Lightning finally struck for Eastview.
Appearing in its fifth Class 2A, Section 3 championship game in the last nine years, Eastview emerged as the winner for the first and will make its inaugural appearance at the state tournament after the third-seeded Lightning upset the top-seeded Wildcats 6-4 at the Veterans Memorial Community Center in Inver Grove Heights on Wednesday night.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s awesome anytime you make it,” said Eastview coach Herb Harvey, who has been at the helm for the four losses. “It’s tough when you’ve been to the final four times and lost some close ones.”
Sophomore Natalie Snodgrass was key in helping the Lightning prevail.
The forward outmuscled Eagan’s center for the puck during a faceoff in the circle to the right of the Wildcats' net and unleashed a wicked wrist shot that zipped passed junior goalie Katelyn Vrieze to give Eastview a 5-4 lead with 10 minutes, 21 seconds remaining in the game.
The goal was Snodgrass’ sixth of the playoffs. She also had an assist in the game, giving her 11 points in the postseason and adding to her team-leading totals in goals (23) and points (35).
Eagan (18-9-1) seemingly grabbed control of the game after rattling off three straight goals in the second period. Eighth-grader Megan Plaschko started the scoring streak, and freshman defender Taylor Anderson and senior defender Taylor Ramthun followed with power-play goals to erase a 3-1 deficit.
Harvey had a message for his team following deflating period. He told the Lightning (14-12-2) to get back to the game plan of getting shots on net.
“They were down a little bit, obviously, but we’ve come back in several games this year against good teams and stuck with it, and I told them we need to get back to the game plan,” Harvey said.
Eastview got the message and wrestled control away from the Wildcats when sophomore forward Sally Nelson scored a power-play goal to tie the score with 15:51 left in the third period.
“As soon as we got that (game-tying goal), the momentum changed,” Harvey said. “In the section final, it’s so emotional. One goal is scored, and your team is down in the dumps. And when you score, it’s just like you won the lottery.”
Lightning freshman forward Kati Quaintance sealed the victory and turned the tables on Eagan, scoring an insurance goal with 6:15 left in the game.
Two years ago, Eastview lost to the Wildcats in the section final by an identical 6-4 score, propelling Eagan on to its eighth appearance in the state tournament.
By beating the Wildcats, Eastview finally gets the opportunity to participate in the tournament, and Snodgrass said she’s looking forward to taking in the unfamiliar experience.
“Just playing in the Xcel Energy Center, that’s never happened before, so I’m excited to play on that and get the crowd going again,” Snodgrass said.
