After losing the season opener at home to No. 8 ranked in Class 1A New Prague, Proctor/Hermantown headed south on Interstate 35, hoping for more positive results from a pair of games in the metro area.

Wintery conditions made for tough traveling, but the three-and-a-half hour drive didn’t seem to phase the Mirage. They upset Class 1A state runner up St. Paul United on Friday and ousted Hopkins 4-2 just 18 hours later on Saturday night at Minnetonka Ice Arena.

Proctor/Hermantown coach Glen Gilderman said that he noticed halfway through the game against No. 3-1A St. Paul United that his team found its intensity as players needed to emerge after losing offensive threats Kennedy Halverson and Callie Hoff to injury in the preseason.

“There was some doubt. We have a couple of big injuries and I think in the New Prague game we we’re kind of waiting to see who was going to step up,” Gilderman said. “About halfway through the United game I think they all decided to step up and that’s what we needed.”

The No. 9-1A Mirage (2-1) tallied three power play goals in the final period to defeat United 3-2 as Proctor/Hermantown’s top line of Karie Lenard, Abby Halverson and Brionna Stafne fueled the comeback.

Stafne, who transferred from Duluth, spent last year polishing her skills on junior varsity. Gilderman said that her patience paid off as she netted her first two varsity goals for the Mirage Saturday evening.

“Now she’s starting to get her feet under her and it’s pretty exciting to watch her,” Gilderman said.

But there was a moment where she wasn't so grounded which left the arena silent in solidarity.

Stafne, who capitalized on breakaway chance in the first period by going bar down on Royals goaltender Annika Carlander, had the puck on the fastbreak again in the third period but crashed into the boards, requiring an injury timeout.

“I just remember skating, seeing another girl coming and thought ‘I just got to get a shot off quick’,” Stafne said. “I took the shot and was sliding on my back and thinking ‘oh god the boards are coming’ and just tried to brace myself.”

Stafne said she just got the wind knocked out of her and recovered quickly. She scored her second, and the game’s final, goal with just over four minutes left in the third period, staving off a late Royals comeback (3-1).

Stafne, who was homeschooled her sophomore year before transferring, and her new varsity teammates all have the same goal in mind: a return to the state tournament for a third time in four years.

“This year we want to go back and we want to win the whole thing,” she said.

Brionna Stafne scored twice and added an assist in Proctor/Hermantown's 4-2 victory over previously undefeated Hopkins Saturday evening at Minnetonka Ice Arena.

Ranked No. 9 in Class 1A, the Mirage (2-1) raced out to an ultimately insurmountable 3-0 lead in the first two periods.

The Royals (3-1) kept the game competitive with a shorthanded goal from Annika Patterson and a power play goal scored by Stella Haberman.

Proctor/Hermantown’s Samantha Lewis turned aside 23 of 25 shots in her first varsity start while Annika Carlander made 20 saves for Hopkins.