Mirage Advance To Section Finals With 3-2 Win

Wes Vork-NSO

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Feb 13

Wes Vork

Behind two second period goal by Emma Stauber, Proctor-Hermantown-Marshall advanced to the Section 7AA finals for the second straight year by beating the Lightning of Grand Rapids-Greenway 3-2 Saturday afternoon at the Heritage Center in Duluth.

Hanna Buchite got things started for PHM by scoring a goal at 10:24 of the first period. Picking up the assists were Steph Strapple and Emma Stauber. That lead was short lived however, when a minute and a half later at 12:01 Morgan Illikainen scored on a pass from her sister Molly tying the game at one apiece. The Lightning added another goal when Dana Gallop put back her own rebound at 12:47 with Morgan Illikainen picking up her second point of the game on the assist.

In the second period, PHM junior defenseman Emma Stauber took matters into her own hands, first scoring off of a wrist shot on a feed from Julia Gilbert at the 3:56 mark. Then just 18 seconds later at 4:14 while on the same shift, Stauber let go with a shot from just inside the blue line. Due to traffic and screens that could not be seen by Lightning goaltender Sydney Helmbrecht until it was too late, the goal went in to give the Mirage a 3-2 lead.

With neither team able to score in the third period, Stauber’s goal proved to be the game winner, sending the Mirage back to the Heritage Center on Thursday to face Elk River-Zimmerman in the Section 7AA finals.

Anja Morris made 27 saves in picking up the win for the Mirage, while her counterpart Sydney Helmbrecht turned in 22 for Grand Rapids-Greenway.

After a disappointing 4-2 finals loss to C-E-C last year, the Mirage (19-6-2) are looking for their first state tournament appearance. They are heading into this year’s section finals on a roll, having lost only twice in the last 15 games. They will take on Northwest Suburban Conference champion Elk River-Zimmerman (22-2-3), a team that averages 3.24 goals per game while giving up only 1.48 goals per game. During the regular season, PHM did not face the Elks. However, Elk River tied C-E-C and lost 1-0 to the Duluth Stars.

Wes Vork can be reached at wes@northlandsportsonline.com