Geno Hendrickson's hat trick leads Warroad over Willmar in girls' hockey state tournament

For a minute there — well, 1 minute and 1 second to be exact — Warroad's collar on underdog Willmar in the Class 1A girls' hockey state quarterfinals loosened.

Two quick Willmar goals erased a three-goal Warroad lead in the second period, prompting Warriors coach Dave Marvin to call a timeout.

The regroup worked. Three consecutive goals by Warroad restored order and fueled a 7-4 victory Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.

"Just taking a break," Marvin said of the timeout's purpose. "There were no magic words."

An enchanted feeling overtook Willmar (18-9-1), playing in its first state tournament since 2003. Ashley Larson and Tanna Christensen scored 1:01 apart to force the timeout by No. 2 seed Warroad (22-4-2).

"We were so excited," said Christensen, who scored off a faceoff.

Said Cardinals coach Eric Setrum: "You get a goal like that and get momentum going — you're feeling pretty good. The bench was electric."

"We talk about belief all the time," Setrum said. "They called timeout and I said, 'Hey, they're feeling it, just like we were feeling it. It's time to keep going.' "

Instead, Warroad found its game.

"We had to keep working as hard as we can, trust each other and not get down on ourselves," said forward Geno Hendrickson, who had a hat trick.

Hendrickson and Hannah Corneliusen each scored a power-play goal as part of Warroad's answering salvo.