The Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall girls hockey team has been scoring goals at a rate reminiscent of when Andrea Nichols and Kayla Hagen were dominating for Hibbing-Chisholm earlier this decade, but the Mirage's production also has been noticeably absent in some of their biggest games.
It hasn't been for a lack of shots.
PHM will get a chance for redemption when the Section 7AA playoffs begin today, with the third-seeded Mirage (18-6-1) taking on No. 6 Cambridge-Isanti (12-10-2) at 7 p.m. at Mars Lakeview Arena. The game is a rematch of last Saturday's contest, which the Mirage won 5-4 in overtime after outshooting the Bluejackets 52-15.
"Cambridge has a really strong goalie, and it can be super frustrating when you put up 52 shots and only get five goals," said forward Jami Weiss. "You just have to keep shooting and know that it will eventually go in."
The Mirage have averaged six goals per game and likely have the state'ssecond-highest scoring line in seniors Weiss and Sam Downey and junior Julia Gilbert (26-35--61), who have combined for 84 goals. The team isn't all about offense, though, as sophomore Anja Morris has taken over in net after senior Katie Gilderman suffered a knee injury, and junior Hannah Buchite is a leader along the blue line.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Hanna doesn't make many mistakes, and when she does, she is very good at covering them up," PHM coach Glen Gilderman said. "She's like a good carpenter."
PHM has hit double digits in goals in four games but lost 3-2 to Duluth on Jan. 28 at the DECC -- despite outshooting the Northern Stars 35-15 -- as goalie Laura Bellamy stopped 33 shots. Four nights later, PHM lost 2-1 to defending state champion Eden Prairie. Again, the Mirage had a shots advantage at 26-19.
"I honestly can't think of a game where we've been outshot, so as long as we can continue to get solid defense and put the puck in net, I think we can beat anybody," Weiss said. "We kind of a hit a scoring slump, but I think we broke out of it against Cloquet [a 7-2 victory on Feb. 5]."
Grand Rapids-Greenway, the defending section champion and last year's state runner-up, is the No. 1 seed and has a first-round bye. Duluth is the No. 2 seed and Cloquet-Esko-Carlton is No. 4.
If the Mirage win today, they could see the rival Northern Stars at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Heritage Center in the section semifinals, but after last weekend's tight game against Cambridge-Isanti, Gilderman isn't looking that far ahead.
"At one point, our section had four teams ranked in the top 11 or 12 in the state," Gilderman said. "There's no question it's one of the best sections in the state, so you can't take anyone lightly."
