ST. PAUL — Proctor/Hermantown got two goals apiece from junior forward Nya Sieger and sophomore forward Hannah Graves on its way to beating Albert Lea 6-2 in the Class A girls hockey state quarterfinals on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.
The third-seeded Mirage (20-7-1) will play second-seeded Orono (25-3-0) at 11 a.m. Friday in the state semifinals. Proctor/Hermantown is the defending state champion and suffered a 6-3 loss to Orono on Nov. 19 during the regular season.
Albert Lea (14-11-1) will play Mankato East (21-6-0) at 10 a.m. Thursday at TRIA Rink in the consolation semifinals. Mankato East beat Albert Lea 4-1 during the regular season on Dec. 2.
The Mirage led 2-0 after the first period on goals by Sieger (at 6:23) and Jane Eckstrom (12:06). Sophomore forward Izy Fairchild scored what turned out to be the game-winner. Her power-play goal at 1:50 of the second period gave Proctor/Hermantown a 3-0 lead.
Freshman forward Liley Steven scored at 9:54 of the second period to cut the deficit to 4-1. It was the first goal scored in the first state tournament appearance for the Tigers.
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Freshman forward Jane Eckstrom had a goal and two assists and senior goalie Abby Pajair made 11 saves for the Mirage.
