South St. Paul tops Fergus Falls 1-0 in second OT at Minnesota girls hockey 1A quarterfinals

South St. Paul senior goaltender Delaney Norman felt the pressure build with each incredible save made by her counterpart in net, Fergus Falls junior Ana Jyrkas.

Packers senior forward Sarah Wincentsen felt it, too, as she streaked into the Otters' zone in a scoreless double-overtime situation.

"Everything [Jyrkas] had been doing all night was great," Wincentsen said. "I knew I couldn't shoot it, so I went for a move and it worked."

Wincentsen's goal allowed South St. Paul to escape with a 1-0 victory in the Class 1A quarterfinals of the girls hockey state tournament Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center. The Packers advance to play in Friday's 1 p.m. semifinal against No. 1 Warroad.

Norman, who stopped all 19 shots faced for No. 4 seed South St. Paul (22-5-1), marveled at the effort of Jyrkas. She made 40 saves for No. 5 seed Fergus Falls (22-5-1), several of the implausible variety.

Norman would see her teammates take a 2-on-1 advantage in the Otters' zone and raised her shoulders in anticipation of success. Time after time, however, Norman saw the Packers come up short and knew she had more work ahead.

"I was a little nervous," said Norman, one of 10 semifinalists for Let's Play Hockey's Senior Goalie of the Year award. "It's so impressive to watch a goalie make so many quality saves."

Jyrkas said the experience, while ultimately disappointing, was "the time of my life." Her coach, Tim Lill, said the Otters surrendered the most shots on goal in a game this season, making Jyrkas' efforts even more meaningful.

"I call her Jerry so I can't remember her name," Lill joked during introductions after the game.

No one is likely to forget what they saw from Jyrkas.