Andover girls hockey hopes to defend its Class 2A title

Andover won its first Class 2A girls’ hockey state championship last year beating three-time defending champion Edina. Now, Andover wants an opportunity to defend its title and senior Peyton Hemp is optimistic they’ll get that chance. The State High School League hasn’t announced official plans for a state tournament, but conventional wisdom suggests it’s going to happen.

"I’m pretty hopeful on that and I know we all want that really bad. Hopefully, we can get a two-peat this year," Hemp told KSTP Sports at Monday’s practice.

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Seniors Hemp and Gabby Krause power the Huskies’ attack. Hemp is a Gophers commit, while Krause will be playing her college hockey at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Both will be in the mix for Ms. Hockey.

"In the back of my mind, I knew I was going to the University of Minnesota. Ever since I was 7 or 8-years-old when I got to watch a game there for the first time, that was going to be my dream and what I wanted to do," Hemp said.

"I always wanted to be a Bulldog since I was little. I never wanted to be a Gopher like everyone else. I’ve been going there since I was little for tournaments and it’s so beautiful up there and the hockey staff is amazing and the school is too," said Krause.

Andover plays Armstrong/Cooper on Tuesday night. So far this season, Andover has outscored opponents 29-1 on its way to a 3-0 start.