Last season in this tournament, the Eagles opened against Woodbury and the game went into overtime to determine the winner (T-G won in a shootout).  This time, the Eagles opened against host Armstrong Cooper and again the opening round tournament game would be decided in overtime.  In this game, it was A/C that would come out victorious in the shootout.  (The game is officially recorded as a 2-2 tie since the MSHSL does not recognize games decided by shootout.)

The first period was a fast moving one where there were few stoppages.  Both teams came out skating and the play was physical.  Armstrong Cooper got on the scoreboard at 10:26 of the period on a shot from Jessica Halverson.  This would be the only goal of the period as Armstrong Cooper enjoyed a slight shooting advantage of 7-5.

A/C came out strong to start the middle frame and put heavy pressure on T-G goaltender Logan Knip.  She first stopped a point blank shot just 1:50 into the period and turned away a 2 on 1 opportunity just a minute later.  Logan's heroics kept the Eagles just one goal down as Armstrong Cooper dominated the period.  Midway through, the Eagles had a powerplay opportunity and were pressing to get the tying goal.  A/C caught T-G up the ice and was able to get behind the Eagle defense to increase their lead to 2-0.  Armstrong Cooper was later whistled for a 5 minute boarding penalty with just a couple of minutes left in the period.  T-G would have a hill to climb going into the final frame, but they had a golden opportunity to start with the man advantage.

Although the Eagles did not score on the powerplay, it did allow them to get their offensive game in gear.  The line of Maddy Javorina, Molly Adam, and Kristen Dellich were applying pressure and their work paid off.  Maddy worked the puck off the boards to Kristen Dellich who skated down the slot and cut the deficit in half to 2-1 with 14:04 remaining in the 3rd period.  For Kristen, it was her team leading 10th goal of the season.  Eighty-one seconds later, the game would be tied.  Laura Minkoff was on the left point and found Kristen along the boards, who sent the puck across to Katessa Archer.  Katessa fired a low sneaky shot that Armstrong Cooper goalie Lexi Ripka never saw.  Both teams had a couple of opportunities later in the period, but neither could convert.  The game would go to overtime.

Neither team was able to score in the overtime session, so the outcome would be decided by a shootout.  Shooters that were selected were Emma Terres, Marissa Odell and Mari Verbeten for Armstrong Cooper and Maddy Javorina, Allison Parnell and Kristen Dellich for T-G.  A/C won the shootout 2-1 to win the game.  The Eagles will next meet Rogers, who lost to Red Wing 6-1, at 5:15pm on Friday.