Proctor/Hermantown at Blaine
7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 8

If the first 18 games haven’t helped prepare Proctor/Hermantown for the postseason, the last seven certainly will.

The No. 6-1A Mirage face ranked opponents in four consecutive games to close out the regular season, staring with a matchup against No. 7-2A Blaine. After the Bengals, Proctor/Hermantown faces No. 19-2A Grand Rapids/Greenway, No. 19-1A Hibbing/Chisholm and No. 20-1A Moose Lake-Willow River.

The Mirage (11-6-1) went 2-1 at last week's Burnsville Tournament, with shutout victories over Faribault (5-0) and Minneapolis (4-0) before falling 3-1 to Burnsville in the championship. Sophie McGovern (18-11-29) had five goals and Callie Hoff (15-20-35) had five assists in the tournament.

Blaine is riding an eight-game winning streak in which they have outscored opponents 41-6, including a 1-0 win over No. 9-2A Elk River.

The Bengals (13-2, 7-2) cruised to three wins at the Mid-Winter Border Battle in Blaine, highlighted by a 7-1 win over No. 20-2A White Bear Lake in the tournament championship.

Four players have reached double-digit goal totals for Blaine, led by Paige Beebe (18-12-30). She had two goals in four of the past five games.

Freshman forward Ramsey Parent (12-14-26) had three goals and four assists at the Mid-Winter Border Battle. Parent and Abby Jones scored in Blaine's 2-1 win over Spring Lake Park/Coon Rapids on Jan. 2 to help keep the Bengals in third place in the Northwest Suburban Conference standings.

Sophomore Gabby Rosenthal (15-10-25) and junior forward Courtney Moser (10-13-23) provide additional scoring for Blaine.