Girls hockey: Dodge County, Warroad form long distance prep rivalry

Jaylie French redeems late ‘collapse’ as Warroad wins latest OT chapter against rival Wildcats

ST. PAUL, Minn. — When Jaylie French got behind the Dodge County defenders in overtime, the Warroad girls hockey faithful took a collective sigh of relief. The Warriors’ standout junior forward already had five points in Friday’s state Class A semifinal game at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. But after the Wildcats rallied to score two extra-attacker goals in the final 85 seconds, Warroad needed one more. French caught Dodge County on an ill-tim…

Girls hockey: Dodge County, Warroad form long distance prep rivalry

After a hat trick in the girls hockey Class A state tournament semifinals, Warroad senior Taylor Reese declined to reveal who she would rather face in Saturday’s state title game, Breck or Blake. She was less reserved two days earlier about the Warriors’ potential semifinal opponent. After Warroad opened the state tournament with a 5-1 win over Luverne, Reese made her preference clear. “I want to play Dodge County. I think we owe it to them,” sh…

Dodge County's comeback comes up just short in state semifinals

ST. PAUL — For a handful of years in the 2010s and early 2020s, Jeremy Gunderson would schedule his Dodge County girls hockey team to play in a holiday tournament in Warroad. A 425-mile bus ride the day after Christmas wasn’t always ideal, but once the Wildcats got to Warroad, they understood why their coach scheduled the trip. “We played up there for years,” Gunderson said Friday afternoon. “We’d take our kids up to the holiday tournament and t…