Minnesota Class 1A girls hockey state tournament: Warroad defeats South St. Paul to reach title game

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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The No. 1-seed Warroad Warriors defeated the No. 4-seeded South St. Paul Packers 4-1 in the Class 1A state tournament semifinals at Xcel Energy Center.

Warroad, much like it has been doing all year, jumped off to an early lead in the first period. 

Senior Talya Hendrickson put one past the Packers goaltender to net her second goal of the tournament. After the first goal, though, South St. Paul was able to settle down and hang with the top-seeded Warriors for the rest of the period and getting to the first intermission trailing just 1-0.

In the second period, Warroad started to put its foot on the gas, penetrating the Packers zone and peppering its goaltender with shot after shot. 

A South St. Paul penalty midway through the second put the Warriors on the power play, which they took advantage of. Senior Lexi Kirkeby found the back of the net to give the Warriors a two-goal advantage midway through the second. 

Like in the first period, the Packers were able to limit the damage to just one goal as they headed to the locker room in a two goal deficit.

“I'm just super proud of our girls; they always play hard," South St. Paul head coach David Palmquist head.

Warroad once again opened up the third period as the aggressors, getting pucks deep and forcing the packers goaltender to make tough saves.

“They made it a close game,” Warroad head coach David Martin said. “South St Paul defended really well today."

South St. Paul was awarded a power play earlier in the third, and the Packers made the most of it. 

Defenseman Lily Pachl ripped a shot from the point, and after traveling through multiple Warroad defenders, the puck found its way into the back of the net to get the Packers within one goal midway through the third.

“I just wanted to give us a chance to beat Warroad," Pachl said. “It would've been really nice to have been able to go play in the championship against Orono.”

After the goal, Warroad, as it did all game, continued to apply pressure and broke down the Packer defense to scored their third goal of the game. 

It was Bemidji State commit Kate Johnson who got past the Packers defensemen, and she used her fast hands to put the puck past the Packer goaltender to make it a 3-1 game. It was Johnson again just minutes later when she caught a pass from Hendrickson and put it five hole to get her second of the game and fifth goal of the tournament.

"You guys got a little glimpse of what I get to see every day," Martin said. "[Johnson and Hendrickson] are both pretty elite.”

Warroad will play Orono the state championship game at 4 p.m. on February 25 at the Xcel Energy Center.