Centennial/Spring Lake Park and Holy Family advanced from their respective quarterfinal matchups on Thursday evening, advancing to the semifinals at Grand Casino Arena Friday night.
Centennial/Spring Lake Park 7, Farmington 5
A third-period explosion saw Centennial/Spring Lake Park five of eight goals in the frame to claim a 7-5 win over Farmington in their opening-round matchup.
The game was tied 1-1 at the end of the first period and 2-2 through two stanzas of play before Alaina Gnetz and Madeline Wolter scored just over a minute apart early in the third to give the Cougars a lead they didn’t relinquish.
Not that the Tigers didn’t try, scoring three goals in the period off the sticks of Jenna Goblirsch, Taylor Risch, and Amelia Goblirsch. However, Centennial/Spring Lake Park bettered Farmington’s efforts with goals from Madeline Wolter and Jozie Kelzenberg before an empty-netter late in the contest from Lillian Renslow settled matters for good.
Wolter and Gnetz scored two goals apiece for the Cougars, with Risch and Goblirsch doing the same for the Tigers.
Farmington goaltender Makena Underwood made 22 saves, while her Centennial/Spring Lake Park counterpart Kaia Weland stopped 20 shots.
Holy Family 4, Andover 0
Audrey Nichols’ tip-in goal gave Holy Family a 1-0 lead late in the first period and the Fire never looked back in a 4-0 defeat of Andover in Thursday’s late quarterfinal.
The score remained 1-0 through the second period and midway into the third before Allie Dufaw doubled the advantage at 8:15 of the final frame. Tatum Elvin’s first goal of the season all-but decided matters with 2:56 to play before Katya Sander’s empty-netter in the closing moments put the finishing touch on the victory.
Fire goaltender Kayla Swartout made 20 saves to record the shutout win, while Huskies netminder Clairebella Hillis stopped 26 of the 20 shots she faced.
Friday’s semifinals
All seedings held in the quarterfinals, propelling the top four teams into the semifinals on Thursday.
No. 1 Hill-Murray will face No. 4 Edina at 6 p.m., with No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park squaring off with No. 3 Holy Family no earlier than 8 p.m. to determine which teams will play for the Class AA state title at 7 p.m. Saturday.
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