Championship Saturday: Warroad three-peats in Class A, Edina takes 2A crown
It's already the final day of the 2024 Minnesota state girls hockey tournament, with the Class A and Class 2A championships underway at Xcel Energy Center.
Saturday's finals are televised on 45TV/Prep 45. You can also follow along here for updates on the championship games.
Class A
No. 4 Warroad 5, No. 3 Dodge County 2
Warroad coach Dave Marvin didn't have another state tournament run on his "bingo card," but he got one anyway. And a little bit more.
His Warriors won their third straight Class A state championship after beating state tournament newcomer Dodge County 5-2 in the final Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. They left no doubt throughout the game.
While Dodge County struck first when junior Nora Cartsensen scored on the power play 3 minutes, 38 seconds into the contest, the Warriors scored five straight on their way to another state championship title.
Warroad junior Kaiya Sandy scored unassisted 13 minutes, 12 seconds into the first period, and freshman Jaylie French scored just 54 seconds later to give the Warriors their first lead of the contest.
Sophomore Taylor Reese, who scored the game-winners in Warroad's quarterfinal and semifinal victories, scored 2 minutes, 48 seconds into the second period to make it a two-goal game, and sophomore Vivienne Marcowka added another second-period goal to make it a three-goal advantage heading into the third.
Reese scored her second of the night 3 minutes, 34 seconds into the third period to essentially seal the deal. Dodge County sophomore Alexa Van Straaten, who also assisted on Carstensen's goal, got one back 7 minutes, 14 seconds into the third, but that was as close as Dodge County would get.
Warroad goalie Payton Rolli stopped 18 of 20 Dodge Center shots in the victory.
Class 2A
No. 4 Edina 2, No. 2 Hill-Murray 0
Edina junior Whitney Horton broke a scoreless tie with a power-play goal 9 minutes, 16 seconds into the third period, helping the Hornets to a 2-0 victory over Hill-Murray in the Class 2A state championship game Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Lorelai Nelson, who also assisted on Horton's goal, scored unassisted just over three minutes later to help seal the deal for the Hornets.
The Pioneers were unable to get a shot past Edina goalie Reese McConnell, who pitched a 15-save shutout. Hill-Murray goalie Grace Zahn was hard to get a goal past as well, stopping 21 of 23 Edina shots.
Edina avenged its loss from the first time the two teams met, a game Hill-Murray won 2-1 on Nov. 30. Saturday night's game was a similarly strong defensive battle, but this time the Hornets came out with the victory. And a state title.
Third-place games
Class A: Orono 3, Holy Angels 2
Class 2A: Minnetonka 5, Andover 3
