Up and down the ice she went all night, skating and shooting and falling in what looked to be a losing effort.

With 7.9 seconds left in the third period Wednesday, Natalie Snodgrass’ Eastview squad trailed Eagan by a goal in the Class 2A, Section 3 girls’ hockey final.

Snodgrass had spent all night outskating the competition and fighting to create opportunities in what became a highly physical game.

And finally, her relentlessness came with a reward.

As the clock wound down, Snodgrass rebounded a blocked shot and sent it into the net from close in to force overtime.

In the first extra period, she did it again, this time falling as she flopped the puck into the net, giving herself a hat trick and Eastview a 4-3 victory and a second consecutive section title.

“I just remember getting the puck and flicking a shot,” Snodgrass said. “It wasn’t my best shot at all.

“It was lucky, but it went in, and I just got tackled.”

Snodgrass’ heroics negated a go-ahead goal from Eagan’s Elise Lee, who fired a slapshot from the blue line with 3:39 left in the third period to put Eagan ahead.

Earlier in the night, Eagan took a 1-0 lead when Hannah Kojetin scored a wraparound goal 11:09 into the first period.

Eastview answered only 36 seconds later on a goal from Snodgrass.

Thirty seconds after that, Eastview went up 2-1 after a Mary Keating goal.
Eagan, though, didn’t lose momentum. The Wildcats kept firing away at Eastview goalie Emma Tschida, who finally surrendered a second-period goal to Megan Plaschko.

Eagan outshot Eastview 39-32 and controlled the puck for much of the night.
But when it mattered, the Wildcats couldn’t stop Snodgrass.

“She just goes,” Eastview coach Herb Harvey said. “I don’t think there’s any stopping her when she’s got it in her mind that she wants to earn something.”

First Report

Eastview’s Natalie Snodgrass continues to do the unbelievable.

With 7.9 seconds left in the third period and her team trailing Eagan by a goal, Snodgrass scored from close distance to tie the game.

In overtime, she scored again to give her team a 4-3 win in the Class 2A, Section 3 girls’ hockey final.

Snodgrass finished with a hat trick and negated what was a go-ahead goal from Eagan’s Elise Lee, who fired in a slapshot from the blue line with 3:39 left in the third period.

Earlier in the night, Eagan took an 1-0 lead when Joleen Warden scored a wraparound goal 11 minutes and nine seconds into the first period.

Eastview answered only 36 seconds later on a powerful goal from Snodgrass. Thirty seconds after that, Eastview went up 2-1 after a Mary Keating goal.

The three goals all came in 1 minute and 36 seconds of game time, making for a rapid succession of ups and downs for both crowds.

Eagan, though, didn’t lose momentum. The Wildcats kept firing away at Eastview goalie Emma Tschida, who finally surrendered a second-period goal to Megan Plaschko.Tschida finished with 36 saves.

And in the end, Snodgrass’ skill took over, and Eastview won the section crown.


Photo gallery: Eastview tops Eagan