In hindsight, Scott Haley admitted he should have seen it coming. The Red Wing coach thought his team wouldn’t be nervous for Wednesday’s Class 1A state tournament quarterfinal, but he underestimated the emotions that grip most players on the big stage at Xcel Energy Center.

The Wingers felt some anxiety during the first period against a stout Alexandria defense. But Maddy Hardyman and Ashley Corcoran found the cure as Red Wing defeated Alexandria 3-0. Hardyman’s goal off of a defensive miscue gave the Wingers (24-4-1) a 1-0 lead at five minutes, 57 seconds of the second period, while Corcoran stood firm through a tight first period and stopped all 25 shots she faced in the game.

Alexandria (16-10-1) outshot Red Wing 10-5 in the first period but could not score despite several good chances. Reagan Haley scored twice for Red Wing and now has 47 goals this season.

“It kind of took me by surprise,’’ Scott Haley said of his team’s nerves. “After they settled down after the first (period), we started to play our style. You could see the creativity.’’

Hardyman scored after Alexandria goalie Amy Jost gloved the puck and tried to push it with her hand to a defenseman. Hardyman swooped in, seized the puck and scored from the right circle.

Alexandria came up empty on five power plays, and the Cardinals could not get past Corcoran on 13 third-period shots.

Red Wing got second-period goals from Maddy Hardyman and Reagan Haley, and Ashley Corcoran earned a shutout as the Wingers defeated Alexandria 3-0 in a Wednesday Class 1A quarterfinal at Xcel Energy Center.

Hardyman scored off of an Alexandria turnover at five minutes, 57 seconds of the second period, and Haley added a power-play goal at 14:46. Corcoran stopped 25 shots for the Wingers (24-4-1), whose 25 shots on goal matched Alexandria (16-10-1).  Haley scored an empty-net goal with 1:41 remaining and now has 47 goals this season.  

Alexandria finished 0-for-6 on the power play, while the Wingers scored once on five power-play chances.

Neither team scored in a tight first period, as Corcoran stopped several good chances and Alexandria limited the Wingers to only five shots on goal. The Wingers took advantage of a mistake by Cardinals goalie Amy Jost early in the second period to take the lead.

Jost gloved a shot and tried to pass it with her hand to a teammate, but Hardyman swooped in and snared the puck. Her shot from the right circle trickled through Jost’s pads at 5:57 for the game’s first goal.

Jost stopped Hardyman later in the period, turning away a backhand when Hardyman muscled past the defense and skated to the net alone. But the Wingers cashed in on a power play after Alexandria’s Kaitlin Leary was called for hooking at 13:57. Haley scored from the center point to make it 2-0 at 14:46 of the second.