Rory Guilday and Hanna Baskin stood inside the blueline, hands on the knobs of their sticks. About to embark on a sixth power play early in the third period, the Minnetonka captains weren’t talking about how to beat Holy Family Catholic goaltender Sedona Blair.

They weren’t talking about how 20 shots hit the net in the second period, just one going in.

The longer conversation as players from both teams came on the ice was something simple, yet needed in the Section 2AA championship on March 20 at Pagel Arena.

“I think we said, ‘calm down, control the play, play our game and adjust to what the other team is doing,’” Guilday said.

“I just remember saying, ‘let’s have some fun,’” Baskin said.

Twenty-eight seconds into the power play, Guilday’s blast from the point beat Blair, the first of three third-period goals in a 4-1 win.

Fun indeed.

“It almost feels better than the last years,” said Baskin, clinching the championship plaque between her arms.

A third consecutive section championship for Guilday and Baskin, who were a part of third-place teams at state in 2019 and 2020.

“We had no doubt, no doubt we could do it. One hundred percent confidence in our team that we could pull it off, and we did,” said Guilday, a Cornell University commit.

While it was the fifth section championship appearance in six years for Minnetonka in Section 2AA, it was the first for Holy Family Catholic, which did not have a senior in the line-up.

That was evident early on, the Skippers buzzing the Fire zone. That fact was evident in the second period in which Holy Family Catholic was whistled for five minor penalties, three in the box at one time.

Minnetonka, though, was unable to increase its 1-0 lead on a Grace Sadura tip shot from the slot off a Baskin blast at 6:59 of the second period.

Despite a 20-2 shot advantage over the middle 17 minutes, the score remained the same.

“We were still pretty confident. Seventeen minutes, all you got,” said Baskin, a University of Minnesota-Duluth commit.

“It was empty your tank, save nothing, leave it all out there. We had a ton of energy in the locker room and that carried onto the ice. We kept that energy up, cheering each other on,” Guilday said.

Following the goal from Guilday, a member of the gold medal-winning 2020 U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team at the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship last year, Sadura added her second tally, her team-leading 21st goal, on a breakaway at 3-1.

While Holy Family Catholic did score a goal on a 5-on-3 opportunity, a Taylor Koeppl rebound goal off a Justina Valentini shot, Minnetonka could sense a victory was imminent when eighth grader Lauren Mack returned the favor for the Skippers just 74 seconds later.

Shot totals finished with a decisive advantage to the Skippers by a 33-12 amount. Blair, a sophomore, received a huge ovation from spectators and teammates upon receiving her runner-up medal for her 29 saves.

For Guilday and Baskin along with senior goaltender Brynn Dulac, next weekend’s trip to the state tournament will be the third straight. And third isn’t what they’re shooting for.

“Losing was not an option.Losing was not an option is all that played through my head. We weren’t going to lose that one,” Baskin said of the section championship game.

Holy Family Catholic advanced with victories over New Prague (9-0) and Eden Prairie (3-2).

Earlier in the tournament, Eden Prairie needed double overtime to eliminate Chaska/Chanhassen, a 1-0 score, in the quarterfinals. A potential goal from Nina Langley was waved off, though video evidence after the game showed the puck in the net.

In Section 2AA boys hockey, finalists were Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. Chaska lost 5-1 to Holy Family Catholic in the quarterfinals, a goal from Jack Seaverson from Sully Scholle. The Fire lost 6-0 to Eden Prairie in the semifinals.

Chanhassen was also defeated 8-0 by Prior Lake before two goals from Hunter Newhouse advanced Minnetonka past the Lakers 3-1. More on the game is available on the Chanhassen Villager website.