State Tournament Features Sophie’s Squad Support

From February 19th to 22nd, the Xcel Energy Center hosted one of the most anticipated events on the Minnesota Sports calendar: the Minnesota High School Girls’ Hockey State Tournament. Every year since 1995, 16 teams have gathered in the Twin Cities to celebrate the end of their season and crown two teams as the best hockey teams in Minnesota based on their class.

The 2025 State Tournament was another successful and exciting edition. The tournament crowned first-time champions, a blueblood program returned to its throne, and several future hockey greats played on the biggest stage of their young careers.

State Tournament Features Sophie’s Squad Representation

While the exhibition of high-level hockey took center stage, several teams also represented Sophie’s Squad on the ice. Three of the teams in the state tournament played host to Hockey Hits Back events with Sophie’s Squad throughout the season. Centennial/Spring Lake Park partnered with Sophie’s Squad for the 2nd annual Girls Hockey Day in November. Holy Family hosted a Hockey Hits Back event in December. Edina teamed up with Sophie’s Squad in January for a momentous mental health awareness night that spotlighted the first sellout for a girls’ game in the history of historic Braemar Arena. 

Since their partnership with our organization, each of the three teams has continued to wear the Sophie’s Squad stickers featuring “SW6” in honor of Sophie Wieland. We appreciate that gesture, especially on a stage as large as the state tournament. Centennial/Spring Lake Park, Holy Family, and Edina were all great partners this season, and we were thrilled to see the teams’ success, culminating in tournament appearances. 

Memories to Last a Lifetime

We appreciate teams choosing to represent us in the state tournament and congratulate all teams who participated in the tournament. The 16 teams that played put on a fantastic show and made memories that will last forever, both for themselves and the fans. The tournament featured several moments that will go down as classics in the history of the girls’ state tournament.

In the Class A finals, Dodge County took down the three-time reigning champions Warroad in overtime. Warroad was looking to become the first four-time champion. Warroad outshout Dodge County 35-22 but ran out of gas at the end as they had played a triple overtime game against Orono the previous day. Dodge County captured their first state title behind a fantastic team effort spear-headed by goaltender Ida Huber. Huber finished the season with a .957 save percentage, an 0.88 goals against average, and a nomination for the Jori Jones Award. The Jori Jones Award is given annually to Minnesota’s top goaltender. Layla Hemp from Minnetonka ultimately took home the Jones Award, but Huber had a fantastic season for Dodge County that was capped off with a state title.

On the Class AA side of the bracket, Hill-Murray defeated defending champions Edina. Edina and Hill-Murray played an instant classic double overtime game where the Pioneers emerged victorious. Edina held a 4-3 lead in the third period before tenth-grader Elliana Engelhardt scored a goal to draw even. Senior forward Ella Hornung scored the overtime goal to cap off her high-school career. Hill-Murray captured their third state championship and first since 2015. Both Edina and Hill-Murray had excellent seasons that culminated in a historic championship final.

Tournament Wrap Up

Sophie’s Squad congratulates Dodge County (Class A) and Hill-Murray (Class AA) for their victories at the state championships tournament. We also extend our congratulations to every team that participated including runner-ups Edina (AA) and Warroad (A), Third-place winners Holy Family (AA) and Orono (A) and the consolation bracket champions Andover (AA) and Proctor/Hermantown (A). The full list of participants is below.

Class A: Dodge County, Orono, Warroad, Academy of Holy Angels, Proctor/Hermantown, Marshall, Fergus Falls, River Lakes

Class AA: Edina, Centennial/Spring Lake Park, Hill-Murray, Moorhead, Holy Family, Andover, Rosemount, Farmington

The conclusion of the Girls’ High School State Championship signals the end of the season for girls’ high school hockey. The high schools of Minnesota are some of our best and most passionate supporters. We want to thank every school that supported us this year, and in years’ past and wish them luck next season.

Photo credit: AJ Photography