In an overtime battle, Pine City Area clinched a 4-3 victory over Albert Lea. Pine City Area’s Lena Roubinek opened scoring with a short-handed goal, followed by Malia Mikyska’s power play goal, assisted by Emma Hermanson and Peyton Perreault. Albert Lea responded with three straight goals in the second period from Shelby Evans, Peyton Seeger, and Brooke Hauser, with Morgan Goskeson assisting on two. Samantha Root brought Pine City Area level in the third, forcing overtime where Pine City Area secured the win. Pine City Area was 1 for 4 on power plays, Albert Lea 0 for 2, with shots ending 21-24 in favor of Albert Lea.
West Fargo (N.D.) and Crookston ended in a 2-2 tie after overtime. Crookston’s Kaylie Clauson and Brekken Tull scored a goal each, with Tull’s being a power play goal assisted by Jocelyn Field and Brynley Coleman. West Fargo’s goals came from Reaghen Mathias and Reegan Bents. Both teams were equal in power plays at 0 for 5, and penalties with 10 minutes on 5 infractions each. Crookston outshot West Fargo 35 to 28, but neither team could secure the win in overtime.
Rock Ridge and Sartell/Sauk Rapids skated to a 2-2 draw after overtime. Sartell/Sauk Rapids’ Megan Hess scored first, assisted by Faith Torborg and Liz Krueger. Rock Ridge’s Natalie Bergman and Mayme Scott each found the net, with Bergman assisting on Scott’s goal along with Amelia Babiracki. Sartell/Sauk Rapids’ Brayley VanDenBerg also scored. Neither team was successful on the power play, with Rock Ridge 0 for 2 and Sartell/Sauk Rapids 0 for 1. The shot count was close, with Sartell/Sauk Rapids edging out Rock Ridge 35 to 32. Penalties were few, with Rock Ridge incurring one infraction and Sartell/Sauk Rapids two.
In a tightly contested Class A girls hockey game, Orono edged out Proctor/Hermantown with a final score of 2-1. Orono’s Maddy Kimbrel struck first with a power play goal, assisted by Kali Schmidt. Proctor/Hermantown’s Hannah Graves answered back with a power play goal of her own, with assists from Katie Sandelin and Grace Nichols. Orono secured the win with Alexa Niccum’s even-strength goal, assisted by Gabi and Zoe Lopez. Orono was 1 for 3 on power plays, while Proctor/Hermantown went 1 for 4. Shots on goal were 30 for Proctor/Hermantown and 22 for Orono, with both teams having multiple penalties.
Fergus Falls rallied to a 4-2 victory over Thief River Falls. Thief River Falls started strong with goals from Kali Knutson and Brynn Hennen, the latter on a power play. Fergus Falls responded with Lydia Johnson scoring twice to even the game. Ava Eklund put Fergus Falls ahead, and Ella Starzl sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Despite multiple power play opportunities, Fergus Falls did not convert any, while Thief River Falls capitalized on one of their four chances. Fergus Falls led in shots 32 to 21 and both teams had five penalties.
