Andover edges Minnetonka in overtime to reach Class 2A state title game

Andover forward Gabby Krause didn't have the past on her mind as her team prepared for overtime in the Class 2A girls' hockey state tournament semifinals for a second consecutive season.

Heartbreak hit the Huskies just 10 seconds into the extra frame a year ago. Things happened fast again Friday, but this time it was Krause doing the scoring with only 18 seconds gone.

The resulting 4-3 victory sent the program to its first state title game.

"We just kept our minds on going forward and executing," Krause said.

No. 2 seed Andover (27-2), able to coast through the final period in four consecutive postseason blowouts, needed a comeback to get past Minnetonka.

The dogged Huskies got two Peyton Hemp goals in the final period, the second one with 42 seconds left in regulation. The team expects that kind of toughness from "The Brick," Hemp's nickname.

"She is a very determined and driven player," Huskies coach Melissa Volk said. "In big situations like that, that's when your big players step up."

Video review confirmed LaRoche kept the puck in the zone by mere inches.

Hemp answered with a power-play goal and Andover goalie Amanda Pelkey on the bench for an extra skater.

"Once she scored, we had all of the momentum and that just led into overtime," Krause said.

Skippers coach Tracy Cassano said, "It's disappointing, obviously, because you're two minutes away from victory and going to the championship game and then all of a sudden, you're put in a position where you're trying to kill 6-on-4 and you come up a little bit short."

Andover, which defeated Minnetonka 3-1 in late November, prevailed again.