歪歪漫画

ST. PAUL 鈥� David Marvin didn鈥檛 need to say the actual words out loud to communicate that he felt the capture of another state championship for Warroad had been a long time coming.

The joyful tears and trembled voice with which he spoke during the postgame press conference did most of the talking for him.

But Marvin, Warroad鈥檚 girls hockey coach of 16 years, did elaborate verbally, as well.

鈥淚鈥檝e been here a long time and we鈥檝e been really close,鈥� Marvin said after his top-seeded Warriors took down defending champion No. 3 Proctor/Hermantown 6-1 in the championship game of the Class A girls hockey tournament Saturday evening at the Xcel Energy Center.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 say it never affected me. I wanted these guys to win for a long time. I might get emotional, but I鈥檓 super proud of these guys and that jersey they wear.鈥�

Saturday marked Warroad鈥檚 first Class A title since it won back-to-back in 2010 and 2011, which preceeded a decade of domination of the tourney by Blake and Breck, which ended with Proctor/Hermantown鈥檚 first title in 2021.

The Mirage ended the Warriors鈥� chance at the championship in last season鈥檚 semifinals and judging by Lila Lanctot鈥檚 closing remark of the postgame press conference Friday, Warroad was eager to return the favor.

鈥淪ome of us are still a little salty about that one,鈥� Lanctot said after Warroad (26-3-1) beat South St. Paul in the Friday鈥檚 semifinals.

The Warriors actually had beaten the Mirage (21-8-1) since the 2021 state tourney, 1-0 on Nov. 13, but winning the rematch at Warroad Gardens Arena in the second game of the season just wasn鈥檛 as sweet winning at the 鈥榅鈥�.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing,鈥� said junior captain Talya Hendrickson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an unreal feeling right now. It鈥檚 probably the best thing that鈥檚 happened to me the last couple years.

Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

Added junior assistant captain Kate Johnson: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 even explain it right now. I feel like I鈥檓 on Cloud 9.鈥�

Proctor/Hermantown scored the game鈥檚 first goal 2:45 into the first period when Nya Sieger cleaned up a rebound in front of the Warroad net.

The first intermission marked the first time Warroad trailed going into the second period since the first game of the season 鈥� a 3-2 loss to Holy Family Catholic 鈥� and it was only the fourth deficit the Warriors faced all season.

鈥淲e got in the locker room and we were a little down after the first period,鈥� Hendrickson said. 鈥淏ut we talked it out, we figured it out and we put some pucks in the net.

鈥淭he floodgates just opened. When we get one goal it鈥檚 just like bam, bam, bam.鈥�

1/26: Proctor/Hermantown's Jane Eckstrom (18) takes a shot at Warroad goalie Kendra Nordick (33) during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

2/26: Proctor/Hermantown's Alyssa Yokom (15) and Warroad鈥檚 Madison Lavergne (14) battle for the puck during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

3/26: Proctor/Hermantown's Nya Sieger (4) gets the puck away from the boards against Warroad during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

4/26: Warroad鈥檚 Emerson Hardwick (10) passes around Proctor/Hermantown's Katie Sandelin (14) during the second period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

5/26: Warroad鈥檚 Kate Johnson (16) goes in to score on Proctor/Hermantown goalie Abby Pajari (32) during the second period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

6/26: Warroad鈥檚 Kate Johnson (16) right, celebrates her goal with Warroad鈥檚 Lila Lanctot (55) during the second period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

7/26: Proctor/Hermantown's Nya Sieger (4) scores on Warroad goalie Kendra Nordick (33) during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

8/26: Proctor/Hermantown celebrates their first goal against Warroad during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

9/26: Warroad鈥檚 Kate Johnson (16) brings the puck around the front of the goal past Proctor/Hermantown's Ava Anick (28) during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

10/26: Warroad鈥檚 Madison Lavergne (14) skates toward the goa against Proctor/Hermantown during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

11/26: Warroad鈥檚 Madison Lavergne (14) skates the puck past Warroad鈥檚 Linnea Harren (15) during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

12/26: Warroad鈥檚 Kate Johnson (16) passes around Proctor/Hermantown's Ava Anick (28) during the first period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

13/26: Proctor/Hermantown players watch as Warroad celebrates their State Class A Tournament win during the third period at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

14/26: Warroad鈥檚 Madison Lavergne (14) takes a shot at Proctor/Hermantown goalie Abby Pajari (32) during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

15/26: Warroad celebrates their win over against Proctor/Hermantown in the State Class A Tournament Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

16/26: Warroad celebrates their win the State Class A Tournament Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

17/26: Warroad celebrates their win the State Class A Tournament Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

18/26: Warroad鈥檚 Madison Lavergne (14) takes a shot at Proctor/Hermantown goalie Abby Pajari (32) during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

19/26: Warroad鈥檚 Lila Lanctot (55) takes the puck in to score behind Proctor/Hermantown goalie Abby Pajari (32) during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

20/26: Warroad goalie Kendra Nordick (33) blocks a shot by Proctor/Hermantown's Reese Heitzman (21) during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

21/26: Warroad goalie Kendra Nordick (33) hands the puck to the referee after making another save against Proctor/Hermantown during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

22/26: Warroad's Talya Hendrickson (13) tries to work the puck past Proctor/Hermantown goalie Abby Pajari (32) and Proctor/Hermantown's Morgan LaValley (12) during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

23/26: Warroad goalie Kendra Nordick (33) deflects a shot against Proctor/Hermantown during the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

24/26: Proctor/Hermantown fans watched is disbelief as Warroad went ahead 6-1 late in the third period Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

25/26: Warroad celebrates their win over against Proctor/Hermantown in the State Class A Tournament Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

26/26: Warroad celebrates their win over against Proctor/Hermantown in the State Class A Tournament Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

Like each semifinal game, the championship game seemed to be heading in a certain direction with one team in control before the eventual winning team flipped the game on its face and ran away with it.

In Friday鈥檚 semifinal against South St. Paul, Warroad turned a one-goal lead late in the third period into a blowout with four goals in roughly two minutes. Saturday the Warriors were just slightly more methodical.

Warroad tied the game and took the lead on a pair of goals early in the second period to turn the momentum in Warroad鈥檚 favor. Defenseman Abby Chamernick made a crafty play from the perimeter on each goal to create the scoring chance.

The junior assistant captain carried the puck around the left size of the offensive zone to the left of the Mirage goal and fired the puck toward the net. The puck squirted out after goaltender Abby Pajari couldn鈥檛 corral it and Hendrickson was there to tap it in on the back door at the 3:02 mark.

Jason Wachter / The Rink Live

Just under three minutes later, Chamernick side-stepped a Proctor/Hermantown defender at the point to walk the puck into the slot to put it on net and tee up another rebound, this time for Madison Lavergne to bury.

Chamernick also assisted on Kate Johnson鈥檚 second of two power play goals, both of which came later in the second period and gave Warroad a 4-1 lead going into the third.

鈥淲hen Cham鈥檚 distributing the puck and playing like she was today, she鈥檚 very good,鈥� Marvin said. 鈥淚t seemed like everything she threw at the net was just dropping and someone was putting it in.鈥�

Lavergne finished the game with two goals and Lanctot added a goal in the third period to give her five for the tournament. Goaltender Kendra Nordick had 18 saves for the Warriors and Pajari made 28 saves for the Mirage.