Allowing Blaine to score early in a game is akin to an adult offering a child just one bite of a cupcake.

Over time, with persistence and with the opponent worn down, the child will consume the entire pastry, and, likewise, the Bengals will cruise to victory.

“When we score, our energy level and tempo has really increased,” Blaine head coach Steve Guider said after his Bengals thumped Roseau 7-1 in Thursday’s first Class AA quarterfinal at the Xcel Energy Center. “So we always look for fast goals.”

The No. 2-seeded Bengals (23-3-2) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, with junior Abby Jones, senior Sarah Ganley and junior Gabby Rosenthal all tallying goals in a span of just over six minutes.

“Once we got behind by a couple it really changed the complexion of the game,” Roseau had coach Steve Huglen said. “We’re not the type of team that can come back and exchange goals,” Huglen added, praising Blaine’s seemingly unending string of high-pressure forwards and staunch defenders. “That depth and balance, that’s tough for anybody to match.”

Senior forward Paige Beebe scored twice for the Bengals, Rosenthal added a second and Emily Brown scored in the third to round out the scoresheet.

Junior Gina Wensloff scored the lone goal for the Rams (19-9-1) late in the third period.  

That level of depth extends to Blaine’s third line, which continuously hounded the Rams at both ends of the ice.

“Our third line isn’t a big scoring line, but they’re so tenacious on the forecheck that we’ve been able to put them out against other team’s first lines,” Guider said.

The Bengals bring that same tenacity to its team motto of ‘make a difference,’ which calls upon each player to be a cause for good in the schools and community, and where those acts are shared with the rest of the Bengals on a team bulletin board.

“They’re great hockey players, but they’re far better students and people,” Guider said.

Between trips to the Blaine Police Department bearing cookies and an outing at the White Pine Senior Living facility, Rosenthal recalls senior defender Kenzie Wylie’s offer of coffee to a homeless man as a shining example of the ingrained motto.

“That one especially stood out because I think that was very caring of her,” Rosenthal said.

Can the charitable aspects of the team be felt on the ice? Senior forward Paige Beebe believes so.

“We all go out and make an intentional difference in someone’s lives,” Beebe said. “It’s making us (closer) as a team.”