Section 1AA Girls Hockey: Owatonna Puts Scare Into Lakeville North

Scoreless through two periods, No. 9-ranked Lakeville North got on the board early in the third period on their way to a 3-0 victory over Owatonna in the 1AA quarterfinals.

The Huskies got great goaltending from Kacy Borwege to keep the defending section champion Panthers off the board through the first two periods, but couldn't take advantage of their own opportunities. Some of the Huskies' best scoring chances didn't even result in shots on net. North outshot Owatonna 38-5. Several times when it looked like the Huskies might get a breakaway, the speed of North's skaters prevented that from happening. A few odd-player rushes were also defended well by the Panthers. Senior Goalie of the Year finalist Abby Cooper notched her 11th shutout of the season.

Lakeville North finally broke the deadlock early in the third. They added a goal at the midway point of the frame and an empty netter with a minute to go. Each team was 0-for-1 on the power play.

The Huskies ended their season at 14-12, their seventh straight winning season. Three seniors played their final hockey game for Owatonna: Mariah Jorgensen, Katie Johnson and Kacy Borwege.

North (21-4-1) won their 13th straight game and will host Rochester Century in Saturday's semifinals. Sixth-seed Century upset Big Nine champ John Marshall 4-3 in overtime. Top seed Lakeville South routed Mayo 11-0 and Dodge County blanked Farmington 6-0 in the other quarterfinals.

In Section 1A girls hockey, Faribault edged Austin 4-3, Red Wing shut out Albert Lea 6-0, Northfield blanked Winona 3-0 and New Prague crushed Waseca 15-0. On Saturday, Faribault goes to Red Wing and Northfield plays at New Prague.