ST. PAUL — Zoe Heimer will talk about this at her 10-year high school reunion. Then again at her 20-year reunion. And for every reunion after that, and most days in between.

The Dodge County junior saw the puck cross the goal line.

No one else in the arena did.

Heimer was the only one who needed to see it. After the play was blown dead without a goal being awarded, and with 1:03 remaining in overtime of the Class A  girls hockey state championship game, Heimer sprinted to her bench and pleaded with her coaches to ask for a review.

They did.

Three minutes later, the officials stepped out of the penalty box and pointed to the center of the ice. Heimer’s shot crossed the line.

The Dodge County Wildcats are state champions.

They are the first girls hockey team ever from south of the Twin Cities metro area to leave the state tournament with the championship trophy. They are the first program from south of the metro to ever play in more than one title game.

The screams of joy coming from the Wildcats cheering section as the winning play was reviewed, and after the goal was made official, wiped out minutes of stress and anxiety after Warroad scored twice in a 39-second span in the third period to erase the Wildcats’ 3-1 lead and make it a 3-3 game.

Warroad controlled a majority of the opening period, holding a 10-3 shots-on-goal advantage at one point.

The Warriors finally cashed in when Taylor Reese got behind the Dodge County defense and Jayli French made a perfect pass to send her into the Wildcats zone on a breakaway. Reese faked far-side, then put a shot over the blocker-side shoulder of Wildcats goalie Ida Huber for a 1-0 lead with 2:39 to play in the first.

That lead lasted just 33 seconds.

On the ensuing shift, Dodge County’s top line applied pressure and caused a scramble in front of Warroad goalie Peyton Rolli. Nora Carstensen was pushed onto Rolli as she lay in the crease, and the puck slid to Zoe Heimer at the right side of the crease. Heimer had an easy tap-in to tie the score 1-1 with 2:06 to go in the period.

That goal settled the clearly nervous Wildcats, who weren’t sharp for much of the first 17 minutes.

Dodge County took its first lead just 90 seconds into the second period when Kylie Meyer grabbed a rebound of a Sophia Buesking shot in the high slot and fired it past a screened Rolli to make it 2-1.

The Wildcats extended the lead to 3-1 just 2:31 into the third when Nora Carstensen scored on a setup by Heimer.

Warroad stormed back midway through the third. A Vivienne Marcowka shot trickled through Huber’s legs and Karlee Kalbrener tapped it into an open net to make it a 3-2 game with exactly 9 minutes to play.

On the ensuing shift, Marcowka put a point shot through traffic that got past a screened Ida Huber to tie the score 3-3.

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Minnesota Duluth goaltender Eve Gascon had trouble catching the puck Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena. When she finally corralled one, it cost her team the game.

Eleven minutes into the third period of a scoreless tie, the Gophers’ Abbey Murphy let go a shot from the top of the right-wing circle that banged off the glass behind the Bulldogs’ net. Gascon turned to play the puck, and she caught it just under the crossbar.

Murphy immediately began telling anyone and everyone that Gascon’s glove was beyond the goal line when she grabbed the puck. A quick video review proved Murphy to be correct, and the Gophers held on for a 1-0 victory.

“Her whole glove was in there,” Murphy said of her demonstrative reaction to the play. “I’m like, ‘That’s a goal.’”

As sure as she was, Murphy — and the rest of the Gophers — had to hold their breath in hopes that the replay showed, conclusively, that the puck was across the goal line.

“We were waiting,” Murphy said, “but I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m 10,000% that it went in.”

The goal was a team-leading 25th of the season for Murphy, but her first in the month of February.

“Sometimes when you’re fighting it a little bit, all of a sudden you bank one in off of someone’s rear end or a shin pad,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said. “But never really seen one like that.”

And yes, Murphy acknowledged that she’s been squeezing the stick a little tighter these past few games.

“Just a little,” Murphy said facetiously. “Obviously, it gets tough sometimes, but you’ve just got to find a way. Got to keep on shooting the puck and they’ll come.”

In making Murphy’s goal stand up, the fourth-ranked Gophers (25-9-1, 19-8-1 WCHA) completed the weekend sweet of the No. 6 Bulldogs (19-13-2, 14-12-2).

With Ohio State’s win over St. Cloud State on Saturday, the Gophers are the No. 3 seed in the WCHA tournament and will host Minnesota State-Mankato in a best-of-three-series beginning on Friday.

The Gophers outshot the Bulldogs 49-22 in the game, including 17-7 in the first period, when they registered the first 12 shots on goal in the game. The Bulldogs’ first shot on goal came halfway through the period.

The second period took a nasty turn, with the team taking turns making trips to the penalty box. The players seem to be frustrated over what they perceived to be missed calls or questionable calls by the referees.

Things calmed down in the third period.

“I think both coaches realized that after the way that second period went, that it was not advantageous for anybody,” Frost said. “(In the third) it got back to trying to win a hockey game.

“That’s why in third, I was just so proud of our group. Just stay out of stuff. Don’t worry about anything except what we can control and get back on top of our game. I was really proud of how they did that.”

Murphy was one of nine Gophers seniors saluted in a pregame ceremony on the ice. Frost spoke to the team about winning one for a group that has meant so much to the program, and one of its members proved to be the one to come through when it was needed the most.

“Great team win,” Murphy said. “Everyone worked their butts off. Honestly, just the effort by our team was incredible. So, I’m happy about this one.

“It’s really good to get a little momentum on our side. It really hasn’t really gone our way the last couple (series), but this was a really fun weekend.”

The Gophers have followed a four-game losing streak with three consecutive wins.

“I love how we’re playing,” Frost said. “We’re maturing at the right time. I’ve talked all year about playing the right way. We’ve done that in spurts, but then other times we haven’t. We’ve been doing a lot better job of that of late — certainly these last two games.”

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Minnesota United was 12-plus minutes away from doing something no other MLS club has done to Los Angeles FC in season openers: force even a draw.

But one of the league’s marquee clubs did what they always do: get all three points. Jeremy Ebobisse’s goal from outside the 18-yard box was the difference in a 1-0 win at BMO Stadium on Saturday in Los Angeles.

LAFC’s eight straight season-opening wins since 2018 stands as an MLS record.

The Loons were unbeaten in three straight openers, with wins at Austin last year and Dallas in 2023 and a draw at Philadelphia in 2022. A year ago, the Loons and LAFC were tied for the best road record (8-6-3) in MLS in 2024.

Kelvin Yeboah and Tani Oluwaseyi each had a scoring chance for MNUFC in the first half. In the fifth minute, Oluwaseyi had a shot near the penalty spot go just wide.

Yeboah then pounced on a Timothy Tillman giveaway in the 13th minute. His shot beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but it went off the post and skidded in front of the net and wide.

Left wingback Joseph Rosales exited at halftime, with Anthony Markanich coming in. Rosales had dealt with a hamstring issue during preseason, but Apple TV’s Taylor Twellman said Markanich came in for tactical reasons. That’s a surprise because Rosales was one of the Loons’ best players at left wing back last season.

Ebobisse’s goal came in front of Markanich.

Robin Lod subbed in for Joaquin Pereyra and Sang Bin Jeong came in for Oluwaseyi in the 67th minute in like-for-like changes.

Jeong’s shot in the 89th minute took a deflection and hit off the crossbar.

Briefly

Forward Jordan Adebayo-Smith will head out to another club on loan, the Pioneer Press learned. It’s unclear the term or destination for the 24-year-old. … Captain Michael Boxall has now played in all nine of Minnesota’s MLS seasons since 2017. He made his 213th regular-season appearances for MNUFC.

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A Minnesota-born U.S. Border Patrol agent killed in the line of duty last month was buried at Fort Snelling on Saturday.

David Christopher “Chris” Maland, 44, was killed Jan. 20 while working in Vermont. He pulled over a car about 20 miles south of the border with Canada, believing one of the two passengers had an expired visa. One of the passengers opened fire; the other allegedly also drew a gun, according to an FBI affidavit.

Maland was fatally shot in the exchange. One of the passengers in the car, Felix Baukholt, was also killed.

On Saturday, Maland was buried with full military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery during a funeral attended by family, friends, community members and Border Patrol agents from around the country.

“Chris was a dedicated agent who served with honor and bravery,” his family wrote in his obituary. “He had a tremendous respect and pride for the work he did: he truly embodied service over self.”

Maland was born in Blue Earth and grew up in Fairmont. He was an Air Force veteran and worked security at the Pentagon, where he was stationed during the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Gov. Tim Walz ordered flags to fly at half-staff Saturday in Maland’s honor.

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“Minnesota recognizes Maland’s dedicated service and sacrifice, and I extend my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” Walz said in a statement.

The FBI has arrested and charged a Washington state woman in connection with Maland’s death. Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces federal firearms charges. She was the surviving passenger in the car involved in the shooting; the FBI affidavit alleges she opened fire first. Both people in the car belonged to a group called the Zizians that may be linked to six deaths in three states, investigators said.

This report includes information from the Associated Press.