Irish are ready for their return engagement

Girls hockey quarterfinal is rematch with Andover

A feeling of deja vu swept over the Rosemount girls hockey team twice within a few days last week.

The first time, it was absolutely welcome. When Rosemount defeated Apple Valley 6-1 in the Section 3AA championship game Feb. 14, the Irish knew what it meant. They were going to the state tournament for the second consecutive year.

The second occurrence left the Irish a little ambivalent. Last weekend, they waited eagerly to see who they would play in the state quarterfinals. The bracket, revealed on the Minnesota State High School League website, revealed the Irish’s opponent to be Andover – the same team they played in last year’s quarterfinals. That game will be 1 p.m. Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

A couple other coaches of Class AA tournament-qualifying teams voiced concerns about what appeared to be patterns developing in the way the state tourney is seeded and suggested the process should be reviewed. Rosemount co-head coach Jennifer Williams said she might had chosen a different team to play in the first round if it had been up to her, but the excitement of returning to state overrides those matters. The bracket is what it is, and the Irish are getting ready to play whoever is put in front of them.

“We call it kind of a revenge game,” said junior forward Sophie Stramel, a Rosemount captain. “Last year, obviously, we lost by a lot (Andover defeated Rosemount 9-0 in the 2023 state quarterfinals). Andover is a top team and I don’t think we were ready right away. I think this year we’ll make it a lot closer game. It’s good that we got a team that we played last year because we know what they’re going to do, and we know how to fight back against it.”

In theory, the unseeded Irish (14-9-5) got the most favorable draw possible because under the current procedures the third seed is the lowest-seeded team Rosemount could face. If they face No. 1 seed Minnetonka, it wouldn’t be until their final game at state.

With the Irish suiting up a number of players who got ice time at last year’s state tournament, Stramel and Williams said they expect the team to be more composed this year.

“It feels a little bit more comfortable,” Williams said. “Last year was the first time in a long time (12 years) that we had made it, and we were all excited and happy. It was a little surreal then; this year it feels like we should be there. We’re ready for it, mentally.”

It wasn’t easy for the Irish, who were 4-6-2 in late December before starting the long, gradual build to playoff readiness. The Irish entered the Section 3AA playoffs seeded third, but beat top seed Lakeville North (4-3 in overtime Feb. 10) and second-seeded Apple Valley to take the trophy.

“It’s not like we were trying to lose early in the season, but we talked about how the year was about building for February,” Stramel said. “If we had a crappy loss in December, we could sacrifice that.

“But when it comes to February, we need the wins. We had some games where we only played one or two periods. We needed to play the way we know how to play for three periods. We did it in the playoffs, and that was really special to us.”

South Suburban Conference champion Lakeville North took a two-goal lead over Rosemount in the section semifinals, but the Irish came back and won on Maggie Erickson’s overtime goal.

In the championship game, ninth-grade forward Taylor Krieg’s natural hat trick doubled her season goal total. Annalee Holzer, the Irish’s leading scorer, had two goals and Stramel added an empty-net goal. Junior forward Makayla Moran scored her 39th goal of the season for Apple Valley, which finished 16-10-2.

Stramel credited goalie Natalie Kendhammer with keeping Rosemount in the game against Lakeville North and allowing the Irish to come back. Kendhammer, who has a 1.88 goals-against average in 17 starts, made 41 saves against Lakeville North and 32 against Apple Valley.

Williams, a 1999 Rosemount High School graduate who later played at St. Cloud State, tried several times to reach the state tournament as a player. She was close in her senior year, when the Irish lost to South St. Paul in the section final.

She said getting to the state tournament as a coach had never occurred to her before returning to the Rosemount varsity girls program. Williams and Kyle Finn are in their second year as co-head coaches.

“Wasn’t even on my radar,” Williams said. “Last year it was a lot a fun and a little bit unexpected. This year the goal definitely was going back to state.

“We were preparing to play the best hockey we can, no matter who we got (in the first round). I don’t think anybody’s nervous about playing Andover again.”

Section 1AA

Northfield forward Emerson Garlie scored with 51 seconds remaining to give the Raiders a 4-3 victory over Lakeville South in the Section 1AA final in Owatonna.

The last-minute goal allowed Northfield (27-1) to survive a third-period rally by Lakeville South (21-4-3). The Cougars fell behind 3-0 in the second period but tied the game on goals by Sophia Kuhns, Ella Fowler and Lilly Hunst. The Hunst goal made it 3-3 with 3 minutes, 45 seconds remaining. Josie Grossman had two assists and goalie Claire Bronson made 21 saves.

Northfield, ranked eighth in Class AA, reached the state tournament for the second time in three years. Lakeville South, ranked 12th by Let’s Play Hockey, was seeking its first state appearance since 2018.

Class AA girls hockey

Thursday

Quarterfinals/Xcel Center

Hill-Murray (24-3-1) vs. Roseau (18-10), 11 a.m.

Andover (21-4-3) vs. Rosemount (14-9-5), 1 p.m.

Minnetonka (25-2-1) vs. Maple Grove (20-7-1), 6 p.m.

Edina (21-6-1) vs. Northfield (27-1), 8 p.m.

Friday

Semifinals/Xcel Center

6 and 8 p.m.

Consolation semifinals/TRIA Rink

10 a.m. and noon.

Saturday

Championship/Xcel Center

7 p.m.

Third place/Xcel Center

1 p.m.

Consolation championship/TRIA Rink

Noon.