Girls Hockey: Warriors receive No. 5 seed

By Dispatch staff report

February 03, 2023 at 3:27 PM

BRAINERD — The Brainerd/Little Falls Warriors girls' hockey team will begin its Section 8-2A title defense on the road.

The Warriors received the No. 5 seed by coaches' vote for the upcoming section playoffs, which will begin 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7. BLF will travel to No. 4 Bemidji for the quarterfinal matchup.

The Warriors have one game remaining -- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at Moorhead. The Spuds earned the No. 1 seed thanks to its 8-0 record against section opponents and a 16-8 overall record. Moorhead will open section play against Sartell/Sauk Rapids.

BLF, winners of its last three games, owns a 5-4-2 record against section opponents prior to its Saturday matchup. The Warriors are 13-8-3 overall. Bemidji finished 4-3-1 against section opponents and 13-8-3 overall.

The two teams played to a 0-0 stalemate Dec. 20 in Bemidji.

“It’s going to be a good one,” BLF head coach Tate Rusk said. “It just shows how good Section 8 is becoming. You look at those top five teams and we’re all getting better and we have some young talent coming through. Bemidji is very talented and young. Roseau doesn’t have a senior on its roster. Section 8-2A is getting very competitive.

“I’m excited for our girls. We’ll have to adopt that Road Warrior mentality.”

BLF has been in Road Warrior mode since Jan. 21. It hasn’t played a home game since Jan. 19. Since a 3-0 home win against St. Cloud, BLF has gone 3-2.

Last season, on their way to the section title, the Warriors defeated Sartell/Sauk Rapids 2-1 at home. Then eliminated Alexandria 4-3 in Alexandria before up-setting Moorhead 2-1 at Fergus Falls.

Roseau is the No. 2 seed with an 8-3 section record and a 15-10 overall record. The Rams will host No. 7 Buffalo/Maple Lake, which finished 2-5 in the section and 6-18-1 overall.

The Alexandria Cardinals (6-4-1 section, 13-11-1 overall) landed the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 St. Cloud (3-7-0, 8-17-0).

By Dispatch staff report

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

Hi, I'm the Brainerd Dispatch. I started working a few days before Christmas in 1881 and became a daily paper two years later. I've gone through a lot of changes over the years, but what has never changed is my commitment to community and to local journalism. I've got an entire team of dedicated people who work night and day to make sure I go out every morning, whether in print, as an e-edition, via an app or with additional information at www.brainerddispatch.com. News, weather, sports — videos, photos, podcasts and social media — all covering stories from central Minnesota about your neighbors, your lakes, your communities, your challenges and your opportunities. It's all part of the effort to keep people connected and informed. And we couldn't do it without support.

Girls Hockey: Warriors receive No. 5 seed

The Brainerd/Little Falls Warriors will open Section 8-2A playoffs 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Bemidji.