ST. PAUL, Minn. — Warroad is headed to the Minnesota Class A girls hockey state championship game.
Lila Lanctot scored three goals in 1 minute, 38 seconds in the third period to help Warroad pull away from South St. Paul and win 5-0 in a semifinal game in Xcel Energy Center.
Talya Hendrickson and Madison Lavergne, who had four points, also scored for the Warriors. Kaya Sandy added three assists.
Warroad (25-3-1) advances to play Proctor/Hermantown in the state championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday in Xcel Energy Center.
The top-ranked Warriors are searching for their first state title since they won back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011. Warroad has finished runner-up three times since its last title — 2013, 2018 and 2019.
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Warroad continued to be stingy defensively.
The Warriors have not allowed a goal in 197:54 dating back to a first-period goal in the section semifinals against Thief River Falls.
On Friday afternoon, goaltender Kendra Nordick, a finalist for the state's goalie of the year award, stopped all 16 shots. Nordick made 11 saves in Warroad's 7-0 state quarterfinal victory over River Lakes.
The game remained scoreless until past the midway point of the second period when Hendrickson, a junior, scored her 34th of the season at 9:39.
“We were frustrated a little bit (after two periods),” Warroad coach David Marvin said. “We stuck to our plan, we were fortunate to be up a goal and in the end, I think we wore them out.”
Lavergne made it 2-0 with 5:14 left in the game, scoring her 14th goal of the season.
The Warriors’ 2021 season ended in the Class A semifinals with a 3-1 loss to Proctor/Hermantown.
“We’re so pumped right now,” Lavergne said. “We’re excited to go back to the ‘ship. We haven’t been there in a few years. We’re ready now.”
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Then, Lanctot reeled off three-straight goals for the Warriors. It was the first hat trick of the season for the junior.
