After dramatic Section Final, Burnsville are State Girls Hockey ‘Cinderellas’
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After Burnsville took a penalty late in the third period of a tied Section Final against Eagan, Blaze senior Aubrey Nelvin figured the best case was to hang on, kill the penalty and maybe try to win the game in overtime. But the hockey gods dealt her the chance to do something very different.
Skating on the penalty kill, Nelvin corralled a puck on the right wing, gained the offensive zone, and while a lunging defender knocked her up in the air, flicked the go-ahead goal into the net with 2:43 left.
Burnsville added an empty netter to win 3-1 to earn their first State Tournament appearance since 2014.
Click the video box to see KSTP Sports interviews with Burnsville players Aubrey Nelvin and Allie Urlaub as well as head coach Chris Lepper
The win capped off a frenetic run through the Section Tournament for the 3rd-seeded Blaze.
Burnsville senior Aubrey Nelvin flies through the air moments before flicking in a shorthanded goal that turned out to be the late game-winner in the Blaze's 3-1 Section Final victory over Eagan.[Burnsville H.S. Girls Hockey]
In the Section Semifinal, the upset 2-seed Eastview 3-2 after Sami Bowlby tied the game in the middle of the third period then hit the game-winner 16-seconds into overtime.
That came after holding off Lakeville north in the Section Quarterfinal 2-1 on a third period goal by Allie Urlaub. her goal had Burnsville up 2-0 with 11 minutes left. Lakeville North cut it to 2-1 and put up a heck of a fight in the final minutes.
Burnsville heads to the State Tournament with a 19-7-2 record.
They face top-seed Edina in the Class AA State Quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m. Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.