The Blaze jumped out to ta 2-0 lead after the first period, paced by goals from junior forward Cade Borchardt and junior defenseman Logan Osland. For the first few minutes of the second period, Prior Lake’s Tyler Bump owned the ice. 

The senior forward scored a pure hat trick in the first four minutes of the period, giving the Lakers (17-9-1) a serious advantage in momentum, and finished the period with a 4-3 lead, with a goal from Connor Clemons. Blaze senior defenseman and Mr. Hockey candidate Jack Ahcan scored the third goal for the Blaze. The score remained 4-3 for most of the third period, until Burnsville’s Jake Thomas scored with 47 seconds left to tie the game. Thomas finished with a goal and three assists for the Blaze (15-10-2).  

Burnsville coach Janne Kivihalme said that even with the barrage of goals from Prior Lake, the Blaze never lost sight of the prize. “We just kept talking about sticking to our way of hockey, staying focused, and not getting involved with the distractions,” Kivihalme said. 

Dupre, who scored three goals and had eight points in the regular season, is a fitting hero for a team that wins games with clutch defensive play and solid goaltending from Frank Brimsek award finalist Dyllan Lubbesmeyer. “Carter made a veteran play,” Kivihalme said. “As a captain, he showed the leadership there.”

With the win, Burnsville advances to the Section 2AA Final against number 1 seed Edina at Mariucci Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.