Between 2003 and 2017, Blake girls hockey made eight State Tournament appearances, winning their way to the Class A Championship game all eight times – and winning state titles in seven of them.

After an eight season absence, the Bears are going to St. Paul looking to rekindle their dynasty. They return to State as the #2-seed in the Class A draw and will begin play with a State Quarterfinal on Wednesday against Mankato East.

RELATED: KSTP Sports’ Girls State Hockey Tournament Central (scores, schedules, brackets, TV & stream info)

Before practice on Tuesday afternoon’s final practice before State begins, KSTP Sports checked in with head coach Kristi King and some Bears players.

***CLICK ON THE VIDEO BOX TO HEAR FROM BLAKE COACH KRISTI KING AND SELECT PLAYERS***

King discussed: what the section championship against the Holy Angels Stars was like, if she saw the game-winning goal developing or if she was busy with her team, what the community reaction has been like, how proud she is that she broke the nine-year State Tournament drought, what she has been telling her players about playing in the State Tournament, what it is going to be like to play at the Grand Casino Arena, what she sees in Mankato East, and what a luxury it is to have senior goaltender Janie McGawn.

McGawn – a finalist for the Jori Jones Award, given each year to the top senior goaltender in the state – talked about: the atmosphere against Holy Angels, what she felt when Blake won the section championship, what the community outreach has been like since the section championship, how proud she is to have helped bring Blake back to the State Tournament, what an advantage it is to have a coach who played in the State Tournament, what it will be like for her to play in the Grand Casino Arena, what she sees in Mankato East, and the honor of being be nominated for the Jori Jones Award.

Senior forward Ella Bond spoke about: the atmosphere against Holy Angels, what she felt when Blake won the Section Championship, what she felt like after the game, how proud she is to have helped bring Blake back to the State Tournament, what an advantage it is to have a coach who played in the State Tournament, what it will be like for her to play in the Grand Casino Arena, and what she sees in Mankato East.

For Related Stories: Blake Bears  Girls High School Hockey  Girls State Hockey Tournament  High School Sports  MSHSL