River Lakes vs. Willmar

7:15 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 16

This shapes up as one of those something-has-to-give matchups given that River Lakes’ Kianna Roeske is among the state’s elite defenders and Willmar’s Bailey Olson is tied for third in the state in scoring. That the teams are battling for Central Lakes Conference supremacy only adds to the intrigue.

River Lakes (7-1-1) is exceedingly stingy, as you would expect with Roeske, a junior Minnesota State Mankato commit, playing shutdown defense while logging an abundance of minutes. Oh, and she leads the team in scoring, too, with nine goals among her 13 points. The No. 6-1A Stars have two shutouts and allowed just one goal in three games as Roeske’s younger sister Kaydence, an eighth-grader, has been superb as the team's starting goaltender.

Olson’s 17 goals are the second most in the state, and her 28 points is tied for third. She has had one six-point game, two five-point games and three hat tricks for the Cardinals (5-3-1) this season.