MIDDLETON — The State Tournament was a magical one for the St. Croix Valley Fusion. Trailing by three goals in the Semi-final and four in the Final, the Fusion came up just one goal short of making the impossible become a reality.

The State Semi-final matchup was between the Fusion and Superior, a team St. Croix Valley had beaten 3-1 in a tight matchup during the regular season. This time around, the final scoreline looked much different. The Spartans got on the board first mid-way through the first period, but Sophia Munson equalized three minutes later off the assist from Jenna Volgren and Kendra Harmon.

The opening of the second period was all Superior, scoring twice in the first minute of the frame over a nine-second span. The Spartans scored a third to lead 4-1 nine minutes into the second. That is when the Fusion, more specifically Jane Volgren, got activated. Volgren scored in the 12th, 15th, 16th and 17th minutes of the period, an unbelievable four-goal run to lead 5-4 after two periods.

“Kind of got a little content and they scored a few goals,” Head Coach Matt Cranston said. “We just basically didn’t panic. Just told them to get one goal and see what happens. Jane Volgren went crazy.”

Goals from Jenna Volgren and Morgal Kivel in the third period finished the job to push the Fusion into the State Finals 7-4.

“They’re just really driven and really focused, and they want to win,” Cranston said of the Volgrens.

Jenna and Jane’s mother played for Cranston’s brother Joe Cranston at UWRF, a team that has now won back-to-back National Championships and is pushing for a third.

Cranston said the Superior coach admitted the Spartans running two lines and the Fusion three wore Superior down as the game went along.

In the finals, the Fusion were matched up with top-seeded Bay Area, a team that beat the Fusion 5-1 early in the regular season. It appeared the Fusion may suffer the same fate Saturday. Bay Area scored three in the back half of the first period to build a comfortable lead. The Fusion got one back from Jane Volgren in the second, but Bay Area pulled the lead back to three and then up to four in the first 10 minutes of the third period.

St. Croix Valley refused to go down without a fight, just like the team had all season. The Fusion had goals from Emma Larsen, Jane Volgren and Oaklie Holldorf to bring Bay Area’s lead all the way down to 5-4 with four minutes to play. The Fusion dialed up the pressure in the closing moments; however, they could not sneak one through.

There were 14 penalties called in the game, making for a high-intensity game with crucial powerplay goals and penalty kills.

St. Croix Valley won its seventh consecutive Big Rivers Conference title this season, going 23-5 with a 14-game winning streak taken into the State Championship game.

“That was kind of the same thing, except we just came back right at the end,” Cranston said. “That team is just loaded. They’re a huge co-op of the whole Green Bay area… They had three lines and they’re really deep.”

Cranston said last time around it was a weird game with a few early goals and a few late ones conceded with lots of penalties committed, but the Fusion took more shots than Bay Area. This time around, St. Croix Valley was cleaner, nearly taking down the top seed.

“If you don’t give up, you can almost do anything, no matter what the opposition is,” Cranston said. “After winning the conference, and winning the Sectional and runner-up at State, just how much fun it can be and what a great experience it was for all involved.”

St. Croix Valley loses 11 seniors, with about half being varsity players and three being defensemen. Leading scorer Morgan Kivel will head to St. Kate’s to continue her playing career and defenseman Eleanor Adams is joining Concordia Moorhead.

“We’re going to miss them,” Cranston said.