Section 7AA 

Northern Tier played sacrificial lamb to top-seeded Andover in the quarterfinals, as Isa Goettl and Ella Boergercombined for nine goals and 19 points in the Huskies' 14-1 win. The six goals and four assists vault the St. Thomas commit Boerger into the state top-10 scoring leaders. Boerger is currently eighth among all skaters with 38 goals and 66 points. 

A pair of third-period goals helped Grand Rapids-Greenway seal the deal last night, as the Lightning punched its ticket to the semifinals with a 4-1 win over Forest Lake. The third-seeded Lightning got the usual hat trick from Mercury Bischoff, who had recorded seven of those performances during the regular season. 

No. 5 seed Elk River scored five straight goals en route to a 6-1 win over fourth-seeded Duluth, powered by senior forward Andi Huselid's first career hat trick (apparently scored in her teammate's skates after hers became unusable) and 20 saves from Addi Brandt. Elks now get Andover in the semifinals (smiling emoji with single tear). 

Side note: The Elks took the Huskies to four overtimes during the 2019 section playoffs. Elk River's Megan Jung finished that game with 85 saves. 

It was nearly the longest recorded game in Minnesota girls' high school hockey history with nearly 120 minutes of gameplay, but No. 2 seed Blaine snuck past seventh-seeded Anoka for a 2-1 win, with Kayla Shaffer potting the game-winner in the sixth overtime. 

While Hailey Hansen's 49 saves for Blaine heroics won't go unmentioned, the performance of Gretchen Paaverud wrote the junior goaltender into the state's girls' hockey lore. Paaverud stopped 89 of 91 shots during the game for the Tornadoes, considered one of the most impressive statistical outputs in section playoff history. 

Section 2A 

Annika Mielke scored two goals, and Abigail Elvebak stopped all 25 shots she faced as fifth-seeded Waconia blanked No. 4 seed Minnesota River 3-0. The Wildcats tallied their three goals on just 15 shots, as the MN Girls' Hockey Hub boxscore indicates that Waconia produced zero shots on goal during the third period. 

Rough night scoring goals for losing teams in 2A on Thursday. 

No. 3 seed Hutchinson recorded three goals in the second period and added one more in the third for good measure for a 4-0 win over Mankato West, the section's No. 6 seed. Jolynn Hauan scored twice for the Tigers, while Mankato West's Alayna Smith stopped 47 of 51 shots in the loss. 

Section 3A 

It turns out the home of Red Baron frozen pizza can also score goals. 

No. 3 seed Marshall pumped 45 shots on the Worthington net last night, cashing in on 17 of those tries for a 17-1 win over the Trojans. Brooklyn Mauch, Regan Loft, and Eliza Holmgren each tallied a hat trick for the Tigers, with Loft leading all scorers with five total points. 

Despite 40 saves from Hadley Artz, No. 5 seed Fairmount fell to fourth-seeded Windom on Thursday, as Windom rode a two-goal performance from Presley Dockter to a 3-1 victory. 

Fun fact: Dockter and her (assumed) sister Ella lead the state in penalty minutes. Ella, a sophomore defender, has 67, while senior forward Presley has 66 thus far.

Section 6A 

In a minor upset, No. 5 seed Breckenridge/Wahpeton downed fourth-seeded Northern Lakes for a shot at the section's top seed Fergus Falls in the semifinals. Reagan Wohlers led all skaters with two goals and three points for the Blades, with Holly Ovsak chipping in with a pair of goals. Wohlers now has 42 goals on the season, good for sixth in the state. 

The win avenged two regular-season losses to Northern Lakes for the Blades.  

No. 2 seed Willmar showed off its depth in last night's 8-0 win over Prairie Centre, with seven players recording goals for the Cardinals. Makenna Larson scored twice and dished out two assists, with single goals coming from (deeeeeep breath) Rebecca Dawson, Avery Olson, Avery Quinn, Chloe Lownsbury Birgit Figenskau, and Macee Hansen. 

No official box score, but No. 3 seed River Lakes skated past sixth-seeded Morris/Benson Area for a 12-0 win. The Stars will face Willmar in the semifinals. 

Section 8A 

NEED. MORE. SHUTOUTS. 

East Grand Forks brought the full force of the Red River down on Detroit Lakes, as the No. 4 seed Green Wave scored four times in the second period to pull away for an 8-0 win over the Lakers. A hat trick from Kara Ellis and a two-goal, one-assist performance by Blake Schultz led the Green Wave's offensive attack, which will now attempt to do the same against No. 1 seed Warroad (clenched teeth emoji). 

A five-goal second period was bookended by single-tally first, and third frames as No. 3 seed Thief River Falls blanked International Falls 7-0, paced by Kali Knutson's hat trick. The Broncos' Mara Pelland made 47 saves during the loss, her 11th game this season with at least 40 stops.