Warroad (26-3-1) won its second straight Class A Championship 3-1 over Orono (22-4-4) on Saturday afternoon. 

“The last five minutes were the longest of my life,” Warroad senior forward Talya Hendrickson said. 

Warroad scored first on senior forward Rylee Bartz’s 59th goal of the season seven minutes in. Hendrickson picked up an assist for her 100th point of the season. 

Orono sophomore forward Zoe Lopez scored her team-leading 38th goal of the season with 4:18 to play in the first period to tie it 1-1. 

Warroad senior forward Kate Johnson stole the puck behind the net and fed Hendrickson out front for the game-winning goal 5:54 into the second period. 

“[Johnson] put it right on my tape,” Hendrickson said. “She’s a great player to play with.”

Warroad sophomore forward Kaiya Sandy scored her 15th goal of the season on a breakaway to restore the Warriors’ two-goal lead later in the frame. 

Orono, averaging nearly five goals per game this season, were held to seven shots through two periods and 14 total in the game. 

“They trapped us in our zone and put pressure on us,” Lopez said. 

The runner-up finish was the best in Orono’s program history, an impressive season under first-year head coach Larry Olimb. 

“We can keep going and make history for our team and community [in the future],” Lopez said. 

Warroad’s top line trio of Bartz, Hendrickson, and Johnson scored 306 points this season (135g/171a).

“They’re so good with the puck and they have the puck an awful lot,” Olimb said. “[Warroad is] very hard to play against.”

It was Warroad’s fourth title in program history (2010, 2011, 2022, 2023). 

Scoring Summary

Warroad (25 SOG): Rylee Bartz (59th) 7:05, Talya Hendrickson (38th) 22:54, Kaiya Sandy (15th) 29:21

Orono (15 SOG): Zoe Lopez (38th) 12:38

3rd Place: South St. Paul (23-6-1)

Consolation: Mankato East (22-7-0)

All-Tournament Team: McKenzie Keller (Mankato East), Nya Sieger (Proctor/Hermantown), Lily Pachl (South St. Paul), Delaney Norman (South St. Paul), Zoe Lopez (Orono), Mae Grandy (Orono), Celia Dahl (Orono), Rylee Bartz (Warroad), Talya Hendrickson (Warroad), Kate Johnson (Warroad), Abby Chamernick (Warroad), Katy Comstock (Warroad)

Herb Brooks Award: Annaliese Rader (Mankato East)