Championship: Section 8A/AA - 1, Section 4A/AA - 3
PLYMOUTH—After a scoreless start, a goal-scoring flurry early in the second half pushed Section 4A/AA past Section 8A/AA, 3-1, on Sunday and crowned it 2018 Girls HP17 Spring Festival champions.

The deciding moments of the 48-minute contest were contained within the first 3:21 of the second half. Section 8A/AA forward Madison McDonald (East Grand Forks) opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the stanza, but Section 4A/AA proved to be instantly resilient. Forward Abigail DeLaRosa (White Bear Lake) equalized just 1:46 after McDonald's opener and defender Emma Dornseif (Mahtomedi) seized the lead, 2-1, 45 seconds after that to dig a hole too deep for Section 8A/AA to climb out of.

Forward Lauren Einan (Stillwater) provided helpers on both DeLaRosa's game-tying and Dornseif's game-winning goals for Section 4A/AA and finished with a game-high two points.

Leading by one, Section 4A/AA forward Sydney Shearen (White Bear Lake) provided the title-sealing dagger, scoring her team-leading fourth goal and sixth point of the three-day festival to giver her squad a 3-1 advantage with 4:30 left to play.

While the two sides were deadlocked at zero after the first 24 minutes, it was not because of a lack of chances. Both teams had their fair share of opportunities, but Section 4A/AA goaltender Teagen Johnson (Mounds View) and Section 8A/AA netminder Olivia King (Brainderd) stood tall with 13 and 11 saves, respectively, to keep the offenses at bay and set up the decisive second half.

Third Place: Section 1A/AA - 3, Section 7A/AA - 2
A three-goal opening half was enough for Section 1A/AA as it held off a torrid late Section 7A/AA charge and claimed third place at the Girls HP17 Spring Festival. Forward Marissa Agerter (Farmington) scored twice in the first frame as Section 1A/AA opened up an early 3-0 cushion that they ended up needing every bit of. Section 7A/AA forward Madisen Peterson (Princeton) scored with 13:17 to play and forward Allie Bussey (Hibbing) cut the deficit to one with 88 seconds left, but time ran out on its rally. Section 7A/AA goaltender Rachel Miller (St. Francis) stopped all 10 shots she saw in the second half to give life to her team's comeback hopes.

Seventh Place: Section 6A/AA - 4, Section 2A/AA - 2
A three-point outing from forward Sophie Rausch (Fergus Falls) helped Section 6A/AA fend off a Section 2A/AA's second half rally and deliver a 4-2 victory in the Girls HP17 Spring Festival seventh place game. Thanks in large part to Rausch's two goals, Section 6A/AA enjoyed a two-goal, 3-1, lead with 3:34 to play before Section 2A/AA forward Alex Hantge (Hutchinson) cut her team's deficit to one. But a comeback was not in the cards. With three seconds left on the clock, Rausch set up forward Olivia Swaim (Edina) for the win-sealing empty-netter. 

Fifth Place: Section 3A/AA - 6, Section 5A/AA - 5
The 2018 Girls HP17 Spring Festival went out with a bang as Section 3A/AA and Section 5A/AA put on a back-and-forth offensive exhibition before forward Madelyn Pladson (Eagan) and Section 3A/AA prevailed late, 6-5, to claim fifth place in the consolation bracket title game. The 11 combined goals scored were the most in a game at the festival. After see-sawing through the opening 45-plus minutes, Pladson came through with the game-winner for Section 3A/AA with 2:33 to play. Her side overcame two two-goal deficits and two one-goal disadvantages to claim the win. Trailing, 5-4, late, forward Ashley Pudwill (Minnesota River) equalized for Section 3A/AA with 7:05 to play. Forward Addi Scribner (East Ridge) led the way for Section 3A/AA in the win with three points (1-2).

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