The girls hockey playoffs are starting to wind down, some section finals are set a few more need to be played out yet, here is your update as of today,

Section 1 A

Dodge County (20-4-1) will play Simley (12-13-1) in the section championship, the winner gets a free trip to to the state tournament.  These teams played each other on 2-1-2024 and Simley won 3-1 despite getting outshot 48-17.

Here is a quick recap of that game

1st Period:

• No goals were scored.

2nd Period:

• Dodge County’s #9 Mollie Koch scored a power-play goal at 2:36, assisted by #17 Maysie Koch and #18 Abby Simons.
• Simley’s #18 Valerie Duval responded with an even-strength goal at 10:56, assisted by #23 Taylor Ralston.

3rd Period:

• Simley’s #21 Kylie Dahl scored a power-play goal at 15:34, assisted by #11 Sophie Sears and #19 Kelsi Ries.
• Simley’s #19 Kelsi Ries scored another power-play goal at 16:41, assisted by #17 Ella Sanders.

We think Dodge County will prevail in this rematch and will head to the Excel Energy Center for the Tourney 2024.

Section 2A

River Lakes (14-8-4) will play Willmar (19-7-0) on 2-15-2024 at Gustavus Adolphus College/Lund Arena in the section 2A championship game.  These teams are neighbors and know each other well, having played twice already this season.  River Lakes beat Willmar 4-0 on 11-21-2023 and 1-0 in overtime on 1-09-2024.  They always say it is hard to beat a team 3 times in a season but we are sticking with River Lakes to represent section 2A at the 2024 State Tournament.

Section 3A

The #1 seed Marshall (17-8-1) and the #2 seed Luverne(16-10-0) will face off for the third time this season in the section 3A championship on 2/13/24 7:30 PM at Gustavus Adolphus College/ Lund Arena. With having split the two games, the first going to Luverne with a 4-0 win and the second being Marshall 5-2. While Luverne has been playing great hockey as of late you can never tell what will happen in this 1 vs 2 matchup Marshall is coming off a hot 6-0 win in the semifinals it could really go either way!

Section 4A

The Academy of Holy Angels (19-3-3) who have been making some noise in section 4 are set to play their first playoff game against the (5-19-0) Blake Bears on Tuesday the 13. With the Holy Angel being rested up from their first round bye they statistically have the advantage in this game, now you never know what could happen but the Holy Angels have proven their worth all season long and should continue that on Tuesday. the second section 4 semi-final game is between the (16-9-0) South St.Paul and the (10-16-0) Chisago Lakes.with not having met this season it should be interesting both team are studying film on each other and gearing up for what could possibly be the biggest game that they play in.

Section 5A

The #1 Seed Orono will be facing off against the #2 Seed Mound/Westonka-SWC, Both Teams have a pretty outstanding record with less than ten losses each. And it shows on the score sheet in Orono’s semi final game against Delano, Here is a little recap of it.

First Period

• Scoring:
  • Delano/Rockford opened the scoring with a goal by Alaina Pettit, assisted by Mckenzie Perry and Ruby Danielson.
  • Orono quickly responded with two goals: a power play goal by Anika Fortin and an even-strength goal by Zoe Lopez.
• Shots on Goal: Orono led with 17 shots compared to Delano/Rockford’s 5.
• Penalties: Orono accumulated three penalties, while Delano/Rockford had one.

Second Period

• Scoring:
  • Orono extended their lead with two more goals, scored by Anna Rausch and Alexa Niccum, with assists from Grace Bickett, Zoe Lopez, and others.
• Shots on Goal: Orono dominated with 25 shots, Delano/Rockford managed 2.
• Penalties: Each team had one penalty, continuing the physical play from the first period.

Third Period

• Scoring:
  • Orono sealed their victory with two additional goals by Maddy Kimbrel, both unassisted, further showcasing their offensive strength.
• Shots on Goal: Orono had 19 shots, and Delano/Rockford had 6.
• Penalties: Delano/Rockford and Orono each added one more penalty to their totals.

With these two teams playing each other earlier in the season and Orono taking the shutout victory, Orono should statistically prevail in this one.

Section 6A

The (14-11-1) Fergus Falls Otters are set to face off against the (8-17-1) Northern Lakes Lightning, While not sporting the most notable record the Lightning look to upset Fergus Falls and Head to the X. Both team had a hot start to the section playoffs beating their opponents in running time. With a 6-1 win over the Lightning the Otters look to repeat this game and cruise their way to victory. Neither team will be able to put it on cruise control both teams will hve to bring it but with the offensive strength of the Otters it will be tough for Norther Lakes to get past them.

Section 7A

TheSection 7A Championship features a game between two teams ranked in the top ten in state. Hermantown being the #4 Ranked team with the two seed and Duluth Marshall being the #6 team in the state. Although Hermantown had gotten the win against Duluth earlier in the season Duluth Marshall Managed to secure the #1 seed in the section. this game will be a battle of talent as shown with how much they both can score, Even though Hermantown may be the underdog we will still take them going to the X with a win in this one.

Section 8A

The Section 8 Championship also features two of the to ten ranked teams between #1 seed Warroad Warriors and the #2 Seed the Crookston Pirates. The Pirates will look to provide a balanced attack with providing a great defensive posture in order to stop Warroads fire power offense, but will also look to have a great offensive game and put many pucks in the net. On the other hand Warroad looks to keep doing what they have been doing all season and just jump on them right away. We do love a good underdog and would love to see an upset but with how Warroad has been playing all year it should be them bringing home a Class A Section 8 Championship this year again.