For nearly 25 minutes, it appeared St. Paul United could be a thorn in Warroad’s side for the third time in five years. 

United trailed only 2-0 late into the second period, weathering the storm of shots and rebounds rained down by undefeated Warroad. Then the Warriors’ myriad of talented and creative players tacked on two power-play goals, and the thoughts of a quarterfinal upset evaporated into dry-as-hell Minnesota air. 

While the Warriors (27-0-1) dominated throughout the 4-0 win, head coach David Marvin said that there was a spell where he and the Warroad coaching staff were less than satisfied with the scoring output. 

“I thought we had them running (in) the first nine minutes of the game,” Marvin said during the postgame press conference, referring to the game’s opening stages when Hannah Corneliusen and Geno Hendrickson scored the Warriors’ first two goals. 

“Then I thought (St. Paul United) played and came back and I thought they played really hard until we got that third goal,” Marvin continued. “Those two goals late in the second really helped us out.”

Warroad’s Hendrickson tallied both second-period goals for the Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the final Youth Hockey Hub regular-season ratings and the top seed in the tournament. The hat-trick pushes Hendrickson’s season total to 22 tallies. Senior Goaltender of the Year finalist Quinn Kuntz made 18 saves for the Warriors to earn her 16th shutout of the season. 

St. Paul United (12-14-2) had ended Warroad’s season during the 2016 and 2017 state tournament semifinals, and a 44-save performance by senior goaltender Kenzie Giese kept United in the hunt until the final frame.

“She’s been playing great,” St. Paul United head coach Mark Johnson said. “She’s been the backbone, and the girls have really been striving and working hard after her performance has been in the last section (game) and even tonight,” Johnson added.

Giese, who backstopped United to an upset win over top-seeded South St. Paul in the Section 4-1A finals, said that reality has set in that this is her final high school tour of duty. 

“I realize this is my last season, my last chances to get in the game and show what I could do,” Giese said. “It’s really hitting home that this is my last high school hockey opportunity.”

Warroad’s Marvin lauded the goaltending through three quarterfinal matchups, saying that it’s been the best slate of first-round results he’s seen during his expansive state tournament experience. 

“Look what the other scores were, my goodness,” Marvin said. “A good goalie can beat a good high school team.”