Bemidji earns No. 5 seed in Class AA state tournament; Warroad No. 1 in Class A

Feb. 14—BEMIDJI — The fields are set.

The Bemidji High School girls hockey team earned the No. 5 seed in the Class AA state tournament. The Lumberjacks will play against fourth-seeded Edina at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19, at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

The state tournament consists of the champions from each of the eight sections. It's a single-elimination tournament, with a consolation bracket held at TRIA Rink in St. Paul.

Bemidji won the Section 8AA Tournament with a 7-1 win over Roseau in the semifinals and a 4-3 triumph over Moorhead in the championship. BHS holds a record of 20-5-1.

Edina is 20-4-3 and beat Benilde-St. Margaret's 1-0 on Friday night in the Section 6AA championship game. Edina is a five-time state champion and has 15 state appearances. The last time the Hornets missed the state tournament was in 2015.

Edina finished as the runner-up at the 2025 Class AA state tournament, falling to Hill-Murray in double overtime, 5-4.

Bemidji has been to state just twice before this season. The Lumberjacks' last trip to St. Paul was in 2007. The winner between Bemidji and Edina will take on either No. 1 Hill-Murray or No. 8 Lakeville North.

A

GoFundMe campaign

was posted to help fund the Jacks' first trip to state in 19 years.

In the Class A tournament, Warroad earned the top seed with a record of 21-5-1 out of Section 8A. The Warriors will play against Luverne at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at Grand Casino Arena.

This is Warroad's 11th consecutive trip to the state tournament. The Warriors were the runner-up in last year's state tournament against Dodge County, falling in the title game 4-3 in overtime.

Warroad or Luverne will play the winner of No. 4 Dodge County and fifth-seeded Proctor/Hermantown in the semifinals at 11 a.m. on Friday.

The Pioneer will have coverage from St. Paul for both Bemidji and Warroad's state tournament runs next week.