A 30-5 advantage in shots on goal in the first period set the tone as Warroad advanced to the Section 8A championship game with a 12-0 win over the Park Rapids-Menahga-Nevis-Walker-Hackensack-Akeley girls hockey team Monday night at East Grand Forks.
Warroad, the No. 1 seed in the section and the No. 5-rated team in Class A, used goals by Danika Huerd at the 4:40 mark, Madison Oelkers at the 5:38 and 7:01 marks, Grace Pederson at the 9:04 mark and McKenzie Oelkers at the 12:48 mark to claim a 5-0 lead after the first period.
The Warriors extended that lead to 10-0 in the second period behind a power-play goal by Mariah Gardner at the :47 mark, goals by Abigail Hardwick at the 2:05 mark and Julianna Teske at the 3:54 mark, a power-play goal by Huerd at the 4:18 mark and a goal by Kaitlyn Kotlowski at the 9:31 mark. Warroad held a 19-3 advantage in shots in that period.
Goals by Teske at the :47 mark and Gardner at the 5:00 mark concluded the scoring as Warroad outshot the Panthers 21-6 in the third period.
Goalie Julia Smith finished with 58 saves as the No. 4-seeded Panthers end the season with a 9-16-1 overall record. Park Rapids was shut out for the fifth time this season while Warroad posted its ninth shutout of the season.
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Warroad, which held a 75-12 advantage in shots in a 15-0 win over Park Rapids on Jan. 26 and finished with a 70-14 advantage in shots Monday night, carried a 16-8-2 overall record into the section championship game against No. 2 East Grand Forks. East Grand Forks overcame a 2-0 deficit to edge No. 3 Thief River Falls 3-2 in Monday night's other semifinal game.
Park Rapids 0 0 0....0
Warroad 5 5 2....12
FIRST PERIOD: 1, Warroad, Huerd (Ma. Oelkers), 4:40. 2, Warroad, Ma. Oelkers (Teske, Meeker), 5:38. 3, Warroad, Ma. Oelkers, 7:01. 4, Warroad, Pederson (Mc. Oelkers), 9:04. 5, Warroad, Mc. Oelkers (Christian, Huerd), 12:48. Penalties: Park Rapids 1, Warroad 1.
SECOND PERIOD: 6, Warroad, Gardner (Ma. Oelkers), :47. 7, Warroad, hardwick (Huerd), 2:05. 8, Warroad, Teske (Christian), 3:54. 9, Warroad, Huerd (Pederson, Olson), 4:18. 10, Warroad, Kotlowski (Hardwick, Hendrickson), 9:31. Penalties: Park Rapids 1, Warroad 3.
THIRD PERIOD: 11, Warroad, Teske (Gardner), :47. 12, Warroad, Gardner (Ma. Oelkers, Meeker), 5:00. Penalties: Park Rapids 1, Warroad 0.
GOALIE SAVES: Park Rapids (Smith) 25-14-19--58. Warroad (Brunelle) 5-3-6--14.
