SECTION 4A/4AA - 6, SECTION 3A/3AA - 2
Section 4A/4AA kicked off the festival with a 6-2 win over Section 3A/3AA. Lyndsey Howard got Section 3A/3AA on the board first after one-timing a shot to the back of the net in the opening five minutes of play. Kaitlyn Kaufman leveled the score and Jenna Hoops gave Section 4A/4AA a 2-1 lead at the intermission after burying a rebound with 10.1 seconds left on the clock. Kaufman broke a 14-minute scoring drought in the second half by wristing a shot over the right leg pad of Madeline Nickell. Section 3A/3AA’s Morgan Hanson faked one way behind the net and beat Ashley Larson with a wraparound two minutes later. From there, Section 4A/4AA had a scoring outburst with Lexie Decker, Emma Dornseif and Lexie Digday all scoring in the final eight minutes. Kaufman tallied an assist on Digday’s goal with seven seconds remaining to put her at three points on the day. Larson made 20 saves in the first half for Section 3A/3AA, while Teagan Johnson stopped 9 of 10 in net for Section 4A/4AA in the final half.
Section 6A/6AA - 3, Section 1A/1AA - 2 (SO)
Olivia Garrity’s shootout goal in the fourth round helped Section 6A/6AA clinch a 3-2 victory over Section 1A/1AA. Section 6A/6AA overcame a two-goal deficit in the final 14 minutes of the game to force overtime and the shootout. Currie Putrah fired a shot past Megan Meyers with 9:30 left in the first half to get Section 1A/1AA on the board. Katherine Boland resparked Section 1A/1AA’s momentum with a slick fake to her forehand through the slot and a finish top-shelf 2:15 into the second half. Sophie Doll ignited Section 6A/6AA’s bench with an unassisted goal 10 minutes into the final frame. Kaci Johnson showed poise on her tying goal with 4:35 left in the game as she pulled back a shot, drew Mikayla Pahl out of the net, and fired a shot through the five-hole. Garrity on her game-winning score, used a forehand fake and pushed the puck to her backhand where she lifted it over the stretched leg pad of Pahl. Meyers stopped 27 of 29 shots for Section 1A/1AA, Pahl turned aside 14 of 16 while her partner in net, Kallie Schneider, had a 10-save shutout in the first half.
Section 5A/5AA - 3, Section 8A/8AA - 0
Section 5A/5AA used the momentum from Carly Beniek's (Breck) first half goal, and never looked back, adding two additional goals in the second half to secure the win. Beniek added her second goal early in the second half, and Lily Delianedis (Breck) added an insurance marker with 4:29 left to ice the victory. Baleigh Shuck (Champlin Park) and Mackenna Stoterau (Centennial) combined for a 13 shutout. Chloe Stockinger (Sartell/Sauk Rapids), Olivia King (Brainerd/Little Falls), and Anna LaRose (North Wright County) teamed up to stop 34 of the 37 shots they faced. 5A/5AA now advances to the semifinals, while 8A/8AA moves to the consolation round.
Section 7A/7AA - 5, Section 2A/2AA - 3
In the last game of the quarterfinal round, Section 7A/7AA used balance scoring to advance to the semifinal round of play. Briahana Bryant (Proctor/Hermantown) opened the scoring for Section 7A/7AA, but was quickly matched by Alex Hantge (Hutchinson) who evened the score for 2A/2AA. Allie Bussey (Hibbing/Chisholm) scored 23 seconds later to give Section 7A/7AA a lead they would not relinquish. Chloe Nelson (Saint Francis/Cambridge-Isanti) increased the lead to 3-1, prior to the end of the first half. Early in the second half, Lauren White (Saint Francis/Cambridge-Isanti) gave her team a three goal cushion and appeared to put the game out of reach. Kate Hoelscher (Minnetonka) opened what was to become a flurry of three goals, bringing Section 2A/2AA back within two. Sydney Nuebel (Saint Francis/Cambridge-Isanti) padded the lead back to three with just over eleven minutes to go in the game. Kailey Langefels (Minnetonka) added a late second half goal to bring the final score to 5-3. Rachel Miller (Saint Francis/Cambridge-Isanti) and Abbey Edstrom (Hibbing/Chisholm) combined to make 24 saves for the victors. Maddie Wilsey (Roseville) and Cassie Reed (New Ulm) posted an equally impressive, combined 28 saves for Section 2A/2AA. With the victory, Section 7A/7AA moves on to the championship round semi-finals.