Friday’s first Class 1A semifinal features a Orono rematch with Proctor/Hermantown. They previously met on Nov. 19, when Orono skated away with a 6-3 road victory at the home of the defending state champion Mirage.

“We took a lot of confidence from beating them,” said Spartans coach Sean Fish, whose team outscored the Mirage 3-0 in the third period. “It was a little bit of a springboard as we got off to that 8-0 start to the season.”

Proctor/Hermantown junior defender Sophie Parendo said her team “learned a lot from that game. It helped us figure out what we needed to work on throughout the season for this moment.”

The Mirage, Parendo said, cleaned up its defensive zone play. Renewed focus on the back end helped goalie Abby Pajari enjoy a solid season. She is one of five finalists for the Let’s Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year.

“It’ll be a much different game this time,” Fish said. “They have an unbelievable goalie.”

Andover’s youth movement

Andover is in its fifth consecutive state tournament, but a lot of new faces are seeing the Xcel Energy Center ice for the first time. Only eight current players were on last year’s roster and part of the Class 2A runner-up squad. The Huskies returned starting goaltender Courtney Stagman and the top line of Isa Goettl, Madison Brown and Ella Boerger. But the blue line includes freshmen for four of the six spots.

“Very few kids have had an experience here,” Andover coach Melissa Volk said. “We knew we were going to be a little jittery and nervous. But I think overall, it wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done.”

The Huskies got two third-period goals from freshman defender Mackenzie Jones on shots from the blue line. Freshman Maya Engler earned assists on both goals.

Before Goettl goal, no goal

Goettl thought she had scored while crashing the net in the first period. But the play was reviewed and determined to be no goal because of goaltender interference from her teammate Boerger. Only 1 minute, 24 seconds later, Goettl crashed the net again for a rebound goal that counted this time for a 1-0 lead.

“It was obviously frustrating for us to have that one taken away,” Goettl said. “And I think it made us even more riled up to get another one.”