Holy Family head coach Randy Koeppl had an update postgame on the status of assistant coach Jason Jensen, who is in critical condition after an accidental on-ice collision caused a head injury last month.

“He’s still got a long road, but he’s doing a lot better. I think that fuels these guys a little bit more,” he said, gesturing to the Holy Family players sitting next to him. 

He added that Jensen had successful surgery Wednesday  and that “progress is being made.”

Koeppl said he received a picture from Jensen’s wife, Kelly, of Jensen in a Holy Family jersey at the hospital Thursday. He’s rooting them on from afar.

Some of Minnesota is being introduced to the skill of the Holy Family girls hockey team for the first time this week. Head coach Randy Koeppl has been waiting for this to happen — he says he’s been “screaming from the top of buildings” about his team’s caliber.

Koeppl mentioned Josie Linn specifically, his team’s leading scorer and the shooter of the Fire’s second goal Thursday night in their 3-1 win over Moorhead.

“I am very excited that people get to see her, because I haven’t seen anybody that can control a game like her,” he said. “I think a lot of people saw what she’s capable of tonight. Probably opened up a lot of eyes.”

The entire Holy Family team, suddenly in the spotlight as the Fire kick off their inaugural state tournament appearance, is eager to show Minnesota what they’re capable of.

“We have a lot to prove here,” said junior goalie Kayla Swartout.  “Every game we’re going to keep proving who we are and why we deserve to be here.”

Holy Family just keeps rolling, all the way to the semifinals in its inaugural state tournament appearance. The Fire held on for a 3-1 victory over fourth seed Moorhead on Thursday night, setting up a prime-time showdown with top-seeded Edina at 8 p.m. Thursday.

The Fire, seeded fifth after taking down top-ranked Minnetonka in the section final, took a second to heat up.

After a scoreless first period, they were ready to roll. Their first goal of the night was a shorthanded score from Addy Cowan, followed by the second from top scorer Josie Linn a few minutes later.

Heading into the third period, Moorhead wasn’t going to go down easily. The Spuds’ Addison Moos made the score 2-1, but an empty-netter for the Fire sealed the deal.

Holy Family outshot Moorhead 35-17, and the Spuds logged zero shots on the goal in the first period.

The nail hit the coffin when Angela Cody sent one into Moorhead’s empty net 16:21 into the third period, securing a 3-1 victory for the Fire.

The Spuds are on the board and back in the game, trailing 2-1. Addison Salvevold picked up the puck from the baseline and sent it out front, where quick Moos was ready to send it in 11:12 into the third period.

The goal was briefly put under review, but the call of goal held.

At the end of the second period, the Fire are on fire. We’ve still got a ways to go in this quarterfinal, but the Spuds will have to heat up their offense if they want to stage a comeback.

Aside from Moorhead goalie Taylor Kressin, here are some players who could be difference-makers on both ends of the ice as we head into crunch time.

Moorhead: Olivia Kortan. A selection for the Minnesota Star Tribune’s list of the top 25 girls hockey players in the state with 21 goals and 25 assists this season, Kortan could still get hot tonight. Keep an eye on her.

Holy Family: She’s already on the radar tonight, but keep Linn in mind. The scorer of the Fire’s second goal and their top scorer this season, the New Hampshire commit is probably hungry for more. Goalie Kayla Swartout will also have to play a pivotal role — even though she's had to weather only 10 shots so far tonight, she'll be ready with her 94% save percentage if they start flying.

And again! Holy Family gave itself a (slightly) more comfortable advantage, 2-0, on the back of senior and team scoring leader Linn. Linn sent it to the back of the net with a quick swipe between the faceoff circles, unassisted 13:25 into the second period.

Here we go. Picking up the puck on the far end of the neutral zone, Holy Family’s Cowan took off down the ice and snapped a breakaway goal past star Moorhead goalie Kressin. The shorthanded score from the Dartmouth commit put the Fire on the board first,  6:20 into the second period.

Maybe it’s just something about these evening games.

We’re scoreless again after the first period, and there’s not much to report from my perch at Xcel Energy Center. No points on the board, no power plays, but perhaps most surprisingly, no shots on goal for Moorhead. Holy Family outshot the Spuds 9-0 in these first 17 minutes, way off pace for a Moorhead team that has averaged almost 37 shots on goal this season.

After successfully stopping those nine shots in the first period, Moorhead goalie Kressin is ready for more. Keep an eye on her saves — the Spuds goaltender is one of the best in the state and a finalist for the Jori Jones statewide senior goalie award, bearing a 95% save percentage and 17 wins in goal this season.

Despite Thursday night’s loss, longtime Farmington head coach Jon Holmes wants the growth of the team to be a connection point for the community.

“The old quote is, ‘The north hates the metro, the metro hates the privates and everyone loves the farms.’ We don’t like to hate anybody. But that idea came true when that goal came out,” he said.

He was referring to the crowd's reaction to Farmington’s third-period goal in its 3-1 loss to Edina.

After that goal, he leaned over to the girls on the bench and told them to “listen, listen to what’s happening right now. The barn came alive.”

And it was true — Farmington had a large student section and pep band present, wearing black and orange to match their team and chronicling every high and low with their cheers. Holmes and his team hope that style of hockey from that town of nearly 24,000 an hour south of the Twin Cities can be a model.

“Farmington wants to be a catalyst for what Minnesota hockey means. When you look at Farmington, you think of community hockey,” he said. “They raise their own, they’re farm-fed. They make sure that when they get there that they’re going to have a role and their role’s important.”