Sauer, a senior captain, said the team song is Everytime We Touch by Cascada. After every victory, the Trojans turn it on blast and sing along. They sang with extra volume and enthusiasm on Wednesday, so loud they might have been heard up and down the I-494 corridor.

“I think we played really, really well tonight,” said Wayzata coach Pat O’Leary, who led the program to its lone state title in 2016 and most recent appearance in 2017. “I mean, I thought it was one of the better games we played all year, top to bottom.”

When a team’s third-line center who has scored three goals all season pops in two, the odds of prevailing improve dramatically. That guy would be Sauer, who opened the scoring in the first period with a rebound goal and then converted a turnover at the Benilde-St. Margaret’s blue line into a wicked shot that sailed past Red Knights’ goaltender Carson Limesand’s glove hand. That put Wayzata ahead 3-0 early in the third.

“That was a big goal by a big player, a captain,” Wayzata sophomore goaltender Will Ingemann said. “That really motivated the team there.”

Ingemann, who made several clutch stops in the closing minutes, said he has seen that shot by Sauer in practice many times. Too many times.

“He's got that low shot that comes in right above the pads,” Ingemann said. “It’s pretty hard to stop him.”

With standout senior forward Jake Keller out with an injury, O’Leary inserted sophomore Kasen Sauer on a line with his big brother. Kasen was credited with an assist on both of Kohl’s goals. Not bad for a combination that has been together for all of two games in their entire hockey careers.

“My brother stepped up on my line, and we kind of have some chemistry,” Kohl Sauer said. “It’s super special playing with him. We just got it done.”

But it wasn’t easy. It seems like it never is in Section 6AA, widely considered one of the state’s toughest. The finish might have been ulcer-inducing for O’Leary, who watched as the Red Knights got goals by Reece Gardner and Tristan Sarsland in a span of 67 seconds to close to within 3-2 with 5:50 remaining.

“They get some extra adrenaline and our guys were kind of like, ‘Oh, boy,’ ” O’Leary said about the finish that, for the Trojans, focused solely on survival. 

O’Leary said he reminded his payers about all the overtime games (five) and other tight finishes they had been involved in this season while playing one of the state’s toughest schedules. 

“I can't say I was mad when I saw the clock hit 0:00 and the puck was in the corner,” said O’Leary, whose Trojans, ranked No. 9 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, improved to 13-5-2. “We’ve played tons of one-goal games, and we’ve been on the other side of those finishes, too.”

Benilde-St. Margaret’s coach Ken Pauly said he was encouraged by the way the Red Knights (15-6-0) recovered from a first-period that ended with them trailing 2-0. 

“I was proud when it looked like our season was over that the kids continued to battle,” Pauly said. “You get in these games, and a slow start will get you beat. And a slow start got us beat.”