Blake forward Sara McClanahan steps onto the ice Saturday against Elk River. McClanahan and her teammates beat Elk River 4-0. Photo by Korey McDermott.

At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, Rob McClanahan and the U.S. men's hockey team shocked the world by upsetting the Soviet Union in their medal-round matchup. 
 
Team USA faced Finland in the round's final game. McClanahan scored the game-winning goal in the third period against Finland, firing a low five-hole shot to clinch the last Olympic gold medal won by the U.S. men’s hockey team.
 
Fast-forward 36 years to the Kaposia Classic Invitational semifinals on Jan. 2 at Doug Woog Arena in South St. Paul, where McClanahan's daughter, Sara, took a trick out of her father’s repertoire to score the game-winning goal in a shootout against Hill-Murray.
 
“I faked a shot and quickly went five-hole on the goalie,” she said.
 
The goal advanced Blake to Saturday's championship game against Elk River, and McClanahan again was a factor, assisting on two of Carly Bullock's three goals in a 4-0 victory that secured the Bears their second consecutive tournament title.
 
“We were really excited [after defeating the Pioneers],” Bullock said with a hoarse voice, a result of celebrating the team's tournament wins. “My first couple years on the team, we always ended up in the toilet bowl of Kaposia. Last year we won it, and to repeat is equally amazing.”
 
The top-ranked team in the Class 1A coaches’ poll, Blake has appeared in the state tournament three years in a row but hasn’t played Hill-Murray in the postseason because the schools reside in different classes. (The Pioneers are in Class 2A, where it is currently holds the No. 1 ranking the coaches' poll.)
 
Blake and Hill-Murray played in the Kaposia Classic semifinals last year, providing evidence that - with arguably the state's two best teams the past two years - the tournament has become a spectacle in the girls' high school hockey scene.
 
“That was a top-level game. Fast-paced. Good, quick passes on both ends,” Blake coach Shawn Reid said about this year's Hill-Murray game.
 
The win avenged a 3-1 loss to the Pioneers early this season, the only loss on the Bears' record (14-1-2).
 
"We really wanted to redeem ourselves because that was only our second game and we've gotten much better as a team," Bullock said.
 
McClanahan was just a freshman when she assisted the game-winning goal in an overtime victory against the Pioneers in last year’s meeting.
 
Now a sophomore, she has experience but still feels the external pressures others put on her because of her last name.
 
“I do put a lot of pressure on myself and think about the end result instead of the task at hand," she said. "But at that moment, I made sure to focus and tell myself I can do it and will do it, which gave me the confidence to pull it off."
 
While she carries the extra load of Rob's decorated history, McClanahan said her father puts little pressure on her. Instead, he relieves it by sending her a daily text message filled with thoughts for the day, such as a list of things to focus on for the upcoming game.
 
“They’re really short and quick like that, and it means a lot to me that I get them each day," she added.
 
The final item of Saturday’s pregame message was: “Razor sharp focus. This game will go fast.”
 
And it did. Both teams’ tired legs got little rest in a first period that saw few stoppages following Bullock’s first goal three minutes in.
 
In the opening seconds of the second, McClanahan and Bullock were scrapping for the puck along the boards and won it back to Sarah Chute, who found Bullock in the slot for a power-play goal.
 
“We both just really like to muck it up in the corners and work our tails off,” McClanahan said.
 
Bullock tallied her seventh hat trick of the season with help from McClanahan and is currently the state’s second-leading scorer with 30 goals in 17 games. McClanahan has assisted on 10 of those goals.
 
Blake’s top line of McClanahan, Bullock and junior Lucy Burton took care of the scoring, but it was an overall team victory as the Bears rolled out all four lines against the No. 9-2A Elks (12-2-1).
 
“They have a sixth sense knowing where the other is, and I like how those three are working together,” Reid said.
 
The Bears earned their eighth shutout of the season by playing smart on defense, which includes clearing out second-chance opportunities, something they did well in the semifinals while being outshot by the Pioneers 43-27.
 
“The players buy into team defense,” Reid said. “Come back hard on the puck so the defense can step up and allow our goalies to make great saves.”
 
As the pressure continues to mount for the Bears, who seek to return to the Class 1A state championship for a fourth consecutive year, sometimes it’s small things such as daily reminders that can alleviate the tension in high-stakes moments and conjure confidence.
 
“A lot of kids are worried if they play like crap, their parents are going to be mad at them," McClanahan said. "I don't have that worry. He’s [Rob] been through it all, and if I’m ever down, he always gives me hope.”

Blake goaltender Anna Kruesel (33) stopped 17 shots to shutout Elk River 4-0 on Saturday night at Doug Woog Arena in South St. Paul. Photo by Korey McDermott

First Report

Senior Carly Bullock’s hat trick boosted Blake to its second consecutive Kaposia Classic Invitational championship following a 4-0 win over Elk River/Zimmerman Saturday night at Doug Woog Arena in South St. Paul.
 
The top-ranked team in Class 1A coaches' poll, Blake (14-1-2) advanced to the title game after beating No. 1-2A Hill-Murray in a shootout in the semifinals on Friday. 
 
Bears sophomore Sara McClanahan, who scored the deciding goal in the shootout, had assists on two of Bullock’s goals in the victory over the No. 9-2A Elks (12-2-1).
 
Elk River's Megan Jung and Blake's Anna Kruesel each stopped 17 shots in goal.

Blake's Carly Bullock (22) scores from her knees the first of three goals in the Kaposia Classic Invitational championship game. Photo by Korey McDermott

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