Fourth-seeded South St. Paul slips past fifth-seeded Luverne
Packers score twice in the first on their way to a 3-1 win
South St. Paul players tap their sticks to the opposing team after the game concludes in the Class A state girls hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
ST. PAUL — Junior forward Alyiah Danielson had a goal and assist and junior Delaney Norman made 20 saves to lead fourth-seeded South St. Paul to a 3-1 win over Luverne in the Class A girls state hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.
The fourth-seeded Packers (16-10-2) will play top-seeded Warroad (24-3-1) at 1 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. Warroad beat River Lakes 7-0 to advance in the biggest blowout of the opening round.
Conversely, South St. Paul beat fifth-seeded Luverne in the closest game of the quarterfinals. The Packers got all the goals they would need in the first period from junior defenseman Inga Oelerking (at 2:35) and sophomore defenseman Eva Beck (9:56) for a 2-0 lead.
Luverne cut the deficit to 2-1 on a goal by junior forward Kamryn Van Batavia at 2:49 of the second period. But South St. Paul junior forward Alyiah Danielson answered with a goal at 6:53 of the second period for a 3-1 lead.
During the regular season, Warroad beat South St. Paul 6-0 on Dec. 3.
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Senior Cheyenne Schutz made 38 saves for Luverne.
South St. Paul players figure out who touched the puck last to determine who would receive credit for a long dump-in goal in the Class A state girls hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Sydney Wolf / The Rink Live
South St. Paul players rush to congratulate Inga Oelerking for scoring the first goal of the game in the Class A state girls hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Sydney Wolf / The Rink Live
South St. Paul players figure out who touched the puck last to determine who would receive credit for a long dump-in goal in the Class A state girls hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Mick Hatten is a reporter and editor for Forum News Service and helps manage TheRinkLive.com, a website dedicated to hockey. He began working for Forum Communications in November 2018 and has covered St. Cloud State University hockey since 2010. A graduate of St. Cloud State, he has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and has been a youth hockey coach since 2014. mhatten@forumcomm.com
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