Trojans to face Sabers in finale

Second place in the conference will be decided Friday evening, Feb. 1, when New Prague, 18-5-1 and rated No. 8 in Class A, hosts Shakopee in a Missota Conference girls hockey game. It will be the regular season finale for the Trojans.

The Trojans and Sabers both sport 4-2-1 records in the conference. Their previous game, on January 3, ended in a 3-3 draw after the Sabers tied the game with 1:33 remaining.

Red Wing has clinched the conference championship with a 6-1 record. The Trojans had one game last week, defeating New Ulm in a non-conference game 6-1. The Trojans defeated Farmington 8-2 on Tuesday.

Against the Eagles, New Prague scored two goals in each of the three periods. Lindsay Paschke had two goals and Brittany Sticha, Taylor Anderson, Dani Kocina and Jordan Anderson each added one. Catie Skaja had three assists and Sticha added two, while Marissa Kivi, Kasey Marquardt, Kocina and Paschke each had one.

Trojans goaltender Sophie Puente stopped 18 of 19 shots to claim the win. New Prague outshot the Eagles 47-19.

Sections start Feb. 6 The Section 1A tournament will begin Wednesday, Feb. 6.

New Prague will likely claim the No. 2 seed in the section and earn a first round home game against the No. 7 seed. Seeding will be announced on Sunday.

A Trojan home playoff game would start at 7 p.m. Wednesday. If New Prague is the No. 2 seed and wins, they would host a semifinal game Saturday, Feb. 9. The section championship game will be played at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, in Owatonna.