Sports
Royals Win, Raptors Lose Sectional Girls Hockey Openers
Woodbury defeats Apple Valley, while East Ridge falls in overtime at Henry Sibley.
The postseason began for a pair of local girls hockey teams on Monday night as and opened Section 3AA competition with first-round games at home and away.
While the Royals were able to overcome Apple Valley on its own rink, the Raptors fell short of advancement in a two-overtime loss at Henry Sibley.
Woodbury 3, Apple Valley 2
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Host Woodbury never trailed Apple Valley, yet never held a comfortable lead before gritting out a 3-2 victory at the .
After a scoreless first period, Jessica Krinke got the Royals on the board at 11:09 of the middle frame. The edge did not last, however, as the Eagles struck back just 17 seconds later.
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It took only slightly longer for Woodbury to regain the advantage as forward Jessica Bonfe scored to put the Royals up 2-1. This time, the lead would not be relinquished.
Defender Sam Greeley made it 3-1 Woodbury with a goal at 3:44 of the final period and her score proved to be vital as Apple Valley struck for its second goal at 7:42.
The visitors' final tally proved to be the concluding offense of the evening, however, as Woodbury held on for the one-goal triumph. Goaltender Emilie Tappe made 21 saves for her first playoff victory with the Royals.
Woodbury, seeded eighth in the section, now travels to play at No. 1-seeded Rosemount at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Henry Sibley 4, East Ridge 3 (2 OT)
Tenth-seeded East Ridge made its first playoff appearance a memorable one, taking No. 7 seed Henry Sibley to two overtimes before losing 4-3 in West St. Paul.
After the host Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the first period, the Raptors answered with three goals in the second stanza as forwards Maegan Larson, Jessie Andersen and Jess Hammer all struck to give East Ridge a 3-1 advantage heading into the third period.
The Raptors continued to lead by two goals for more than 12 minutes of third-frame play until Sibley struck for back-to-back scores at 12:25 and 13:38 to knot the score at 3-3 and send the game into overtime.
A first overtime session passed without incident and the second extra session nearly did as well before Sibley flipped home the game winner with 47 seconds to play in the interval and end East Ridge's season.
The defeat concluded the Raptors inaugural campaign with a 6-20-1 record.
