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Maple Grove Downs Centennial 4-1 in Section 5AA Final

02/13/2016, 7:30am CST
By Peter Odney

Taylor Wente Hat Trick Sends Crimson to State

Maple Grove’s Coco Francis makes one of her 24 saves as the Crimson defeated Centennial 4-1 in the Section 5AA finals to earn their first trip to the State Tournament. Credit: Peter Odney.

Maple Grove’s Coco Francis makes one of her 24 saves as the Crimson defeated Centennial 4-1 in the Section 5AA finals to earn their first trip to the State Tournament. Credit: Peter Odney.

Never mistake the Maple Grove Crimson for the "Taylor Wente Show."

“It’s not Taylor’s team,” Crimson coach Amber Hegland said after the Crimson downed Centennial 4-1 in the Class AA, Section 5 finals on Friday night at Roseville Ice Arena. “She is 100 percent a team player and cares about her teammates. Everybody has a role, and completed that role. That’s why we’re at this point (of the season).”

Wente certainly did her part, notching a hat trick in the win, and tying the game early in the second period at 1-1. Wente then put the Crimson (20-5-2) ahead 2-1 just a few minutes later on a supreme individual effort, skating the puck coast-to-coast and scoring shorthanded.

Wente added an empty-net goal late in the third period to seal the win.

This season marks the farthest the Crimson have ever advanced in the postseason, a fact not lost on Wente, a junior and varsity regular since her freshman year.

“This was our first time going into the Section finals, so we were really excited,” Wente said. “(We were) a little nervous, but a good nervous,” she added.

The game featured two of the state’s premier scorers in Wente (27 goals) and Centennial’s super sophomore Gabbie Hughes (46 goals), and Wente was given the task of shadowing Hughes on the ice.

“Gabbie’s a great player, so I had to keep an eye on her,” Wente said. “Wherever she went I had to follow her.”

Hughes had the assist on freshman forward Maija Almich’s lone goal for the Cougars (19-7-2).

Although it was Maple Grove’s first trip to the Section finals, Hegland says that her team was prepared for this game and for those that lay ahead in the State Tournament.

“They were ready for this game, and they’ve been building toward this from the beginning,” Hegland said, adding that the Crimson are aware of the task that still lies ahead in St. Paul. “They knew they were going to have to work from the first day to the end to get this dream accomplished.”

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Tag(s): State Of Hockey  News