Rogge's Hat Trick Rocks Eden Prairie Eagles

Thursday night was a big night for Naomi Rogge as she got a hat trick to lead the defending Class AA champion Eden Prairie Eagles to a 6-4 win over the Forest Lake Rangers in the Class AA girls hockey quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Rogge, a finalist for the Ms. Hockey Award and will play next season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, would contribute to the Eagles two first period goals.  On the first goal, she passed to her fellow senior Emily McLaughlin and she cut through the center slot and scored the first Eden Prairie goal.  Rogge would steal the puck from the Rangers Eryn Slagle and she went through the center slot like the team bus heading down Kellogg Blvd.and put the Eagles ahead by two with 1:35 left in the period.

The second period began where Rogge left off as she forced a Ranger turnover with her defense, found an opening on the right side of Forest Lake goalie Josephine Bothun and put the puck in the net.  The Rangers, playing in its fourth state tournament and winless in six games would cut the Eagle lead to one :41 later when Maddie Kolbow rebounded Mackenzie Rugland's shot into the net.  .  Eden Prairie would tally twice as Rogge lined a shot toward the net and McLaughlin deflected the puck over the goal line.  The Eagles would go up by four goals following Crystalyn Hengler's shot that went off the goal post and Sydney Langseth got into position on the right side of the crease to score the goal.  Forest Lake would come through :37 later on Sydney Rydel's liner from the right face off circle that entered the net.  Rogge would get the hat trick after she tapped in Hengler's shot from the right point.

Before the Rangers would head back up I-35E, they would score twice in the third period.  Kolbow would score her second goal of the game from the left point and Kayla Kasel rebounded Madi Nolan's shot to cut the lead to two.  Could the Rangers score two more goals to force overtime?  Not after head coach Todd Gutterman pulled Bothun for a sixth attacker with 2:40 to play.  Both teams wouldn't score in that stretch.

The Eagles improved their record to 20-6-2 and will face the Edina Hornets in the semifinals on Friday, February 24 at 8 PM at the Xcel Energy Center.  The Rangers fell to 20-7-2 and will take on the Farmington Tigers in the consolation semifinals, also on the 24th at noon at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.