The Eagles quest for their first State Tournament appearance will have to wait another year.  As the number 3 seed in section 4A, they had to battle from behind, trailing in the final period of every game.  TG was able to overcome the deficits in the first 2 games, but they could not top perennial power South St. Paul, finally falling 2-1 in the section 4A championship game after battling for nearly 5 full periods.

In the first round, the Eagles met Simley, a foe they played earlier in the season.  Although they had the better of play in that previous game, TG had to settle for a 3-3 tie after giving up a 3-1 lead in the third period.  This first round section game was almost the complete opposite of their first encounter, as the Eagles entered the final period trailing 3-1.  The lone tally for TG was on a shot by Kristen Dellich at 5:07 of the second period from Amelia Vosen.  The Eagles came out determined in the 3rd period scoring 2 goals just 50 seconds apart.  At the 3:08 mark of the period, Amelia Vosen closed the gap to 3-2 from Kristen Dellich and Molly Adam.  Kristen then notched her second goal of the game from Amelia to tie the contest at 3.  Kristen wasn’t finished as she completed her hat trick on the powerplay with just 1:16 remaining in the game to give TG the 4-3 victory.  For Kristen, it was her team leading 16th goal and 4th game winning goal of the season.  The assists went to Amelia Vosen and Laura Minkoff.  It was off to the semi-finals for the Eagles.

As was the case in the first round, TG met another team they faced earlier in the season.  This time it was #2 seed St. Paul United.  The Eagles opened the season against SPU and were outshot decisively dropping a 4-0 decision.  In that contest, Alev Baysoy netted a hat trick in the St. Paul victory.  This game started off in similar fashion as Alev Baysoy scored at 9:26 of the first period giving SPU a 1-0 lead.  TG came back just 2 minutes later when Amelia Vosen scored a short-handed goal to tie the game.  The Eagles let St. Paul know they were not the same team they faced back in November.  Molly Adam put TG ahead at 14:48 of the middle period, with the assist going to Kristen Dellich.  Alev Baysoy netted 2 more goals by the end of the period for another hat trick to give St. Paul United a 3-2 lead going into the final period.  The Eagles would have to come from behind again if they wanted to reach the title game.  With just over 6 minutes remaining in the contest, and TG on the powerplay, Laura Minkoff tied the game at 3 from Katessa Archer and Allison Parnell.  The play was intense throughout the period and the game would have to be settled in overtime.  Just 41 seconds into the first overtime, Allison Parnell converted passes from Abby Huber and Maddy Javorina to send the Eagles into the championship round.  For Allison, it was her 14th goal of the season and also her 4th game winning goal.  Bring on South St. Paul.

South St. Paul was the top seed in section 4A and in the first period of the championship game, they showed TG why.  They outplayed and outshot the Eagles 17-2.  More importantly, Eagles goaltender Logan Knip held the Packers to just one goal in the period.  TG took SSP’s best shot in the opening period and only found themselves down by 1.  Play was much more even in the second period, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.  For the 3rd section game in a row, the Eagles found themselves behind entering the final period.  The third period was pressure packed and each subsequent shift was played with more intensity.  TG had a powerplay opportunity with 7 minutes remaining, but they could not capitalize.  The Eagles called timeout with 2:49 to go to set up their strategy.  With less than a minute to go in regulation, TG pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker.  With just 21 seconds to go and deep in the South St. Paul end, Molly Adam won the draw and pushed it forward.  Amelia Vosen skated across the circle and found Allison Parnell in front of the net who fired the shot to tie the game.  The Eagles again came back in the final period, in this case in the final seconds, to force overtime.  The level of effort exerted by TG fighting and battling all game long seemed to have taken its toll on the Eagles, as the Packers dominated the first 8 minute extra session.  There was no scoring and the game would go to a second 17 minute overtime stanza.  Again, South St. Paul had the better of play throughout the overtime session, but Logan Knip continued to keep the Packers off the scoreboard.  With just 52 seconds left in the 2nd overtime, a turnover deep in the TG zone was converted by Brigette Miller to send SSP to the State tournament.  For the game Logan Knip had 52 saves, her 3rd 50+ save game of the season.  The Eagles left it all out on the ice and they should be proud of the effort they displayed throughout the Section 4A playoffs.

TG ended the season with a record of 13-11-4.

Skater team leaders this season:
Points:   Kristen Dellich   [28]
Goals:   Kristen Dellich   [16]
Assists:   Laura Minkoff   [17]
Game Winning Goals:   Kristen Dellich and Allison Parnell   [4]
Penalty Minutes:   Hannah Johnson   [30]

Goalie records set by Logan Knip this season:
Most saves in a season:   812
Most saves in a game:   54 (tied record)
Most starts in a season:   28