Since scoring her final goal of the regular season, South St. Paul sophomore forward Alida Ahern spent the better part of the past three weeks missing empty nets, hitting the post or hitting the crossbar.
South St. Paul stops Simley, reaches girls hockey state tournament
Packers sophomore forward Alida Ahern scored twice in a game for the first time
February 17, 2023 at 4:51AM
She hit the jackpot Thursday, scoring twice in a game for the first time all season. Ahern's goals tied the game and put her Packers ahead to stay in a 4-1 upset of Simley in the Class 1A, Section 4 girls hockey championship game.
The top-seeded Spartans took the ice at their home rink, Veterans Memorial Arena in Inver Grove Heights, with two victories against the Packers in as many meetings this season. It didn't matter.
"They beat us by two and three goals, so they knew they could do it," said Ahern, s transfer from Cretin-Derham Hall. "We knew we could do it if we played as a team and stuck to it. We wanted to get to state for the 17th time, and we didn't want them to take it away from us on their home ice."
Simley (21-5-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead at 2 minutes, 56 seconds of the second period on a goal from Mackaylan McGown. The Spartans entered the third period with that slim lead and 17 minutes from their first Class 1A state tournament appearance.
They were shorthanded to start the game. Leading scorer Ella Tuccitto (37 goals) was forced to sit out a second consecutive playoff game. Simley coach Tom Patnode called it "an unfortunate situation" but did not comment further.
Things got worse for Simley in the final period. The Spartans took two penalties, and No. 2 seed South St. Paul (21-5-1) made sure to not waste the opportunity.
Ahern scored early in the 5-on-3 advantage to put her team ahead 2-1. She has eight goals this season.
"You don't get many 5-on-3 chances, so you've got to make the most of it," South St. Paul coach Dave Palmquist said. "The danger is you don't score. But they went out and buried that one, and that was huge."
South St. Paul outshot Simley 33-18 for the game.
"They are a hard-working team," Patnode said. "And we ran out of gas a little bit."
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
