Maple Grove junior goalie Brenna Blesi said her team was not happy that Northwest Suburban Conference rival Blaine was ranked one spot higher than the Crimson in the most recent Class 2A coaches' poll.

So when the teams met for their league game on Saturday at Fogerty Arena, Maple Grove had extra incentive to win.

“It gave us a chip on our shoulder and we decided, 'Alright let's go get this,'” Blesi said.

The Crimson came out on top, defeating the Bengals 3-1 thanks to two goals from junior forward Erin Roehl.

“It set the tone of the game,” Roehl said.

Last season, Maple Grove finished with a 17-0-0 conference record and went 24-2-1 overall. But a 5-1 loss to Wayzata in the Section 6 semifinals kept the Crimson from a Class 2A state tournament appearance.

Blaine, meanwhile, earned a state bid. The Bengals lost to Lakeville South 3-1 in the quarterfinals but came home with the consolation title after defeating Andover (3-0) and Eastview (4-3).

The rivalry between the north metro programs is one new Maple Grove head coach Amber Hegland recognizes.

Hegland said her team was looking forward to battling the Bengals and is also excited that both teams are in Section 5.

Hegland has utilized Roehl’s speed and intensity to fill a major team need.

“We’ve given her a role to be the player that takes opportunities from other teams' star players,” Hegland said.

Roehl's performance on Saturday marked the first time she recorded her first two goals of a season in the same game. 

Blesi said Roehl was the most intense player in Saturday's game.

Although both players were excited about the win, Blesi was also eager to showcase some of the new skills she acquired while attending the invite-only USA Hockey goalie camp over Memorial Day weekend.

She was one of 18 goalies selected for the elite camp, at which Bengals coach Steve Guider was an assistant.

“We worked a lot on stick handling, which came in handy this game,” said Blesi, who made 21 saves and allowed just one goal against Blaine. “I was excited to show (Guider) that I learned some things and know how to execute it.”

There is a chance the teams will meet in the section playoffs.

“It’s going to be another tough game, and we’re going to have to play better than we did today in order to come out on top,” Hegland said. 

Erin Roehl's two goals propelled Maple Grove over Blaine 3-1 and helped hand the Bengals their first loss of the season in a matchup between the Northwest Suburban Conference rivals at Fogerty Arena in Blaine on Saturday.

Roehl opened the scoring for the Crimson (3-1-1) with 7:42 to play in the first period. The junior forward's first goal of the season was assisted by senior defenseman Tippy Hill and junior defenseman Kalli Prekker.

Blaine (3-1-0), ranked No. 6 in the Class 2A coaches' poll, held off two Maple Grove power-play opportunities in the second period with intense defense.

Sydnee Hanson’s slap shot from inside the blue line at 11:14 in the third period gave the No. 7-2A Crimson a 2-0 lead. 

Blaine fought back with less than five minutes to play and made it a one-goal game when Gabby Rosenthal scored a power-play goal at 4:12.

Roehl sealed the win with an empty-netter with 1:06 to play.

Maple Grove's Tina Kampa and Hailey Herdine each finished with an assist.

Sam Auman and Ramsey Parent finished with one assist apiece for Blaine.  

Crimson goalie Breanna Blesi recorded 21 saves while Bengals goalie Jaela O’Brian had 26. 

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