Red Wing will begin its fifth consecutive trip to the Class A girls hockey state tournament against an opponent that is equally accustomed to playing on the state's biggest stage.
The Section 1A champion Wingers (23-4-1) have earned the No. 3 seed in this week's state tournament and will face unseeded Alexandria (16-10-1) in a state semifinal game at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Red Wing has been to state each season since 2011. Alexandria is at state for a third consecutive season and the eighth time since 2004.
The Wingers and Cardinals met two years ago in the state quarterfinals. Red Wing cruised that day, beating Alexandria 6-2 behind four goals from Nicole Schammel and a goal and an assist from Reagan Haley, who is a senior captain this season and was one of 10 Minnesota Miss Hockey semifinalists.
Alexandria, ranked No. 10 in the state, was the top seed in the Section 6A tournament, which it won by beating Fergus Falls 4-1 on Saturday in the championship game. Alexandria was the only team in its section with a winning record and needed to win just two games to reach the state tournament.
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The Cardinals don't have the scoring power that No. 6-ranked Red Wing possesses. Alexandria's leading scorer, junior defenseman Lauren Niska, has 11 goals and 20 points this season.
By contrast, Haley paces Red Wing's potent offensive attack with 45 goals and 93 points. The senior forward and University of Minnesota-Duluth commit will play in her fifth state tournament this week.
Section 8A champion Thief River Falls (23-1-3) earned the No. 1 seed and will face New Ulm (19-8-0) in Wednesday's quarterfinals at 6 p.m.
Blake (24-4-0) is the No. 2 seed and will face Hutchinson (16-10-1) in the opening game Wednesday, set for an 11 a.m. puck drop.
South St. Paul (15-11-2) is the No. 4 seed and will meet No. 5 seed Hibbing/Chisholm (12-12-2) in the final game of the day Wednesday, set for an 8 p.m. start.
The matchups for the Class AA tournament have also been set.
Section 1AA champion Lakeville South is the No. 4 seed and will play a state quarterfinal at 8 p.m. Thursday against No. 5 seed Blaine. Minnetonka earned the No. 1 seed, Hill-Murray is No. 2 and Edina is No. 3.
