2021 CLASS AA STATE GIRLS HOCKEY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
(Games played Saturday, March 27 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul)
11:00: Centennial vs. Edina (Seed 2)
1:00: Alexandria vs. Minnetonka (Seed 3)
6:00: Farmington vs. Andover (Seed 1)
8:00: Eastview (Seed 5) vs. Stillwater (Seed 4)
Examining the Field: After a day of Class A quarterfinal action, it's the Class AA team's turn to take the Xcel Energy Center spotlight. First up is the Centennial Cougars, in their fourth trip to state. They took home the Section %AA trophy with a win over the top seeded Maple Grove Crimson. Last time the Cougars played in the state tournament, they faced the Edina Hornets and lost 2-1. This season, the Hornets are unbeaten and the number two seed. Head coach Sami Reber has several Division I players on the roster and they look to bring home a state title before they go their separate ways.
In the second game, the Alexandria Cardinals are in their 14th state tournament but their first as a Class AA school. They were the dominate team for years in Section 6A and hope to transfer their success to the next level. But it won't be easy as they face the third seeded Minnetonka Skippers who are in their sixth state tournament. Minnetonka was a hot team in the 2010s, winning three consecutive state titles under head coach Eric Johnson. Now it's Tracy Cassano's turn to guide the Skippers toward another Class AA championship game. But first, they may have to face for the third time, their Lake Conference rival the Edina Hornets.
Opening up the evening session is the Farmington Tigers, heading down Highway 3 for the eighth time to the X. They will face the unbeaten and defending state Class AA champion Andover Huskies. If you have had the chance to attend any of their games in these COVID 19 times, you would have had a pretty quick trip to the arena because 16 of their games have gone into running time due to the six goal or more margin in the third period. Andover, under head coach Melissa Volk has won 27 straight games and has 11 seniors. Can the Huskies bring home another title trophy to the growing Anoka County suburb?
Wrapping up the quarterfinals is the fifth seeded Eastview Lightning and the fourth seeded Stillwater Ponies. The Lightning are in their fourth state tournament appearance, their first since 2017. Eastview is on a five game winning streak since they were shut out by the Eagan Wildcats on March 9 3-0. The Ponies make their first trip to St. Paul since they won the Class AA championship title in 2019. It will be the first for head coach Mira Jalosuo, who replaced long-time head coach Tony Scheid. Stillwater's has lost two games by identical 4-3 scores to Roseville and East Ridge and have won 10 straight games. Can they make it 11 in a row against the Lightning?
Blogger's Note: Research for this article came from mshsl.org and minnesota-scores.net.
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