Alexandria edges St. Paul United in girls' hockey

February 22, 2018 at 8:26AM
Alexandria's Kristin Trosvig (15) skated back to the bench to celebrate her second period goal, that gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead over St. Paul United. ] JEFF WHEELER ï jeff.wheeler@startribune.com Alexandria and St. Paul United battled in a Class 1A quarterfinal game in the Girls' Hockey Tournament Wednesday night, February 21, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Alexandria’s Kristin Trosvig skated back to the bench, celebrating her second-period goal that gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead over St. Paul United. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Alexandria senior Kristin Trosvig had played in four state tournaments before this year but her team never had made the state semifinals.

That changed Wednesday, as fourth-seeded Alexandria rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat St. Paul United 3-2 in the Class 1A quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center.

Trosvig scored twice in the second period for the Cardinals (21-7), who have made state trips 13 of the past 15 years but hadn't reached the semifinals since 2010.

Junior McKenna Ellingson added a goal on a breakaway with seven minutes left, and eighth-grade goalie Hailey Bailey saved 33 shots.

"It's crazy," Trosvig said of the win. "I just burst into tears when the buzzer sounded. It's such an incredible moment."

Alexandria took a 3-1 lead on Ellingson's goal, but fifth-seeded St. Paul United (19-10) cut the lead to one on a Catherine Kerin goal with 57 seconds to play.

United skated with an empty net the final minutes, and had a 6-on-4 chance for the final 20 seconds but did not score.

"It was nerve-racking, but I knew my team was there for me," Bailey said.

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St. Paul United (19-10) was making its third consecutive state appearance and fourth in five years. Samantha Burke scored the first goal for United, which outshot Alexandria 35-18.

"The pressure was there, and it kind of seemed like our team got tired after the first seven, eight minutes," United coach Nate Mauer said.

NATE GOTLIEB

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