The St. Croix Valley Fusion kept the good times rolling Friday night, riding a 13-game winning streak into a Sectional Final win over Western Wisconsin that earned the Fusion a trip to the State semi-finals.

“They’re so excited it’s unbelievable. They’re all fired up,” Fusion Head Coach Matt Cranston said. “Get to get out of school a couple days and go play at the State Tournament. Doesn’t get any better than that.”

After beating Hudson 3-1 on goals from Oaklie Holldorf, Jenna Volgren and Morgan Kivel, and a 34-save day from Katelyn Gustafson, the No. 1 seed Fusion booked a date with No. 2 seed rivals Western Wisconsin in the rival’s house due to pre-determined game locations.

Just two and a half minutes in, the Fusion found themselves down 1-0. Western Wisconsin had all the pressure, making life tough on Gustafson in net. It was a roughing penalty midway through the period that changed everything, with Jane Volgren cashing in a powerplay goal and then an even strength goal minutes later to exit the first period with a 2-1 lead.

Western Wisconsin struck back in the second, but a goal from Lily Mittl and a third from Jane Volgren sealed the deal.

“That’s a huge advantage to score first,” Cranston said. “Our girls didn’t give up and didn’t worry about that… Our third goal really took some wind out of their sail, and then we kind of buried them with the fourth.”

Gustafson had another wildly impressive night in net, saving 29 of 31 shots sent her way.

“She’s so dialed in right now that I think we’ve rattled off 12, or 13 or 14 straight [wins], and she gets a ton of the credit,” Cranston said. “She’s just really dialed in mentally.”

Jane Volgren’s hat trick was also a performance to remember. The junior now has a team-leading 21 goals between the regular and postseasons.

“They’re kind of our rival,” Cranston said. “To do it in their barn was even extra special.

“They’ve got as much talent as anyone we’ve played this year. They’re really deep,” Cranston said. “To beat those kinds of teams, you have to have your top players perform… Between she and Gus, they share the player of the game.”

St. Croix Valley is the No. 2 seed at State, taking on No. 3 Superior on Thursday in Middleton. St. Croix Valley already took on Superior back on Jan. 31, winning 3-1 in a game that was capped by an empty net goal. The Spartans are led by Adalyn Benson, who has scored 27 goals in just 22 games during the regular season and another four in two postseason games. The Fusion play Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

The other two squads at State are 21-2 No. 1 seed Bay Area and No. 4 seed Cap City Cougars at 16-6-1. The Fusion have not played Cap City, but lost 5-1 to Bay Area early in the season.

River Falls Wildcats

The River Falls boys also advanced to the Sectional Final after a 6-3 win over Menomonie that featured four consecutive Wildcat goals to seal the deal. Scoring for River Falls was Jaxon Flanagan thrice, Chase Rudolph, Eric Wiech and Blake Fredrickson to advance to play No. 1 seed Somerset.

River Falls put up a fight, tying the game at 1-1 in the first period on a Calvin Vezina goal and Chase Rudolph scoring one to spark some life in the third, but the Spartans pulled away with a 5-2 win.

It was a special season for the Wildcats with a lot of milestones along the way. Senior Flanagan broke the school’s single season point record with 78 in 27 games between the regular and postseasons. He had an even 39 goals and 39 assists. Jace Dougherty, Rudolph and Vezina each cracked double-digit goals in the regular season, with Nolan Hoepfl and Logan Link knocking on the door.

A 14-10 overall record and 9-5 conference record slotted River Falls in third in the Big Rivers Conference.