In the 2016 Class A State Tournament, Blake junior goaltender Anna Kruesel earned a shutout victory in the first round.

In 2017, Kruesel repeated the feat, but had a much more enjoyable experience doing so.

Kruesel made 20 saves to earn the blank sheet as her top-seeded Bears (25-2-1) downed Alexandria 3-0 on Wednesday night in the Class A state quarterfinals.

The 20-save performance was a far cry from last season, where Kruesel only had make two saves in a 10-0 shutout win over Luverne.

“This is exactly the type of game we want,” Kruesel said in the postgame press conference. “It was so much fun to play against Alexandria and have it be so close as opposed to only (facing) two shots,” Kruesel added with a smile. “It was more fun for me.”

Blake head coach Shawn Reid also said that a close game in the quarterfinals bodes well for the event as a whole.

“It’s better for the State Tournament, it’s better for girls hockey,” Reid said. “That was a great game and Alexandria played awesome,” Reid continued. “We controlled the third period, but the first two periods it could’ve gone either way.”

Freshman forward Audrey Wethington opened the scoring with a tip-goal tally off a shot by sister Madeline, a junior and Minnesota commit, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead late in the second period that tilted the momentum entering the final stanza.

The goal was originally awarded to Madeline, who admitted during the press conference that her sister had deflected the puck.

“She’s competitive,” Madeline said, adding that Audrey had immediately claimed responsibility for the goal. “We’re very competitive, but I was really happy for her,” Madeline said.

“It’s her first state tournament, and I want to make it special for her,” Madeline continued. “It was a good moment, but we’ve got two more games to go.”

Junior and Dartmouth commit Sara McClanahan stretched the lead to 2-0 and senior Yale commit Lucy Burton finished the game with a goal, pushing the Blake lead to its eventually victorious 3-0.

Alexandria senior Sarah Finley made 40 saves in the loss for the Cardinals (14-13-1), including an impressive 19 stops in the third period alone.

“(It was) really a tough loss, especially because we stuck with them for two periods,” Finley said. “But Blake came out to play the third period and we didn’t.”

Cardinal head coach Molly Arola said that her team struggled offensively, and that Finley’s performance had given the team an opportunity to pull off the upset.

“She kept us in that game,” Arola said. “I think it was probably one of her best games that she’s played,” Arola added. “She gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you can ask from a goalie.”