MAPLEWOOD, Minn. — Mahtomedi will defend its Class A state title next week at the Xcel Energy Center after a 3-2 overtime victory against Southwest Christian/Richfield in the Section 4A championship game on Thursday at Aldrich Arena.
It just needed the goal by Sam Harris in the extra frame to return to the state tournament.
This is the third-consecutive state tournament berth for the Zephyrs and the 15th in program history.
Mahtomedi didn’t have an easy path to winning the Section 4A title though as the Stars opened scoring in the second period of the match off a power-play goal from senior center Jared Greiner. Things were then quiet on the scoring front until the third period where the Zephyrs got themselves on the scoreboard early in the frame. Mahtomedi then scored again to earn its first lead of the night but that was short lived as Greiner scored yet again for the Stars, this time shorthanded, to tie things back up at 2-2.
Southwest Christian/Richfield has a lot to be proud of this season though as they made the section final for the first time in program history. The Stars end their season with a 17-11 overall record while Mahtomedi advances to 17-11 and will play in a state quarterfinal game on March 6.
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Jason Wachter / The Rink Live
MAHTOMEDI 3, SOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN/RICHFIELD 2
MAHT: 0-0-2-1—3
SWCR: 1-0-1-0—2
*Box score will be updated as more statistics become available.
Sydney Wolf is a reporter for The Rink Live, primarily covering youth and high school hockey. She joined the team in November of 2021 and graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Writing and Rhetoric Studies.