Goalie Spates leads Mitchell girls to 1-0 upset win over Oahe

HURON — Behind a strong game from its goalie, the Mitchell Marlins girls’ varsity hockey team pulled an upset Friday at the state varsity tournament in Huron at Bergman Arena.

The sixth-seeded Marlins got a shutout from goalie Hannah Spates and beat third-seeded Oahe 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the tournament, guaranteeing themselves a top-four finish in the tournament.

Marlins forward/ defenseman Kylie Barington scored the Marlins’ only goal, coming with 9 minutes, 14 seconds to go in the third period on an assist from forward Haley Stahl.

“The third-period goal, we came in and crashed the net,” Marlins coach Randy Rezac said. “We got a shot off and there was a rebound, their goalie went to her belly and Kylie got the shot over her. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a goal.”

One goal was all the Marlins needed because Spates was a brick wall in the net, stopping 52 shots on goal. Friday’s win was the second shutout of the season for Spates. Her first came Jan. 18 in a 4-0 win over Huron in a game she had 49 saves.

“She had the game of her life and was just fantastic,” Rezac said. “This is the most shots she’s faced, I believe, this year.”

Mitchell (9-10-3) plays Huron — the second seed — in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. today in Huron for a spot in Sunday’s championship. For the past two years, Mitchell has been the state runner-up at the girls’ varsity tournament.

To get to the semifinals, Huron defeated Rapid City 7-0 in Thursday’s first round. The Marlins and Huron have split their three matchups this season.

Behind the Spates shutout, Mitchell defeated Huron 4-0 on Jan. 18 in Huron, lost 5-3 Feb. 3 in Mitchell and the teams tied on Dec. 15 in Huron.

Tags: mitchell hockey, sports, marlins