Cougars Falls To Elks In State Consolation Final

Lakeville South's appearance in the Class AA Girls State Hockey Tournament ended in disappointment as the Cougars lost, 2-1, to Elk River/Zimmerman in the consolation championship game on Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.

South, which had advanced to the consolation final by means of a 3-2 defeat of Rosemount one day previous, put 20 shots on Elks goaltender Samantha Geissler but only was able to muster up one goal in losing its last game of the season.

Elk River/Zimmerman took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal at 7:55 of the first period and held the edge until a short-handed goal from forward Sam Moore, assisted by linemate Moran Fritz-Ward, knotted the score at 1-1 at 14:36 of the middle frame.

The teams remained even until the Elks took the lead for good at 7:31 of the third period on an even-strength goal jammed past South netminder Chelsea Laden, who made 20 saves in her final appearance for the Cougars.

Try as they might, South had a difficult time finding any offensive cohesion as the concluding moments drained away before the final horn blew to proclaim Elk River/Zimmerman as consolation champions.

The Cougars, who entered the state tournament as the third-ranked team in Class AA, wrap the season as the de facto sixth-place team at state after a 1-2 tourney run that put South's final 2010-11 record at 25-4-2.