Edina Too Much For Rosemount Girls At State Hockey Tourney

The Rosemount girls hockey team didn’t look the part of a first-time state tournament participant Thursday.

Instead, the Irish came out flying, crashing the net every chance they got against Edina in the Class AA quarterfinal at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The problem? They had no answer for Maddie Dahl.

The Hornets’ junior goalie looked unbeatable Thursday, stopping all 24 shots she faced while backstopping Edina to a 6-0 win over the Irish.

The Hornets moved on to Friday’s state semifinals, while the Irish will play 10 a.m. at the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena on Friday against Lakeville South.

For Rosemount coach Tracy Cassano, Thursday’s matchup was decided early on thanks to Dahl’s play.

“We just didn’t get the breaks scoring,” Cassano said. “(Dahl) made some great saves, and that was the difference.”

The Irish (22-6-1) led the shots total through two periods and got many of their scoring chances in the first. But while Rosemount had quality opportunities, Edina made good when they were around the net.

The Hornets scored their first goal 3:23 into the first period of the stick of Hannah Burns and never looked back. By the time Rosemount’s initial offensive push began to wear off, the Hornets had a 3-0 lead midway through the second.

As the second and third periods wore on, Edina began to show the speed and aggressiveness that led them to a 25-3-1 record this season. On the power play, they went 3-for-4 in the game—getting two power-play tallies from Sarah Nielsen and another by Sami Reber in the game.

“They came out their fastest and they had the experience,” senior forward Allison Micheletti said. “We had a lot of younger girls that haven’t been here before.”

For Edina coach Laura Slominski, Rosemount gave the Hornets everything they expected on the ice.

“Rosemount is a great team; they come from a great section, and Tracy (Cassano) has done a great job with that program.”

After a strong season and the first section championship in school history, Micheletti said the senior class takes pride in leading the Irish to its first state tournament.

Still, falling short stings, she said.

“We’re a little bit sad I guess,” Micheletti said. “We’ve got to get over it and look forward to the next game.”

Next up for the Irish girls is the Friday consolation bracket game at Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota. They will be playing at 10:00 a.m.

Students of Rosemount High School will be excused from school to attend the game as long as they pick up a permission slip in the main office before they leave on Friday morning at 8:19 a.m.

Students must get their parents signature on the form over the weekend and they must attach a ticket stub from the game to the form when they return it on Monday.

The permission slip and attached tickets must be returned to the main office  between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to receive a school authorized absences.  

The cost of the game tickets is $12 for adults and $8 for students. The tickets will have to be purchased at the Ridder Arena box office. 

There will be no advance ticket sales at Rosemount High School and the school will not provide student fan buses to the game.

GAME SUMMARY

Rosemount 0 0 0 — 0

Edina 2 1 3 — 6

Scoring - First period:
3:23 EDINA Hannah Burns (Suzie Lundeen, Liza Nessan)
9:26 EDINA Megan Armstrong (Ali Austin).

Scoring - Second period:
5:17 EDINA Sami Reber (Armstrong, Sarah Nielsen) PPG.

Scoring - Third period:
1:16 EDINA Sarah Nielsen (Christie Brauer) PPG
4:20 EDINA Nielsen (Brauer, Reber) PPG
7:54 EDINA Austin (unassisted).

Shots on goal — ROSE 24, EDINA 30.

Power plays — ROSE 0-2, EDINA 3-4.

Saves — ROSE Caitlin Dantzscher 24, EDINA Maddie Dahl 24.