindset: rinse and repeat. Warroad, the team that beat the Mustangs 3-1 earlier in the season, is the only thing standing in the way of their first state title in six years.
Breck will play Warroad at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Grand Casino Arena.
— Olivia Hicks
Final: Breck 3, Blake 2
Blake scored a goal with 12 seconds left. Sophomore Bryn Heinmiller tipped the puck past Breck goalie Clara Milinkovich with Addie Wethington and Elizabeth Salonek on the assist.
But Breck prevailed.
With a shrill scream as the final horn blared, the Mustangs punched their ticket to Saturday’s state final. Breck will take on Warroad for the Class 1A girls hockey state title at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21.
— Olivia Hicks
Third period: Breck 3, Blake 1
We’re halfway through the third and Breck is keeping a firm hold on its 3-1 lead.
The Mustangs found a rhythm in Blake territory, attempting to match the Bears’ shots-on-goal advantage with a 34-23 shooting gap. Sophomore defender Aleah La Fleur nearly repeated her first period game-opening goal with another shot from the blue line, but failed to sneak it past the puddle of players in front of the net.
— Olivia Hicks
End of the 2nd: Breck 3, Blake 1
Blake was hungry to even the scoreboard. Sophomore Bryn Heinmiller attempted a tip-in with 20 seconds left. As the clock ticked down, a frenzy of blue and green crowded the Breck net but couldn’t find Clara Milinkovich’s weak spot.
Even as Breck sophomore forward Mackenna Schlieman racked up two penalties for tripping in the period, the Bears failed to score on the power play. Blake is, however, outshooting the Mustangs 31-15.
— Olivia Hicks
Second period: Breck 3, Blake 1
Less than four minutes into the period, Breck extended its lead when Taylor Hall scored her 24th goal of the season after receiving a pass from Alex Ulrich, fed from Clara Milinkovich on a power play. The sophomore forward carried the puck up the ice and shot it over Blake goalie Janie McGawn’s left shoulder.
The Bears racked up five shots on goal from five different players in the first three minutes. Ella Bond, Bryn Heinmiller, Elle Anderson, Mak Williams and Callie Arthur all attempted to get the puck past Clara Milinkovich in order to tie the score.
— Olivia Hicks
How Warroad won the third installment of Class 1A’s newest rivalry
Warroad senior forward Taylor Reese admitted that she hadn’t expected that her words after the Warriors’ state quarterfinal win would make her the de facto target of the Dodge County student section’s boos in the semifinal.
“I want to play Dodge County. I think we owe it to them,” Reese had said in a postgame press conference, words which seemed to make their way south. “Last year… yeah, bad memories. So I want to give it to them a little bit, make them feel it like how we felt it last year.”
She was referring to last year’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Wildcats, which ended the Warriors streak of three state championships, including over Dodge County in 2024, on the Wildcats’ first trip to state.
But Reese let the noise motivate, not deter her. She scored a hat trick in the eventual 6-5 Warroad win, after the top-seeded Warriors went down 2-0, then had to hold off a late rally by No. 4 Dodge County that forced overtime with two goals in the game’s last 85 seconds.
“My line over here did a really good job at getting me the puck,” Reese said. “Just splitting the D, I knew that was open … I was able to get around them and get a tip on the puck.”
Linemate Jaylie French, a junior forward committed to Dartmouth, had the winner off a wide-open breakaway less than three minutes into overtime. French, scoring her second goal of the game, was teed up all alone in the offensive zone by a heads-up play from senior defender Vivienne Marcowka.
“I was cherry picking,” French said, smiling a bit as she acknowledged the risk of not tracking back quite as far, “and Viv saw me, and I was like okay, we’ve got to win it.”
Senior center Linnea Harren completed the six-goal haul from the Warriors’ red-hot top line.
The budding Warriors-Wildcats rivalry, which both head coaches said is born in big games like this, has brought together a northern Minnesota powerhouse with southern Minnesota’s first girls hockey state champion. The Wildcats clawed their way back with junior forward Bryn Spreiter completing her hat trick to tie the game with 20 seconds left.
“I think [Warroad and head coach David Marvin] takes pride like we do,” Dodge County head coach Jeremy Gunderson said. “We take a lot of pride and try to be the best team down south. And we always joke with each other, he wants to kind of own the north. Let’s meet down here, and then we’ll kind of take it to the metro schools.”
Gunderson said that he received a “good luck” text from southern Minnesota hockey standout, Taylor Heise of Lake City, fresh off winning a gold medal with Team USA yesterday.
After the Warriors’ win, Reese was asked who she’d rather face in the title game from the next semifinal, second seed Breck or third seed Blake.
“I can’t answer that,” Reese said, shaking her head as the room laughed.
No more fuel for opposing student sections, but hopefully more hat tricks.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
End of 1st: Breck 2, Blake 1
With just over a minute left in the period, Breck gained an advantage going into the second period when sophomore forward Mackenna Schlieman narrowly avoided a pile-up in front of the Blake goal, intercepted a blocked shot off of Bears goalie Janie McGawn and wrapped the puck around to find a shot into the right corner.
— Olivia Hicks
First period: Breck 1, Blake 1
Blake took that Breck goal personally. In less than a minute, the Bears recorded seven shots.
Junior Lou Dalum’s shot was the only one that stuck. Assisted by junior Callie Arthur, the puck slipped past Breck goalie Clara Milinkovich.
Blake is now outshooting Breck 10-8.
— Olivia Hicks
Olympic connections
With the U.S. women’s hockey team fresh off yesterday’s gold medal win in Italy, and the U.S. men chasing their own, there’s a few Class 1A coaching connections to both of those Olympic rosters.
Warroad assistant coach Blake Nelson is the brother of third-generation U.S. Olympian and Warroad native Brock Nelson. Per the game broadcast, Blake was in Italy to watch Brock prior to the state tournament, then flew back to rejoin the Warriors team.
From the other Class 1A semifinal, Breck assistant coach Anna Zumwinkle is the sister of gold medalist and Frost forward Grace Zumwinkle. Sisters Anna, Grace and Emily all played for the Mustangs. And head coach Tricia Luoma is a three-time medalist with the U.S. women’s team, including gold in 1998.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
First period: Breck 1, Blake 0
Breck opened up scoring five minutes into the period with sophomore defender Aleah La Fleur’s clean shot from the blue line sinking past Blake goalie Janie McGawn on the power play. Sophomore forward Taylor Hall and sophomore defender Alexis Ulrich assisted on the play.
The Bears have looked for tip-ins as they crowd Breck’s net but Blake hasn’t been able to find a shot.
Breck is outshooting Blake 7-3.
— Olivia Hicks
Pregame: Breck vs. Blake
A sea of blue and white is already filing into Grand Casino Arena’s seats as the Breck Mustangs (25-1-1) strap on their pads to take on the Blake Bears (21-6-0) in the Class 1A semifinal showdown between the two private schools.
The Mustangs, the No. 2 seed, haven’t been here since 2020 but hope to return to their 2012, 2018, 2019 and 2020 title-winning ways, led by a young top-scoring trio of sophomores. The Bears, the No. 3 seed, are in a similar situation. Breck hasn’t visited the state tournament since 2017 but carries the confidence of four consecutive state titles from 2013-17.
The Bears will rely on starting All-Minnesota goalie and Dartmouth commit Janie McGawn and her quick mitts to launch them into the finals.
— Olivia Hicks
Final: Warroad 6, Dodge County 5
Two minutes into overtime, the Jumbotron at Grand Casino Arena showed the replay of last year’s overtime winner from Dodge County. The big Wildcats student section cheered, even though there was still unfinished business in this year’s title game.
And that business would finish a minute later, when junior forward Jaylie French scored on a breakaway, all alone in the top-seeded Warriors offensive zone.
What a game.
Each team clawed back from a two-goal deficit to keep this one close, including from No. 4-seed Dodge County to tie it with 20 seconds to play. All the fans that came early for Breck vs. Blake sure got a treat, even if their 1 p.m. semifinal game will start a bit delayed.
Warroad gets a chance to reignite another state-championship streak after winning three in a row from 2022-24. They do so by getting revenge on the team that ended that four-peat campaign in last year’s title game.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Third period: Dodge County 5, Warroad 5
What’s an overtime rematch without, well, overtime? That’s the case again this year as Alexa Van Straaten served in a dangerous look that Bryn Spreiter finished for her third, and most important, goal of the game with 20 seconds to go.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Third period: Warroad 5, Dodge County 4
The Wildcats won’t go down without a fight. Senior Zoie Heimer, last year’s overtime hero, got one back once Dodge County pulled its goalie.
It’s a one-goal game with a minute to play.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Third period: Warroad 5, Dodge County 3
That’s a hat trick for senior captain Taylor Reese as Linnea Harren dropped another dangerous pass from behind the goal line. Junior forward Jaylie French whiffed on the front post shot but forced the Wildcats to scramble. The puck popped off of Reese’s skate and in as she crashed the crease, and was ruled to not be a kicking motion, so the goal stood under review.
With under four minutes to play, the Wildcats will need some late magic to force overtime.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Third period: Warroad 4, Dodge County 3
The Warriors are putting on a clinic on how to start a period. After scoring 13 seconds into the second period, they scored 42 seconds into the third frame. Wildcats goalie Faith Humphrey swept a puck behind the net, but Warroad forward Taylor Reese jumped on the puck at the boards before a Dodge County player could, dropping a pass to senior forward Linnea Harren who buried her eighth goal of the year.
That’s Warroad’s first lead of the game.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
End of second: Dodge County 3, Warroad 3
This one has been all we can ask for out of an exciting semifinal so far. Shots are even 19-19, scoreline even 3-3. Warroad cut the two-goal deficit with all three of their goals in this second period, with two from senior Taylor Reese (including shorthanded to open the frame) and a goal and two assists from savvy junior forward Jaylie French.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Second period: Warroad 3, Dodge county 3
That French-Reese connection just can’t be beat today. Seven minutes into second period, a heads-up play from Jaylie French found Taylor Reese again in front of the net, who beat her defender and flipped a backhanded shot past Humphrey. Tied game again.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Second period: Dodge County 3, Warroad 2
After Warroad’s quarterfinal win, senior forward Taylor Reese said the Warriors wanted a rematch with Dodge County in the semis.
“I want to play Dodge County. I think we owe it to them. Last year … bad memories," she said. “So I want to give it to give it to them a little bit, make them feel it like how we felt it last year.”
That might be what got Reese booed by the big Dodge County student section during the lineup announcement.
She’s been backing that up so far, providing the key net front screen on Jaylie French’s power-play goal from the left faceoff circle, assisted by Viviee Marcowka and Olivia Anthony, less than four minutes into the second period.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Second period: Dodge County 3, Warroad 1
What a game from junior forward Bryn Spreiter, who waited by the Warroad post to pounce on a deflected shot by sophomore defender Josie Fulton, less than a minute after the Warriors goal. Spreiter now has two of her season’s 12 goals in this state semifinal.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Second period: Dodge County 2, Warroad 1
What a response from the Warriors! Dodge County barely touched the puck in the first 13 seconds of the period before Dartmouth-bound junior Jaylie French picked up the puck up on the right boards of the neutral zone and found senior captain Taylor Reese open in the high slot for a hard shot past Humphrey. That’s Reese’s 19th goal of the season, French’s 36th assist.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
End of the first: Dodge County 2, Warroad 0
Dodge County has made the most of its time in the offensive zone. The Warriors haven’t had a lucky break since Dodge County opened the scoring about 12 minutes into the period, with Humphrey getting a pad to a deflected Warroad shot that was the Warriors’ most dangerous chance late. Offsetting penalties 20 seconds apart ended the period with some 4-on-4 hockey.
There’s still plenty of time left in this one for the Warriors, who rallied from a two-goal deficit in last year’s championship game loss. The Wildcats have outshot Warroad 14-10.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
First period: Dodge County 2, Warroad 0
The defending champs got on the board first, and did it again less than two minutes later.
Dodge County has looked strong in the neutral zone, and that’s where senior defender and Assumption commit Alexa Van Straaten comes from for a long-range shot, leading to a bobbled rebound that junior forward Bryn Spreiter crashed into the crease to put away.
Then, senior defender Kylie Meyer carried the puck into the offensive zone, cut to the middle and slung a shot past Rolli to double the Wildcats’ early lead late in the first.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Puck drop: No. 1 Warroad vs No. 4 Dodge County
These teams are separated by a seven-hour drive from the top of Minnesota to just outside of Rochester, but recently, the two programs have had more in common than they’ve differed.
Warroad, winners of three consecutive Class 1A titles from 2022-2024, tie South St. Paul’s record for the most trips to state, with 17, and are back with the No. 1 seed after meeting the Wildcats in the title game as a lower seed, both of the past two seasons.
Dodge County’s accession is more recent, but nonetheless impressive. The Wildcats have never made state without reaching the championship game: runners up in 2024, then first-time champs in 2025. They got back on that path with a 3-2 overtime win over No. 5 Proctor/Hermantown in the quarterfinals.
Wildcats junior goalie Faith Humphrey has done a strong job sliding in for graduated standout Ida Huber, and All-Minnesota Gophers commit Payton Rolli is likely to be tested more in goal this morning than she was in the Warriors’ 6-1 quarterfinal win over Luverne.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
Round of four
What a day of hockey we’ve got ahead. Rivalries, rematches, and four tickets to Saturday’s two state title games are on the line.
Let’s give a quick sweep through just how great the action at Grand Casino Arena should be today:
In Class 1A: No. 1 Warroad vs. No. 4 Dodge County. These teams met twice in, and split, the last two Class 1A state title games. Dodge County won in overtime last year, ending Warroad’s chance at a championship four-peat.
Following that game will be No. 2 Breck vs No. 3 Blake. The two metro private schools have met once at state, in 2007. Otherwise, they spent most of the decade playing through the same section, taking turns sharing a berth at state that was almost a guaranteed title win — Breck in 2012, Blake in four of five years from 2013-17, then Breck again from 2018-2020, once Blake temporarily moved up to 2A.
In the evening session in Class 2A: No. 1 Hill-Murray vs No. 4 Edina. All that stuff about Warroad vs Dodge County? Just sub in the two schools here. Hill-Murray won last year’s title in double-overtime over the Hornets, and Edina took it the year before that.
And finally, No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park and No. 3 Holy Family will meet for the fifth time this season. The pair played three regular season games and one holiday tournament clash, split evenly 2-2, three of them decided by one goal. Fire head coach Randy Koeppl said this one should likely be “a track meet.”
We’ve got 13 of this year’s 25 All-Minnesota players represented in the final eight teams, and plenty of other standouts to keep an eye on.
— Cassidy Hettesheimer
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