Class A Girls Hockey State Quarterfinal: Proctor/Hermantown 6, Albert Lea 2

Proctor/Hermantown took the first step toward what it hopes will be a successful state championship title defense with a 6-2 victory over Albert Lea in the Class A quarterfinals of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Hockey State Tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022 at the Xcel Energy Center.

Junior forward Nia Sieger and sophomore forward Hanna Graves had two goals each to power the No. 3-seeded Rails (20-7-1) into the upper-bracket Class A semifinals on Friday afternoon against No. 2 Orono. Albert Lea (14-11-1) moves to the consolation side of the Class A bracket and will play Mankato East on Thursday at TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center in the semifinals. In a meeting during the Big Nine Conference schedule, Mankato East recorded a 4-1 victory over the Tigers on Dec. 2.

Sieger sent the Rails to a lead they wouldn’t surrender with an even-strength goal at 6:23 of the first period. Proctor/Hermantown, which averaged four goals per game entering the tournament, tacked on three unanswered goals before freshman forward Liley Steven broke the string with a goal for Albert Lea. Sieger completed her multiple-goal game late in the second period and Groves had her second goal late in the third period, which pushed the Proctor/Hermantown lead to 6-1.

Albert Lea, making its state tournament debut, faced 53 shots on goal. Sophomore Rachel Doppelhammer and freshman Jayda Moyer split time in goal for the Tigers. Doppelhammer made 26 saves and Moyer had 21.