Armstrong Tops Cooper In Girls Hockey Sectionals

Armstong has won the battle of Robbinsdale as the Falcons defeated Cooper, 3-0, in the opening round of the Section 6AA girls hockey playoffs at the Plymouth Ice Arena on Wednesday night.

The Hawks entered the contest as the No. 9 seed with an 8-17 record against their eighth-seeded neighbors, who held just a 4-20-1 mark coming into the game.

Yet, the evening belonged to the Falcons, who fired 52 shots on the Cooper net and scored one goal in each period en route to the shutout victory.

Forward Heather Kaluzniak, assisted by Ashley Donato and Kelsie Ostdiek, gave Armstrong the lead for good at 12:52 of the first period; a power play score by Emma Terres, assisted by Marissa Odell at 9:03 of the middle frame boosted the Falcons' advantage to 2-0 before forward Katelyn Duffey's final tally at 6:34 of the concluding interval wrapped up the triumph.

Armstrong goaltender Ashley Ritten needed just 10 saves to record her clean sheet, while Cooper netminder Angel Hillstrom made 49 stops in defeat.

With its win in hand, the Falcons now have the unenviable assignment of taking on the No. 1-ranked team in Class AA — Minnetonka — in the sectional quarterfinals at the Parade Ice Garden in downtown Minneapolis at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Skippers, champions of the Lake Conference, are the top seed in 6AA and bring a record of 23-1-1 into the contest.