Forest Lake knocked off Duluth East 1-0 to advance to the second round of section 7AA playoffs. Junior goalie Casey Sauve stopped 32 shots to lead the Rangers to the win.

There were a lot of firsts Tuesday night. The first time the Rangers have punched their ticket to a section semifinal since 2011-12. The first time since 1993 Duluth East has lost in the section quarterfinals.

But the most impressive first came from converted defenseman Matthew Linder. Five minutes into the third period, Linder scored his first varsity goal and became the hero for his team and his community. "I shot it randomly at the net and it went in...easily the best win of my life," said Linder after the game. "I use to come to these games all the time as a kid. It's impossible to explain how great this feels."

With twelve minutes to play, the Rangers locked down their defense and kept Duluth East from too many high quality scoring chances. "We've modeled what we do here at Forest Lake after them," said Forest Lake head coach Jon Loo. "I told coach Randolph in the handshake line  that it meant a lot to me and I have a lot of respect for him and extremely special for me."

After stopping all 11 shots in the third period, Sauve was mobbed by his players and showered with applause by the Forest Lake hockey fans and community. Sauve told YHH, "us boys have always had it in us...we knew could to do it." Digging in with mounting pressure Sauve leaned on a higher power. "Me personally, in tough spots like that, I lean on God." On Tuesday, twenty boys and a few coaches walked out of the Forest Lake Sports Center like gods of a different kind.