Feb. 21—ST. PAUL — After everything that Alexa Van Straaten, Kylie Meyer and Zoe Heimer have meant to the Dodge County girls hockey program for six years, this was a fitting way for the Wildcats' seniors to end their high school hockey careers.

Van Straaten and Heimer had assists on the game-winning goal, and the Wildcats' senior trio combined for four assists as No. 4-seeded Dodge County beat No. 3-seeded Blake 4-1 on Saturday in the Class 1A state tournament third-place game at Grand Casino Arena.

The Wildcats end their season at 22-7-1 overall and with their third consecutive top-three finish at the state tournament.

"We talked about several things we wanted to accomplish," Wildcats coach Jeremy Gunderson said. "No. 1, we wanted to win this (game) for the seniors.

"No. 2, we were seeded below Blake, so we told the girls 'if there are doubters out there, come back and show them differently.' It's the last game, the last chance. There are very few times you get to play on the last day of the season and end your season with a win. ... Now, every year we've been (at state), this group has placed in the top three in the state. They've been the first from southern Minnesota to do a lot of things."

The victory capped another outstanding season for Dodge County, and outstanding careers for its five-player senior class. Injuries kept seniors Berkley Klaehn and Ashlyn Praxel off the ice in the postseason. Klaehn missed the full season, Praxel was injured on Jan. 6 and was unable to return, but they remained leaders on a team whose only postseason loss came by one goal, in overtime, to state powerhouse Warroad.

"Each of those kids is pretty special," Gunderson said. "Berkley was with this group all the way through youth hockey and was very valued. She built great relationships with her teammates and was like having an extra coach for us.

"Ashlyn was our third-line center, did a great job there. We feel bad she wasn't able to participate (since her injury), but she was with us this week and stayed close with the team."

The three seniors who were on the ice during the playoffs have all been key players in the program for at least three seasons, during which time the Wildcats compiled a 69-15-3 overall record, three section championships, two trips to the state championship game and one state title (2025).

They combined for 34 goals and 99 points this season — Van Straaten had 41 points, Heimer 35 and Meyer 23.

Van Straaten — one of five finalists for the inaugural Minnesota Girls Senior Defender of the Year award — finished her three-year career with 96 points (26 goals, 70 assists), a remarkable run for a defender.

Meyer, also a defender, finished her five-year varsity career with 76 points (26 goals, 50 assists).

"Lexi and Kylie, they quarterback the team," Gunderson said. "They change off for each other, so one of them is always on the ice. They're a dynamic duo on our top penalty kill (unit) and they both quarterback the power play; whoever is fresh is the one who goes out first on the power play. They play great defense and are great in the locker room.

Heimer, a forward who played on the Wildcats' top line this season, completed a five-year varsity career in which she scored 43 goals and added 74 assists, for 117 points.

"Zoe is just a sparkplug of energy, a kid who plays with a lot of emotion," Gunderson said. "She's a gritty player who'll never go down quietly and isn't afraid to get to those hard areas around the net. She sticks with it, scores those hard goals. She's strong on her stick and really hard to defend. It's been fun to watch her grow from being 5 or 6 years old, through all the progressions."

Those seniors leave some big skates to fill, but Dodge County has shown it has the players capable of stepping into bigger roles.

Leading scorer Maysie Koch, a junior forward, scored two goals and added an assist in Saturday's victory. The University of St. Thomas commit finished her junior year with 56 points (24 goals, 32 assists) and will enter her senior season with 93 career goals and 211 points.

Sophomore forward Daisy Harens had two goals and four points in this state tournament and finished the season with 15 goals and 31 points. Her sister, Willow, just a seventh-grader, had a key assist in the Wildcats' overtime state quarterfinal win against Proctor/Hermantown on Wednesday, and had 16 points this season. Taryn Wernecke, a 20-point scorer this year, is back up front, too, along with Bryn Spreiter, Maren Hodgman, Grace Roethler and Vivi Cano.

On the back end, defenders Sophia Buesking, Josie Fulton, Adyn Spreiter and Maisy Fulton all return.

So, too, does junior goalie Faith Humphrey, who was excellent in her first season as a starter. Humphrey played all but four periods this season, going 22-7-1 with a 1.63 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage and 9 shutouts. She made 19 saves on Saturday.

Saturday's win in the state third-place game was the second of the season for the Wildcats against Blake. Dodge County also beat the Bears 3-1 on Nov. 25 at Dodge County Ice Arena in Kasson.

There was no scoring through the first 20 minutes of Saturday's state third-place game.

The Wildcats took control, though, with a flurry of second-period goals.

It started on their their third power play of the game, 3:54 into the second. Van Straaten took the puck in her own end and carried it up the left wing. She circled all the way behind the net and carried it back out front into the right circle. Two Blake defenders drew toward her, so Van Straaten made a nice feed to Koch in the left circle and she put a one-timer just under the crossbar.

On their next power play, 10:45 into the second, Van Straaten gathered a loose puck near the far wall. She skated it back to the point and again drew the attention of Blake's penalty killers. That leaft Daisy Harens open with all kinds of space in the right circle. Van Straaten slid the puck over to her, Harens took a stride to get her momentum going toward the net and wired a wrist shot past Blake goalie Janie McGawn's glove.

The Wildcats made it 3-0 with 19 seconds left in the second, when Koch forced a turnover along the far wall in the Blake zone. The junior standout took it hard to the net, but three defenders collapsed toward her, leaving Taryn Wernecke uncovered just above the crease. Koch fed her and Wernecke fired it into the net before McGawn could get back across. It was the ninth goal and 20th point of the season for Wernecke.

That made it 3-0 after two periods.

Blake got on the board nine minutes into the third, when Elizabeth Salonek let a point shot fly thorugh traffic and Leila Dalum redirected it at the top of the crease, past Humphrey, for the only goal she allowed in the game.

Shortly after Blake got on the board, Koch won a draw in the Wildcats' defensive zone and pushed it to Meyer on the left wing. Koch and Meyer swapped spots and Meyer sent a pass up to Koch, who flew in along the left wall. She skated the puck into the left circle and sniped the top corner, far-side on McGawn for her second goal of the game and 25th of her junior season. Meyer earned her 15th assist and 23rd point of her senior year.

The Wildcats will take a few days before turning the page and starting to look toward the 2026-27 season, but they also know a lot of talented players will return when practice starts in late October.

"Faith is coming back after her first season, she took that next step to being a starter for us this year," Gunderson said, "and we'll be good on defense. We have some kids who've played a lot of minutes. Forward-wise, we'll be deep, too."

DODGE COUNTY 4, BLAKE 1

Dodge County 0-3-1 — 4

Blake 0-0-1 — 1

First period — no scoring. Second period — 1. DC, Maysie Koch 24 (Alexa Van Straaten 26) 3:54 (pp). 2. DC, Daisy Harens 15 (Van Straaten 27, Zoe Heimer 23) 10:45 (pp). 3. DC, Taryn Wernecke 9 (Koch 31) 16:41. Third period — 4. BLK, Leila Dalum 13 (Elizabeth Salonek 10) 9:00. 5. DC, Koch 25 (Kylie Meyer 15) 11:45.

Shots on goal — DC, 16-9-5 — 30; BLK, 6-7-7 — 20. Goalies — DC, Faith Humphrey 19 saves (20 shots); BLK, Janie McGawn 26 saves (30 shot). Power-play opportunities — BLK, 0-for-2; DC, 2-for-5. Penalties — BLK, 5-10 minutes; DC, 2-4 minutes.

Feb. 20—ST. PAUL — For a handful of years in the 2010s and early 2020s, Jeremy Gunderson would schedule his Dodge County girls hockey team to play in a holiday tournament in Warroad.

A 425-mile bus ride the day after Christmas wasn't always ideal, but once the Wildcats got to Warroad, they understood why their coach scheduled the trip.

"We played up there for years," Gunderson said Friday afternoon. "We'd take our kids up to the holiday tournament and take them out ice fishing. ... There are a lot of good stories."

On a different sheet of ice, the Dodge County and Warroad teams have written a different kind of story. They've played one another for three consecutive seasons, on the state's biggest stage, the Class 1A state tournament.

Friday, Warroad's story had the happy ending.

Junior forward Jaylie French found herself alone behind the Dodge County defense, with the puck and with Wildcats goalie Faith Humphrey standing between her and another trip to the state championship game for her team.

"I knew we had to win," French said. "We had to win the game there."

French delivered. She faked a shot, then pulled it around the outstretched pad of Humphrey and tucked it into the net to give the Warriors a 6-5 victory 2:42 into overtime at Grand Casino Arena.

The game marked the third consecutive season that Dodge County and Warroad met in the state tournament. In 2024, Warroad beat the Wildcats 5-2 in the state championship game. A year ago, Dodge County got its revenge, winning the state title 4-3 in overtime.

Friday, the teams met in OT again, and Warroad got the last break to go its way.

"Nobody wants to lose, but that was a fun game," Gunderson said. "I think we gave the fans, everyone, a game they could watch. We all saw and felt the roller coaster. We had our ups and downs, the late-game comeback, and these girls never quit. They have a lot of grit."

That the game was even in overtime is a testament to the level of perseverance the Wildcats have shown all season, and especially in the postseason. They rallied from two goals down to beat Albert Lea 3-2 in the Section 1-1A championship game. On Wednesday, they let a two-goal lead slip away before they bounced back and beat Proctor/Hermantown 3-2 in overtime in a state quarterfinal game.

Friday, the Cardiac 'Cats were at it again. Down 5-3 late in regulation, they scored two goals in the final 85 seconds to force overtime. The first was by last year's state championship game hero, Zoe Heimer. This time, Heimer won a net-front battle and hammered a puck past Warroad goalie Peyton Rolli with 1:25 remaining to make it a 5-4 game.

The Wildcats pulled their goalie again after Warroad was called for icing with 1:19 to go. Dodge County kept the pressure on and with 20 seconds remaining, senior defender Alexa Van Straaten put a shot on net from the point. Rolli made the save, but Wildcats junior Bryn Spreiter was on the spot and put the rebound in to complete her hat trick, tie the score and force OT.

"I went straight to the net and was in the right spot at the right time," Spreiter said, "but I give all the credit to my teammates."

"Brynn, she's a joy to the team," Wildcats' junior forward and top-line center Maysie Koch said. "Everybody loves her. She's kind of one of the quiet ones on the team, so we have to get her going. But she does a lot for the team. She's a fast player, a smart player."

The game was tied 3-3 entering the third period, but Harren scored 42 seconds in, then Taylor Reese capped her hat trick with 5:22 to play, making it 5-3 Warroad. The odds seemed stacked against Dodge County at that point, but Heimer and Spreiter made sure they had a chance to play OT.

"We definitely thought we could do this," junior defender Sophia Buesking added, about the game going to OT. "We were just really confident, confident in all our players. We were in the zone and ready to go."

Reese (3 goals, 1 assist) and French (2 goals, 4 assists) combined for 10 points in the win. Spreiter added one assist for the Wildcats, for a four-point game. After Wednesday's quarterfinals, Reese said she was hoping to face Dodge County in the semifinals so the Warriors could "make them feel like we felt last year."

She didn't back down from her statement after Friday's game, but Warriors coach Izzy Marvin credited Dodge County's effort and skill.

"We knew Dodge County would be tough," Marvin said. "They're a motivated group. It was like a heavyweight fight at times."

Dodge County (21-7-1) will play for third place at 10 a.m. Saturday against Blake or Breck, at Grand Casino Arena.

Warroad (23-5-1) will play in the state championship game against Blake or Breck at 4 p.m.

WARROAD 6, DODGE COUNTY 5, OT

Dodge County 2-1-2-0 — 5

Warroad 0-3-2-1 — 6

First period — 1. DC, Bryn Spreiter 13 (Alexa Van Straaten 24, Maysie Koch 30) 12:30. 2. DC, Kylie Meyer 8 (Daisy Harens 16) 14:22. Second period — 3. W, Taylor Reese 20 (Jaylie French 36, Elin Rolli 1) :13 (sh). 4. DC, B. Spreiter 14 (Josie Fulton 5) 1:08. 5. W, French 20 (Vivienne Marcowka 21, Olivia Anthony 28) 3:50 (pp). 6. W, Reese 21 (French 37, Reagan Haley 11) 9:57. Third period — 7. W, Linnea Harren 7 (Reese 13, French 38) :42. 8. W, Reese 21 (Harren 20, French 38) 11:38. 9. DC, Zoe Heimer 12 (B. Spreiter 11, Meyer 9) 15:35 (ex). 10. DC, B. Spreiter 15 (Van Straaten 25). Overtime — 11. W, French 21 (Marcowka 22).

Shots on goal — DC, 14-5-9-0 — 28; W, 10-9-10-4 — 33. Goalies — DC, Faith Humphrey 27 saves (33 shots); W, Peyton Rolli 23 saves (28 shots). Power-play opportunities — DC, 0-for-2; W, 1-for-3. Penalties — DC, 3-6 minutes; W, 2-4 minutes.