The state’s biggest stage for girls’ hockey offers players a chance to be seen under the brightest lights, and right now the player with the most visibility at the Class A level is St. Paul United senior Maggie Conners.

After scoring a modest 10 goals through the regular season and Section 4-A playoffs, Conners has exploded for five tallies in the State Tournament, including three in Friday’s 4-2 semifinal victory over Warroad.

“A lot of it I would give credit to my teammates,” Conners said after the win. “There were a lot of tap-in goals where I was just there and my team did all the work,” Conners added.

The always dangerous Warroad duo of Madison Oelkers and Mariah Gardner certainly made the United work on Friday, with Oelkers pulling the Warriors within a goal at 3-2 midway through the third period before Conners notched her hat trick.

Gardner scored the other goal for the No. 3 seed Warriors (18-10-2), who are, for the second consecutive season, relegated to the third place game by the United.

“We weren’t ready to face their speed,” Oelkers admitted after the game, with Warroad head coach David Marvin adding that the United had the upper hand in experience.

“They’re older, they’re stronger and you could tell,” Marvin said. “(You) can’t dig yourself a hole against a good hockey team, and we just didn’t have enough today.”

The strength referenced by Marvin could come from the endurance skating that United head coach Nate Mauer puts his team through over the course of the season.

“I try and scare them with bag skates during the week to mentally get them ready,” Mauer explained. “They don’t know when it’s going to end of when it’s going to start,” Mauer continued. “I think Sam Burke is always trying to figure out my skating techniques.”

The win puts the second-seeded United (21-6-2) in the Class A title game for the second straight season, where they will face either Northfield or Blake.

Blake handed the United a resounding 8-0 loss in last year’s final.

Burke, a senior, recorded a pair of assists in Friday’s win, and said that the United’s philosophy will remain the same regardless of their championship opponent.

“Our coach always says be patient,” Burke said. “Play United hockey.”