HIBBING-CHISHOLM (17-10-1) VS. WARROAD (17-8-2)
What: Class A quarterfinal
When: 1:30 p.m. (approximately)
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul
Internet: Prep45.com
ADVERTISEMENT
Outlook: Hibbing-Chisholm is making its 12th state tournament appearance while Warroad is making its eighth, all since 2006. The programs have seven runners-up and three state titles between them, with the Bluejackets winning the single-class championship in 1997 and the Warriors winning Class A titles in 2010 and 2011. The teams didn't meet during the regular season but had four common opponents in Duluth, Duluth Marshall, International Falls, Crookston and Roseau. Hibbing-Chisholm went a combined 6-1 against them, while Warroad went 5-1, with the lone losses against Roseau. Unseeded Hibbing-Chisholm advanced with a 4-0 victory over Duluth Marshall last week in the Section 7A final in Virginia. The game was 1-0 going into the third before the Bluejackets struck with goals from Mallorie Iozzo, Rachael Skorich and Sydney Haben. The Bluejackets are senior-dominated up front. Iozzo (31 goals, 31 assists, 62 points), Lilly Rewertz (17-24-41), Skorich (15-15-30), Allie Bussey (11-19-30) and Allyson Brandt (12-17-29) lead the team in scoring, with Bussey, a ninth-grader, being the only non-senior in the group. Sophomore goalie Abby Edstrom (13-9, 2.24 goals-against average, .908 save percentage) has come on in the playoffs. ... Third-seeded Warroad advanced with a 3-2 victory over East Grand Forks in the 8A final as Kaitlyn Kotlowski scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining in regulation and just 70 seconds after the Green Wave had tied it. A pair of Minnesota State-Mankato recruits, junior Madison Oelkers (33-44-77) and senior Mariah Gardner (36-34-70), lead the Warriors in scoring while senior Emma Brunelle (15-4-2, 1.48 GAA, .938 save percentage, eight shutouts) starts in net.
Quotable: "It's been crazy, without a doubt," Hibbing-Chisholm's Emily Erickson said of making the state tournament in her first year as Bluejackets coach. Hibbing-Chisholm is 11-3-1 since starting 6-7-1.
