One scoring burst was all New Prague needed to comfortably win its first-ever state tournament game.

The No. 3-seeded Trojans used three early second-period goals to defeat unseeded Chisago Lakes 5-2 in the Class 1A quarterfinals Wednesday at the Xcel Energy Center. New Prague’s top line of Austin Isaacson, Seth Kriha and Alex Gregor combined for 13 points, including all five goals. Isaacson, the team’s leading scorer, had one goal and four assists.

But coach Chris Lonke credited the team’s depth and defense for the victory. The Trojans allowed only nine shots by Chisago Lakes.

“We said going into the section playoffs if we could become the best defensive team in our section, we’d have the best chance to win the section,” Lonke said. “Now we’re carrying that over to the state tournament.”

The Trojans scored three times in the first 3:24 of the second period to take a 4-1 lead, including two goals by Gregor.

The dominance continued until the end of the period, when New Prague (22-4-3) appeared to put the game on cruise control. Chisago Lakes (20-9-0) didn’t record a shot in the second period until the 13th minute.

In the first period, New Prague briefly trailed 1-0 in goals and 4-0 in shots. After that, it scored five straight goals and outshot Chisago Lakes 26-5.

“We’ve been able to battle back a lot this year,” Kriha said, “and we’ve been used to it.”

New Prague will get a rematch with Hermantown in the semifinals Friday. The Hawks defeated the Trojans 7-3 in January. New Prague is 9-1 since then.

CHARLIE ARMITZ


PHOTO GALLERY: New Prague 5, Chisago Lakes 2


Postgame press conference: New Prague 5, Chisago Lakes 2