Wednesday matches:
No. 2 Orono 4, Wilmar 1
No. 3 Dodge County 4, No. 5 Fergus Falls 0
No. 1 Saints Angels (21-3-3) vs. Luverne (17-10), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Warroad (19-8) vs. No. 5 Proctor/Hermantown (18-8-2), 8 p.m.
Note: Only the top five teams are ranked.
3:20 pm
Dodge County floods Fergus Falls
In its first state tournament appearance, No. 3-seeded Dodge County used two second-half goals to grab the lead and eventually beat Fergus Falls 4-0 in its second Class 1A quarterfinal game Wednesday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.
Senior forward McKenna LaFleur ended the scoreless tie nearly six minutes into the second period, capitalizing on a Fergus Falls turnover behind the net. The Otters cleared the puck in front, landing it on the stick of LaFleur, who quickly scored her 14th goal of the season.
In the second period, the Wildcats (22-4-0) scored on 2-for-1 chances from neutral ice. Junior Nora Carstensen tossed the ball to freshman Macy Koch, who finished the play with a wrist shot that doubled the lead.
Carstensen, Dodge County's top scorer, pushed the lead to three goals at the start of the third period. She took the puck into the zone from center ice and fired a shot that hit a Fergus Falls defender on its way to the net. Later in a power play, she scored her 33rd goal of the season and gave the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.
Senior goalie Anna Jerkas made 26 saves for Fergus Falls (15-12-1).
Game 2 Three stars
Nora Carstensen, junior forward at Dodge County: She scored her 32nd and 33rd goals in the third half, in addition to assisting the team's second goal in the match.
McKenna LaFleur, Dodge County forward: She opened the scoring with a goal in the right place at the right time in the second period — the first goal in Dodge County girls hockey state tournament history.
Macy Koch, freshman forward at Dodge County: The two-point play ended on a 2-on-1 chance that gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead into the second half.
2 numbers game
2: The schools that make up the Dodge County girls' hockey team: Casson-Mantorville and Byron.
9: He made the save against Dodge County junior goalie Ida Huber, leading to the 10th win of the season.
12: At least three-point games for Nora Carstensen, the Dodge County junior forward who had a three-point game on Wednesday.
12:50 pm
Orono beats Wilmar in the opener
Orono, ranked No. 2 in Class 1A and last year's state runner-up, built a two-goal lead in the first period en route to a 4-1 win over unranked Willmar in the first game of the day. The Spartans (21-6-1) took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when sophomore Maddie Kimbrel scooped up the ball at the red line and fired a shot high off the glove side for her 26th goal of the season. . In the final 30 seconds of the period, junior Zoe Lopez forced a turnover in the high slot of Willmar Zone, skated to the circle and scored her 24th goal of the season to double her team's lead. Orono added an empty-net goal in the final minute of the game. Willmar fell to (20-8-0).
Game 1 Three stars
Annika Fortin, Orono Jr. striker: She scored a goal and an assist, giving her team a 3-0 lead.
Zoe Lopez, Orono Jr. striker: Orono put it 2-0 up just before the first intermission, putting up six shots on goal.
Erin Ehlers, Willmar Junior Goalie: She made 35 saves, her fifth game of the season with more than 30 saves.
Game numbers 1
0: Power play goals for Wilmar on three opportunities, zero power play opportunities for Orono.
4: Back-to-back games with a goal by Orono top scorer Zoe Lopez.
16: Goals of the Season Willmar's Lauren Eilers, who leads her team.
Here are links to tournament information:
* Watch today's matches for free on NSPN.TV. Here's the schedule and live stream links. The semi-finals and finals will be in the classroom. 45.
* Live statistics for Game in progress.
* Championship brackets: Class 2A | Class 1A. Buy tickets here.
* Download and print Championship programme
*The Star Tribune high school sports page.
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