Even if Megan McGlynn doesn't hold a regular spot on the varsity roster, she might have just earned herself a permanent starting slot in games against Warroad.

With the score tied in the third period, McGlynn, a junior who plays about half her games on varsity and the other half on JV, tucked the puck into the net in the midst of a skirmish, boosting Minnetonka to a 1-0 victory over the Warriors in the championship game of the Kaposia Classic in South St. Paul on New Year's Night.

"It's big," said McGlynn, who scored her only other goal this season against Warroad the first time Minnetonka played the Warriors, in a 3-2 road win. "It's really cool to be able to play on varsity and sort of prove myself."

Minnetonka appeared to have control from the outset, outshooting the Warriors, winning one-on-one matchups and controlling the puck. But going into the third period, there was still no score, because Warroad goalie Shelby Amsley-Benzie thwarted each of the Skippers' attempts.

Then, with 10 minutes remaining, Minnetonka forward Maggie Bazany took a wide shot from the corner, and when Amsley-Benzie reached her glove up for the block, Bazany rushed in for her own rebound. In the fray, forward Courtney McDougal tipped the puck to McGlynn, who shoveled it in. McDougal got an assist.

"It was really close because the defenseman got her stick on it, but she fumbled it, and I kind of poked it in," McGlynn said.

The Skippers held on for the remaining minutes, including what was probably Warroad's best opportunity of the game, a barrage of shots on a power play with less than two minutes left.

"We're not used to beating them in the past several years," coach Eric Johnson said. "Warroad is the most offensively talented team in the state, and we thought we would need more than one to beat them. So it was not what I expected."