The Northfield High School girls hockey team (27-3-0) ended season with a 7-2 loss to Maple Grove in the consolation bracket at the 2024 MSHSL Class AA state tournament at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul on Friday, Feb. 23.
The setback drops the #5 seeded Raiders from the double-elimination state tournament as Northfield had opened the quarterfinals of the tournament with a loss to Edina on Thursday, Feb. 22.
Maple Grove (21-8-1) quickly took control of the contest with a goal by Kelsey Olson at :31 of the first period to take a 1-0 lead. The Crimson then scored four more goals in the first period with markers posted by Cate Fischer, Bella Shipley, Grace Erickson and a second goal by Olson.
The Raiders snapped the Maple Grove scoring streak any 3:21 of the second period as senior Grace McCoshen scored a shorthanded goal with a solo assist credited to Emerson Garlie.
In the third period, Maple Grove’s Lauren Lubow scored a shorthanded goal to make it 6-1 before Northfield’s Isabelle Stephes scored one the power play at 10:31 with assists from Ayla Puppe and Mia Miller. To complete the scoring, Olson tallied her third goal of the contest at 10:48 of the third.
In the game, Maple Grove outshot the Raiders 35-29.
The Raiders were making their fourth trip to the state tournament this season and their second trip to the Class AA tournament since 2022. The Section 1AA champion, Northfield also claimed its fifth Big 9 Conference championship this season with a perfect 13-0-0 record and also opened the season with a 23 game win streak under the leadership of head coach Paige Haley.
Senior forward Ayla Puppe, a 2024 Ms. Hockey top five finalist, capped her prep career with 61 goals, 50 assists and 111 points for the Raiders this winter. Mia Miller ranked second on the team with 69 points (21g/48a), while Garlie, a senior, had 60 points (30g/30a) and McCoshen added 49 points (20g/29a). In goal, Macy Mueller owned a 27-3-0 record with 10 shutouts and a 1.69 goals against average.
Northfield vs Edina
A four-time state champion making its 14th appearance in state tournament play, Edina (22-6-1) turned in a sterling offensive effort to claim a 5-0 victory over Northfield (27-2-0) in the final quarterfinal round game of the MSHSL Class AA state tournament on Thursday, Feb. 22 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The season is not over yet for Northfield (27-2-0), as it enters the consolation bracket and will play Maple Grove at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul on Friday, Feb. 23 at noon.
After a 0-0 deadlock in the first period that saw the #4 seed Hornets outshoot #5 seed Northfield 14-3. Northfield goalie Macy Mueller was tested often in the opening period and stood tall with 14 saves to her credit.
Edina broke into the scoring column with an even-strength goal at 3:22 of the second period by Whitney Horton on assists from Hannah Halverson and Lorelai Nelson.
The goal proved to be the game winner for the Hornet but Edina went on to add a another goal in the second period with a marker by Halverson at 11:21.
Edina went on to finalize the result with three more goals in the third period starting at 1:47 of the period with a second goal by Horton. At 5:48 of the third, Edina’s Brenna Prellwitz pushed the lead to 4-0 and to cap the scoring, Halverson netted her second goal of the game with an unassisted breakaway tally at 6:10 of the third.
Edina outshot the Raiders 39-8 in the game as Reese McConnell earned the shutout for the Hornets with eight saves. Mueller was the goalie of record for Northfield with 34 saves. Both Northfield and Edina were 3-of-3 on the penalty kill in the contest. Ayla Puppe led Northfield with four shots on goal in the game, while Isabelle Stephes and Mia Miller each had two shots apiece.
“Obviously not the outcome we wanted, we definitely came in with a game plan and tried to execute it and we weren’t able to do much. I give credit to Edina…they are a very defensively solid team,” NHS coach Paige Haley said.
“They took away time and time and space everywhere on ice,” Puppe said about the defensive play of Edina.
Senior captain Grace McCoshen also added her insight into the play of the Hornets, “We were not able to get shots off, so taking away the middle of the ice was one of their keys.”
Despite the setback, Northfield brought some impressive credentials into the tournament with 27 wins in 2023-24 along with a conference and Section 1AA championship.
“It was a goal for us to make it to our section final and win that and get back to the state tournament and the girls definitely achieved their goal and we are proud of them for getting here. It is a huge accomplishment and it is not easy to make it to a Class AA state tournament,” Haley said.
McCoshen also talked about the significance of the Raiders’ trip to St. Paul for the state tournament.
“I think a lot of younger girls in the youth hockey look up to us, so making it to the state tournament has made an impact on them,” McCoshen said.
Mueller added, “They (the local youth hockey players) want to support us, especially when we get this far. I think when they get up to this level it will be something they can look forward to and they know it is possible because older generations have done it.”
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