Northfield junior goaltender Mallory Tidona knows what it takes to get the Raiders to the state tournament.
Tidona recorded three consecutive shutouts in the Class 1A, Section 1 girls' hockey tournament, giving the Raiders back-to-back appearances in the state tourney. They are their only two state tournament berths in school history.
She capped off the run with a 27-save performance in a 2-0 victory over Red Wing in the championship
"Mallory was a steadying force through the entire section playoffs, but was the difference in the championship game," Northfield coach Brent Bielenberg said.
Northfield lost both regular season meetings (3-2 and 4-3) to the Wingers. Red Wing junior forward Taylor Heise, a Gopher recruit, had two goals in both of those games.
"Mallory stopped their leading scoring multiple times, including a number of point blank shots," Bielenberg said. "Her biggest save of the game came with 40 seconds remaining to seal the game."
Tidona extended the streak in the quarterfinals Wednesday, making 16 saves in a 2-0 victory over Mound Westonka.
"Mallory put an exclamation point on the fact that she is a big-game goalie and is at her best when the lights are shining the brightest," Bielenberg said.
