It would be an understatement to say Warroad’s 3-2 loss to Hermantown in last year’s state Class 1A championship game didn’t digest easily.

Ultra-focused on a return trip to the state title game, Warroad gained a small measure of payback by halting Hermantown’s 103-game regular-season unbeaten streak against Class 1A teams by beating the Hawks 3-1 on Jan. 14 in Warroad.

Warroad (27-0-1) enters the tournament as the state’s lone unbeaten team. The Warriors’ challenging schedule hasn’t made it easy keeping that zero in the loss column. The Warriors shut out Class 2A powerhouse Wayzata 3-0 in January in a matchup of the state’s top-ranked teams in each class at the time.

Senior forward Jayson Shaugabay and senior goalkeeper Hampton Slukynsky are among the finalists for the Mr. Hockey and Frank Brimsek awards, respectively. But there’s more to Warroad than its biggest stars. The Warriors have outscored their opponents 154-35, with one-third of those goals coming via special teams.

Warroad last won a state title in 2005. Will the third trip for Shaugabay & Slukynsky be the one that returns a championship to Hockeytown?