For 16 girls’ high school hockey teams, the season-long “March to State” has been completed. Now the real fun begins, as perennial powerhouses and surprising underdogs alike battle for the title of 2016 Minnesota State High School League state champion. The 2016 Girls’ Hockey State Tournament, the 22nd held since 1995, begins on Wednesday, with games at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

According to a MSHSL release:

• The Class A teams will start play on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 11 a.m., while Class AA teams will take to the ice at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18.
• This marks the 11th year that all championship rounds of the tournament will be played at Xcel Energy Center. All consolation games will be conducted at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis.
• Championship semifinals in both classes will be played Friday, Feb. 19. The Class A third-place game will be played on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 9 a.m. and the Class AA third-place game will follow at 11 a.m. Both championship games will be played in one session later that Saturday. The Class A game will begin at 4 p.m. and the Class AA title game will begin at 7 p.m.
• Six of last year's 16 qualifiers are making return trips to the 2016 Girls' Hockey State Tournament, including the two-time defending Class AA champions from Hill-Murray of Maplewood. The Blake School, a perennial state tournament entrant, is back after a runner-up finish in Class A in 2015.
• There are four teams making their first state tournament appearances: Northfield and Luverne in Class A, and Maple Grove and Sartell/Sauk Rapids in Class AA.
• Hill-Murray earned the No. 1 seed in Class AA. The Pioneers are attempting to become the second consecutive big school to win three Class AA championships in a row. Minnetonka was the first to accomplish the feat from 2011-13. In 2013, Minnetonka defeated Hill-Murray in the big-school title game. 
• Edina is the No. 2 seed in Class AA followed by No. 3 Eden Prairie. Maple Grove earned the No. 4 seed and Lakeville South is No. 5.
• The Blake School earned the No. 1 seed in the Class A field. The Bears, who lost to Thief River Falls in last year's small-school championship game, are trying to win their state-best sixth state championship. Warroad earned the No. 2 seed followed by St. Paul United at No. 3. Proctor/Hermantown is the No. 4 seed and New Prague is No. 5.
• This is the 22nd state tournament, but only the eighth year that the event has been seeded. It is the 10th consecutive year that eight teams will compete in both Class A and Class AA. Only four teams competed in the 1995 and 1996 state tournaments, and eight teams competed from 1997 through 2001. 

Class A - Feb. 17

• Section 1A Northfield (19-9-0) vs. (No. 2 seed) Section 8A Warroad (23-3-1) —11:00 a.m.
• Section 6A Alexandria (18-7-1) vs. (No. 3) Section 4A St. Paul United (21-5-1) — 1:00 p.m.
• Section 3A Luverne (20-6-0) vs. (No. 1) Section 5A The Blake School (23-2-2) — 6:00 p.m.
• (No. 5) Section 2A New Prague (17-9-1) vs. (No. 4) Section 7A Proctor/Hermantown (19-7-1) — 8:00 p.m.

Class AA - Feb. 18

• Section 3AA Eastview (18-6-4) vs. (No. 2 seed) Section 6AA Edina (19-7-1) — 11:00 a.m.
• Section 7AA Forest Lake (18-7-3) vs. (No. 3) Section 2AA Eden Prairie (19-7-2) — 1:00 p.m.
• Section 8AA Sartell/Sauk Rapids (21-7-0) vs. (No. 1) Section 4AA Hill-Murray (28-0-1) — 6:00 p.m.
• (No. 5) Section 1AA Lakeville South (20-5-2) vs. (No. 4) Section 5AA Maple Grove (20-5-2) — 8:00 p.m.

Coming soon: Quarterfinal game-by-game previews for Class A and AA.