Minnesota girls hockey Class 2A quarterfinals. Get all of Thursday’s action here.
Edina shut down Ayla Puppe and Northfield to join Minnetonka, Andover and Hill-Murray in Friday’s semifinals. Tap here for game results, updates on games in progress, how to watch and more.
By David La Vaque and
Heather Rule
Today’s schedule:
No. 2 Hill-Murray 8, Roseau 2
No. 3 Andover 6, Rosemount 0
No. 1 Minnetonka 2, Maple Grove 1
No. 4 Edina 5, No. 5 Northfield 0
Game 4 / 10:20 p.m.
Edina shuts down Puppe, Northfield
Fourth-seeded Edina buzzed around fifth-seeded Northfield all night in a 5-0 victory Thursday night in the last Class 2A quarterfinal.
The game was scoreless through one period of play, but Edina cruised to a 2-0 lead by the second intermission on goals from junior Whitney Horton and senior Hannah Halverson.
Horton scored her second goal of the game early in the third period, and Edina added goals from Brenna Prellwitz and Halverson just 22 seconds apart for a 5-0 lead later in the period. Halverson recorded a four-point night with a pair of assists.
Edina (22-6-1) has never lost a state quarterfinal in girls hockey. They’re 14-0 in those games.
The Hornets held Northfield (27-2-0) to eight shots on goal and kept senior Ayla Puppe — the state’s leading scorer with 61 goals — off the scoresheet. The loss marked the first to a Class 2A opponent for Northfield this season.
The Hornets face Lake Conference foe Minnetonka in the Class 2A semifinals Friday night.
Game 4′s three stars
Hannah Halverson, Edina: Two goals and two assists for her fourth game with at least four points this season.
Whitney Horton, Edina: Two goals, getting her team on the board early in the second period and adding to the cushion in the first two minutes of the third period.
Lorelai Nelson, Edina: Two assists in the game, bringing her team-leading total to 27.
Game 4′s key numbers
0: Points for Northfield senior Ayla Puppe, the state’s leading scorer with 61 goals and 110 points. It’s the first game this season she’s been held off the scoresheet.
14: Victories for Edina in state quarterfinals, starting in 2009.
54: Points this season for Edina’s Hannah Halverson (28 goals and 26 assists).
Game 3 / 7:56 p.m.
Minnetonka edges Maple Grove
Unseeded Maple Grove outshot and outscored top-seeded Minnetonka in the first period of Thursday evening’s first Class 2A quarterfinal at the Xcel Energy Center.
Minnetonka’s offense, however, dominated in second period on the way to a 2-1 victory that advanced the Skippers to the state semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.
After Minnetonka’s Allison Ryan tied the game in the second period with a goal off a rebound in front of the net, it looked as if the 1-1 score would carry over into the third period. That changed with 0.9 seconds remaining, when senior forward Lindzi Avar scored to give Minnetonka a 2-1 lead.
The Skippers outshot the Crimson 16-4 during those 17 minutes.
Maple Grove had a potential game-tying goal reviewed and waved off with 10 minutes to play in the third period. The Skippers also had a goal overturned on an offside call with 1:47 to play in the game.
The Crimson (20-8-1) took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after capitalizing only 13 seconds into a power-play chance. Freshman defender Maddie Elfstrand’s shot made it through traffic in front of the net for her 11th goal of the season.
Maple Grove senior goalie Dani Strom made 33 saves, while junior Layla Hemp stopped 18 shots for the Skippers.
Minnetonka (26-2-1) is seeking its first state championship in girls hockey since the program won three in a row from 2011-13. This is the sixth consecutive one-goal game in the state tournament for Minnetonka’s program, going back to the 2022 semifinals.
Game 3′s three stars
Lindzi Avar, Minnetonka: Scored the game-winning goal late in the second period to give her team the lead. Also recorded five shots on goal.
Allison Ryan, Minnetonka: The sophomore scored her ninth goal of the season to tie the game in the Skippers’ strong second period.
Dani Strom, Maple Grove: Made 33 saves, holding top-ranked Minnetonka to only two goals.
Game 3′s key numbers
0.9: Seconds remaining in the second period when Lindzi Avar scored her 23rd goal of the season, which held up as the game-winner. The goal was officially credited on the scoresheet at 17:00.
3: Plays reviewed to determine if goals were scored. Allyson Ryan’s second-period goal was reviewed and confirmed; two others were called no-goals, one for each team.
6: Consecutive one-goal games in the state tournament for Minnetonka, going back to the 2022 semifinals. The Skippers are 3-3 in those games.
Game 2 / 3:25 p.m.
Andover shuts out Rosemount
Andover’s defensive corps played as well as advertised, leading the Huskies to a 6-0 shutout of Rosemount in the second Class 2A quarterfinal played Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center.
No. 3 Andover (22-4-3) bottled up the Irish (14-10-5) and got two goals from defender Cailin Mumm (signed with the University of St. Thomas). Her fellow blueliners Mackenzie Jones (verbal commitment to Wisconsin) and Courtney Little (verbal commitment to the University of St. Thomas) helped hold Rosemount to 11 shots on goal.
Game 2′s three stars
Cailin Mumm, Andover: The senior defender helped shutdown Rosemount and added two goals of her own.
Maya Engler, Andover: The junior forward celebrated her birthday with two goals.
Clairebella Hills, Andover: Just a sophomore, she played well enough to post an 11-save shutout.
Game 2′s key numbers
17: Maya Engler’s age as of her birthday on Thursday
3: Friday’s semifinal marks the third Andover-vs.-Hill-Murray meeting this season. The teams split the first two games. “We’re excited; we’re ready to play them,” Andover senior forward Nora Sauer said.
0: Shots on goal Andover allowed in the third period against Rosemount.
Game 1 / 1:15 p.m.
Hill-Murray eases by Roseau
Hill-Murray drained any suspense almost immediately from its Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal meeting with Roseau.
Three Pioneer goals in the first period set a 8-2 victory in motion.
Roseau (18-11) remained dangerous throughout, but the Rams lacked the scoring firepower to snag an upset. When they cut their deficit to 3-1 and later 5-2 on goals from Ella Ketring and Jasmine Hovda, the Rams conceded goals by No. 2 Hill-Murray (25-3-1) on the next shift.
The Pioneers’ Jaycee Chatleain finished with a third-period hat trick. Five of her teammates combined for five goals.
Game 1′s three stars
Chloe Boreen, Hill-Murray: Tallied two goals, including one with a memorable backhand late in the second period.
Jasmine Hovda, Roseau: Beat the Pioneers’ Grace Zhan, a finalist for the 2024 Senior Goalie of the Year, on a shot despite playing with a cast on her broken left hand.
Emily Pohl, Hill-Murray: Scored her family’s first goal in about 25 years. The freshman forward’s parents are Pioneers co–head coaches Johnny and Krissy [Wendell] Pohl.
Game 1′s key numbers
12: Total seconds elapsed on the two goals Hill-Murray scored in response to Roseau goals.
2: Seniors on Roseau’s roster.
1: Player on Hill-Murray’s roster (Chloe Boreen) with previous state tournament experience.
Tournament information
* Watch today’s games for free on NSPN.TV. Here’s the schedule and livestream links. Semifinals and finals will be on Ch. 45.
* Live statistics for the game in progress.
* Download and print the tournament program
* Star Tribune high school sports page.
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
