Minnesota Class 1A girls hockey state tournament: Warroad takes the title with win over Orono

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The No. 1-seed Warroad Warriors defeated the 3-seed Orono Spartans 3-1 in the Class 1A state championship game at Xcel Energy Center.

The Warriors were looking to make it two state championships in a row as last season they defeated Hermantown/Proctor to capture its third ever state title. The Spartans, on the other hand, were making their first ever state championship appearance.

After a timid start to the contest, it was Warroad, like it's done all season, striking first. Rylee Bartz, the state's second leading goal scorer, put home the game's first goal on a two-on-one. She beat Orono goaltender Celia Dahl glove-side to give the Warriors an early 1-0 lead.

“My teammate was able to put it right on the tape of my stick and I was lucky to be there,” Bartz said.

Not discouraged, Orono was able to settle in and create opportunities in the Warrior's zone, something the Spartans failed to do earlier in the period.

Eventually, Orono sophomore Zoe Lopez netted her fourth goal of the tournament after finding some space in the slot and ripping a shot past the Warroad goaltender as Orono tied the game up at one heading into the first intermission.

“That goal gave us a lot of energy going into the second period,” Orono junior Allie Pleimann said. “We went into the locker thinking that we could pull this off.”

The game started to tighten in the second period as both teams traded chances, but it was the Warriors who was creating the better opportunities. 

Warroad was able to crack the Orono defense, as Sarah Johnson set her line-mate Talya Hendrickson up in the slot, and Hendrickson slotted away the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1 Warroad.

The Warriors were not done in the second. Sophomore Kaiya Sandy corralled a loose puck in the neutral zone to give herself a breakaway, which she promptly put in the back of the net to give the Warriors a two-goal advantage, inching their way closer to another state championship.

“We tried to keep them in front us and be physical,” Orono coach Larry Olimb said. “But it's nearly impossible to keep them off the board”

In the third period, Warroad was able to shut the door on any kind of comeback effort the Spartans tried to create. The Warriors were the first ones to every loose puck, not allowing Orono to get anything started in the final frame. 

Warroad survived a late flurry from Orono with the net empty, but the Warriors stood tall to capture its fourth state championship in program history by a score of 3-1.

“I'm just really happy for these girls,” Warroad head coach David Marvin said. “Repeating as champions is not easy, and these girls went through a lot this year and earned this moment.”