Hutchinson’s girls hockey season came to an end in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to River Lakes in the Section 2A semifinals Saturday at Richmond’s River Lakes Civic Arena.
The Tigers finished the season 12-14-1, falling just short of a return trip to the section championship game. They entered the Section 2A playoffs as the No. 4 seed after suffering a late-season slump that saw them lose seven of their final eight games.
Hutchinson found its form just in time for the postseason, however, as it opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over fifth-seeded Minnesota River Thursday.
And the Tigers gave River Lakes all it could handle in the section semifinals before the Stars validated their top see with the one-goal win.
River Lakes, 14-8-4, advances to the Section 2A championship game, where it will play No. 2 seed Willmar, a 3-1 winner over Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, at Lund Arena on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
Hutchinson 2, Minnesota River 1
Jolynn Hauan’s pair of first period goals were all Hutchinson needed to extend its season.
The Tigers rode Hauan’s scores and a strong defensive effort to a 2-1 win over Minnesota River in the opening round of the Section 2A tournament Thursday at Burich Arena.
Hauan got Hutchinson off to a fast start Thrusday, scoring at 1:26 of the first period on assists from Morgan Briggman ad Brooke Hauan.
Minnesota River responded quickly, however, getting a goal from Zetta Haugen about three minutes later.
Jolynn Hauan scored what would be the game-winning goal at 10:42 of the first, getting assists from Brooke Hauan and Kinley Miller.
From there, the teams locked in a tight battle. Minnesota River finished with a 21-18 advantage in shots, including an 8-5 advantage in the third period. Minnesota River had its second power play of the game in the third period after Brooke Hauan was whistled for tripping. But Hutchinson effectively killed the penalty with no damage done to collect the victory.
Tigers sophomore goaltender Kaiden Fitterer turned away 20 shots to picke up the win in goal.
