Blaine and Anoka play huge six-overtime game, Marshall scores 17, in section tournament action

Five different sections held their quarterfinal games on Thursday, Feb. 9, which included an enormous six-overtime final between Blaine and Anoka. Catch up on all of the section tournament action below as teams begin their journey to the state tournament.

Section 7AA was in full swing with four different quarterfinals happening on Thursday night.

First-seeded Andover won by the biggest margin of 14-1 over eighth-seeded Northern Tier. Isa Goettl (Minnesota) had a five-point game, with three goals and five assists, while Ella Boerger (St. Thomas) netted ten points; six goals and four assists. Three of Boerger's goals came short-handed.

On the bottom side of the bracket, fifth-seeded Elk River/Zimmerman earned a 6-1 victory over fourth-seeded Duluth. Andi Huselid (St. Olaf) netted four goals and netminder Addi Brandt made 20 saves.

The Elks (9-14-2) will play Andover (23-3) Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. in Andover for the semifinal match. The Huskies previously defeat Elk River/Zimmerman, 6-0, back in December.

On the other side of the bracket, third-seeded Grand Rapids-Greenway won 4-1 over sixth-seeded Forest Lake. Sophomore Mercury Bischoff had a hat-trick while GRG netminder Riley Toivonen made 16 saves. Forest Lake goaltender Adria Haley had a solid performance, stopping 29 of the 30 shots she faced.

One of the best stories of the night, second-seeded Blaine earned a 2-1 victory in the sixth-overtime frame over seventh-seeded Anoka. Blaine had 91 shots in the game while Anoka posted 50. Both goaltenders had amazing efforts, with Anoka's Gretchen Paaverud stopping 89 of 91 and Blaine's Hailey Hansen (Minnesota State) stopping 49 of 50. Eventually in the sixth overtime, sophomore Kayla Shaffer netted the game-winner for the Bengals.

Blaine will play Grand-Rapids Greenway in the semifinal game on Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. in Blaine. The Bengals previously defeated the Lightning, 4-3, back in November.

Only two quarterfinal matchups were held in Section 2A as both Mankato East and Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato earned bye's as the respective one and two seeds.

Fifth-seeded Waconia pulled out the victory over fourth-seeded Minnesota River, 3-0. Wildcat goaltender Abigail Elvebak stopped all 25 shots she faced to earn the shutout while junior Annika Mielke scored two goals in the victory.

Waconia (5-20-1) will face-off against first-seeded Mankato East (18-6) in the semifinals. The two teams have not yet met this season. The game will be played on Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. in Mankato.

On the other side of the bracket, Hutchinson put on a dominant performance in a 4-0 win over Mankato West. The Tigers outshot the Scarlets, 51-11. Hutchinson goaltender Kaiden Fitterer earned the 11-save shutout while Jolynn Hauan netted two goals in the game. Mankato West netminder Alayna Smith put on a valiant performance, stopping 47 shots in the loss.

Third-seeded Hutchinson (11-14-1) will now play second-seeded Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato (11-11-3). The two teams have already met twice this season, once ended in a 3-3 tie, the other was a 3-1 win for the Tigers. Puck drop is set for Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in Litchfield.

Section 3A also played two quarterfinal games as the top two teams, Luverne and New Ulm, had bye's for the first round of play.

Fourth-seeded Windom earns a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded Fairmont. The Eagles outshot the Cardinals, 43-16. Fairmont goaltender Hadley Artz stopped 40 of 43 in the loss while Windom netminder Fiona Robillard stopped 15 of 16. Senior Presley Dockter led the Eagles with two-goals in the quarterfinal match.

Windom (10-13-2) advances to the semifinals where they will face first-seeded Luverne (19-6) on Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. in Luverne. The Cardinals previously defeated the Eagles 8-0 and 4-2 earlier in the season.

Third-seeded Marshall pulled of an enormous 17-1 victory over sixth-seeded Worthington in the other Section 3A quarterfinal. Brooklyn Mauch , Regan Loft , and Eliza Holmgren all recorded hat tricks in the game while plenty of other teammates had multi-point performances. Marshall outshot their opponent 45-5.

Marshall (12-11-3) will advance to the semifinals to face-off against second-seeded New Ulm (16-8-1). The two teams previously tied 0-0 back in early January, while New Ulm won the first match-up in December, 2-1. The game is set for Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in New Ulm.

There was only one bye in Section 6A, which went to first-seeded Fergus Falls, while all other teams were in action on Thursday night.

Fifth-seeded Breckenridge/Wahpeton pulled off the upset victory over Northern Lakes, 6-3. The Blades previously lost twice to the Lightning in the regular season, but found their footing in the postseason. Reagan Wohlers led the Blades with three points, while three other skaters had two-point performances.

Breckenridge/Wahpeton (8-9-1) will now advance to the semifinals to play first-seeded Fergus Falls (20-4-1). The two squads have not yet played this season. The game will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Fergus Falls.

Second-seeded Willmar earned a big 8-0 win over seventh-seeded Prairie Center. The Cardinals' Makenna Larson led the team with two goals and two assists while senior Halle Mortensen earned the 12-save shutout in goal. Willmar outshot the Blue Devils, 50-12.

Third-seeded River Lakes also came up big in a 12-0 victory over sixth-seeded Morris/Benson Area. River Lakes (9-16-1) will face-off against Willmar in the semifinals. The two teams split their two regular season games. The semifinal will be played on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Willmar.

Both top seeds, Warroad and Crookston, earned bye's in Section 8A, while the other four teams played in quarterfinal match-ups.

Fourth-seeded East Grand Forks had a dominant 8-0 performance over Fifth-seeded Detroit Lakes. The Green Wave outshot their opponents, 46-7. Kara Ellis earned a hat-trick while Britlyn Rasmussen earned the shutout in goal.

EGF (10-15) will compete against first-seeded Warroad (21-3-1) in the semifinals. The Warriors previously beat the Green Wave, 18-0, back in November. The game is set for Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m. in Warroad.

Third-seeded Thief River Falls also had a big 7-0 victory over sixth-seeded International Falls. Sophomore Kali Knutson netted three goals while netminder Bell Hamre earns the shutout. The Prowlers outshot the Broncos, 54-9.

TRF (7-19) will play second-seeded Crookston (16-6-2) for the semifinals, which will happen on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in Warroad. The Prowlers previously lost 5-1 and 4-1 to the Pirates earlier in the season.