St. Paul, MN - The Proctor/Hermantown Mirage scheduled a number of Class AA opponents during the regular season and it paid immediate dividends in their State Class A quarterfinal round game.  The Mirage ground out a 3-1 win over the #3 seed Red Wing Wingers at the Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday afternoon.

For the Mirage (17-12-0) it was a combination of quality goaltending and disciplined play in all three zones as they handed the Wingers (23-5-0)  just their fifth loss of the season.  

The Mirage stuck with their game and after a scoreless first period, Proctor/Hermantown opened the scoring with a goal by Mariah Haedrich at 2:27 of the second period.  She took a puck that glanced off her skate in the slot area and walked in an Red Wing goaltender Tyler McGrath, held the puck and slid a backhander underneath her for the 1-0 lead.

Containing Red Wing’s Taylor Heise, a University of Minnesota recruit, would be required for for the Mirage to be successful. Heise had little room to maneuver and contained her throughout the contest.   Heise, the talented Red Wing goal scorer, notched a staggering 67 goals entering the tournament to go along with 28 assists.  The three-time gold medal winner with Team USA was held in check which is necessary for the Mirage to advance.

An empty net goal was added by Proctor/Hermantown’s Dehli Heikes at 15:11 to seal the game for the Mirage.

Goaltender Ryan Gray was near perfect in goal for the Mirage as she turned aside 23 Winger shots and allowed a goal with :35 seconds left in the third period by Red Wing’s Nichole Oberding.  It was an impressive defensive effort by the Mirage who will be challenged by the Breck Mustangs in the first semi-final round game on Friday.  Red Wing will faceoff with the Marshall Tigers in a consolation round semi-final at Ridder Arena on Thursday morning at 10am.