When St. Paul United goalie Catherine Johnson allowed two early scores to Warroad on Friday, coach Nate Mauer said he wasn’t worried.

Johnson said she sat in the locker room by herself during intermission, reminding herself to stay confident, reminding herself what she was playing for.

Johnson buckled down and Joie Phelps scored a go-ahead goal in the third period, giving St. Paul United a 4-3 victory and sending the co-op program to the state final for the first time.

For Johnson, it was a cathartic victory given St. Paul United (23-5-1) blew a third-period lead in the semifinals two seasons ago.

“It’s amazing to see how the program has turned around and to see how it’s going to keep going up,” Johnson said. The team has players from two schools — St. Paul Academy and Summit School, and Visitation.

Warroad’s two early goals from Kaitlyn Kotlowski and Mariah Gardner were negated after the Spartans got goals from Sena Hanson and Samantha Burke.

Warroad (24-4-1) went back up on a second-period goal from Demi Gardner, but St. Paul United scored again on a goal from Lauren Boettcher late in the period.

In what was a physical game on both sides, Warroad struggled through nine penalties and allowed three power-play goals. As Warroad heads to the consolation, a visibly upset Warroad coach David Marvin said he wished his team’s pursuit of a state title could have ended differently.

“I thought they went hard on our goaltender when our goaltender had the puck covered,” Marvin said. “Whatever. We stood up for our goaltender little bit. We took too many (penalties). Whatever. It’s the high school league so I have to be positive and sportsmanlike, right?”

First report

Joie Phelps’ third-period goal lifted St. Paul United to a 4-3 victory against Warroad on Friday in the Class 1A girls’ hockey semifinal.

Phelps’ winning goal came close to the net on a power play, providing the score of the day in what was a physical game throughout.

Warroad grabbed early momentum after it scored on its first two shots, but SPU came back with two unanswered goals from Sena Hanson and Samantha Burke to tie the game early in the second period.

Warroad’s Demi Gardner answered less than two minutes later to pull back ahead, but St. Paul United’s Lauren Boettcher scored later in the period to send the game to a tie headed into the third.

Warroad goalie Emma Brunelle fended off a 5-on-3 after her team struggled with penalties, but couldn’t sustain the effort on a later power play, allowing Phelps to score and sending St. Paul United to Saturday's state final.

Check back later for more on the game.