NEW ULM — Despite outshooting Minnesota River 42-4 in the first two periods, the New Ulm girls’ hockey team was far from dominating the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with a 2-0 lead after that stretch.

However, the Eagles woke up in the third period and scored four goals. New Ulm (19-7) advanced in the Section 2A playoffs with a 6-0 win at the New Ulm Civic Center.

The Eagles will now play at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Hutchinson. Hutchinson defeated Waconia 6-0 on Thursday night.

New Ulm outshot Minnesota River 59-6 in the game, but the Eagles had a few missed scoring chances in the first two periods.

Senior Molly Scheid scored New Ulm’s first two goals, one in the first period and one in the second, to give the Eagles a 2-0 advantage after two periods.

“I thought the second half of our second period, we started to get a little bit sloppy,” New Ulm coach Kristen Faber said. “We started losing puck races and started throwing the puck around. We’re most successful when everyone is moving and forcing the opposition and when we quit moving our feet and started standing around, we started seeing some of that timing being lost and missed opportunities. I thought we did alright in the third, a couple of nice place and a couple nice opportunites.

“Overall, I’m pleased with the way we played and it’s probably the best that we’ve played in the last two weeks, so that’s good to see,” Faber said.

Morgan Klein scored early in the third period to put her team up 3-0 and later, Alexa Steffl found the back of the net for a 4-0 advantage. Maddi O’Connor scored with 6:54 left to make it 5-0 and she added her second goal with 5.9 seconds left for the final 6-0 margin.

Jayda Helget and Ally Steffensmeier each had three assists. Brooke Arneson and Morgan Klein each had an assist.