Starting with their first goal of the game, the Minnetonka Skippers proved capable of overcoming Andover's best efforts.
Presley Norby shot the puck off Andover goaltender Cassidy Stumo and it wound up on Kippin Keller's stick. Her first attempt was stopped on a great Stumo recovery, but Keller stayed with it and batted the loose puck home.
The top-seeded Skippers went on to a 5-0 victory in the Class 2A quarterfinals.
"I just sat in front of the net looking for a rebound," said Keller, who reached the state championship game with Benilde-St. Margaret's last season before transferring to Minnetonka.
Keller's goal was followed by Emma Bigham's tally a little more than two minutes later. But Minnetonka (22-6) would not add to its lead until the third period thanks to Stumo's play.
Stumo, 13, an eighth-grader in her first varsity season, made big stops to keep her team close despite the Huskies being outshot 25-4.
"She played phenomenal," said coach Melissa Volk of Andover (14-13-2). "It could have been eight- or nine-nothing. A number of those goals were on second or third chances."
Norby and Keller each scored within the first 3:04 of the final period for Minnetonka.
"Andover was a tight-checking team that created a lot of turnovers and got us off our game," Skippers coach Eric Johnson said. "But the girls were able to focus for 51 minutes."
David La Vaque
