Defense Propels Edina To Third Straight Championship Game 
 
In their previous encounter on January 26th, Edina and Minnetonka ended up having a 5-4 shootout with the Hornets coming out on top. Friday night in the Class AA semifinal, that nine-goal game was a distant memory. 
 
Edina held Minnetonka to just two shots on goal in the final two periods, including none in the second, while needing a goal with 38 seconds left to secure a 2-1 win and giving them a chance at a three-peat Saturday evening against Brainerd. 
 
“We eliminated their shots, our gaps from our defense were good, our forwards weren’t trying to be cute in the D zone,” said Edina coach Sami Reber on her team’s defensive play in the hockey game. Reber’s opposite number, Minnetonka coach Eric Johnson, also paid respect to the Edina defense after the game. “They took care of the puck. Got the puck in deep. Made it hard for us to break out and get through the neutral zone,” Johnson said. 
 
Reber also added that the suffocating defensive play was not the initial game plan, but once it became apparent that the game was headed that way the team decided to dominate the play defensively before anything else.  
 
But while the Hornet defense was suffocating in this hockey game, Edina hung onto a 1-0 lead for most of the game as they could not get another puck by Skippers goaltender Brynn Dulac who made big save after big save to

Minnetonka’s Josie Helling is all smiles after scoring her first ever varsity goal which tied the Skippers state tournament semifinal game with Edina at 1-1 late in the third period on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen-Breakdown Sports USA)

just give Minnetonka a chance to tie it up. 
 
While Dulac – who finished the game with 24 saves in total – was making save after save, Minnetonka was able to tie up the game with 4:14 to play in the third as Josie Helling scored her first ever varsity goal – on a well-placed top-shelf backhander – to put the game and chance at a three-peat in doubt for Edina. 
 
Helling called the goal the highlight of her career as she reflected postgame.  
 
“[We were] frustrated for a second,” said Edina’s Annie Kuehl on Minnetonka’s tying goal. “If anything, it motivated us as we dominated the end of the period.” 
 
As Kuehl said, Edina snuffed out any attack from Minnetonka after the goal through the end of the game. That strong defense allowed her to score the game winner with 38 seconds left and send Edina on to the final.  
 
“It was a fun goal,” Kuehl said postgame. 
 
The Skippers made a late push with the goalie pulled, but it was not enough to break through the solid Edina defense.  
 
With sights on a third straight title, Reber wanted to see a few more goals in Saturday’s Championship against Brainerd, which got an impressive performance from their goaltender Friday night as well. “I would like us to generate some more offense in the game tomorrow,” she said. “We really thrive on our offensive skill.” 

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(MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

King powers Brainerd to Class 2A Final 
 
Midway through the first period, Brainerd was about to try and kill off a 5-on-3 for one minute and eight seconds against a high-powered Andover offense while trying to preserve their 1-0 lead. But to successfully kill off the penalties, the Warriors were going to need a herculean effort from their senior goaltender Olivia King.  
 
For one minute and eight seconds, Brainerd got exactly what they wanted as King stood tall in goal and did not allow one puck past her, including a huge pad save with 10 seconds left on the penalty. Some goalies might wilt under the pressure of getting peppered as King did for 68 seconds, but she prefers to see a lot of shots and got more comfortable as they kept coming in. “It’s exciting to get a lot of shots,” she said.   
 
“It was huge,” Brainerd coach Jim Ernster said of the 5-on-3 kill. “This is the time of year when seniors and goaltenders win games for you.” 

King finished with 38 saves in a 3-2 Brainerd win that took overtime to settle.
 
King credited the team’s play all season on the penalty kill before making a quip about penalties by saying, “We seem to [take] a lot of penalties,” that even got a postgame chuckle from her coach.  
 
The Warriors – specifically King – did not relent in two periods and took a 2-0 lead into the third. 
 
“To keep them at bay for two periods is really important,” said Ernster of Andover’s offense. 
 
Meanwhile, Andover was not about to let themselves get down despite not getting a puck – 29 shots through two periods – past King in the Brainerd goal. “We were not letting out heads hang,” said Andover forward Hannah Stauffeneker. “We were not feeling sorry for ourselves [at that point].” 
 
However, Andover did make a comeback in the third as they scored six minutes into the period and tied up the game with just over six minutes to play. The Huskies nearly won the game with a minute to play as King once again was called upon to make a sprawling save with Andover on a breakaway. 
 
The save sent the game into overtime where it took all of 10 seconds for Brainerd to score the winner – off the stick of Cheyenne Abear – and send them to the Class 2A finals Saturday night to play the winner of Minnetonka/Edina. 
 
With his senior goalie now in the spotlight, Ernster said of his goalie being on the state’s radar, “I sure hope so [that everyone has taken notice]. I’ve seen a lot of good saves over five years.” 

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Minnetonka’s Lacey Martin watches as her third period shot eludes Maple Grove goaltender Lucy Morgan for a 5-2 lead in the Skippers’ 7-4 Class 2A state tournament semifinal win over the Crimson on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson).

Minnetonka avenges early-season loss to Maple Grove
 
In late November, Minnetonka lost to Maple Grove 3-2 in overtime.  But this time around it was the fifth-seeded Skippers who had the last laugh as they dominated No. 4 Maple Grove 7-4 in Thursday night’s Class 2A quarterfinal finale. 

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Edina’s Olivia Swaim (4) and Jane Kuehl (17) celebrate a goal in the Hornets’ 7-0 win over East Ridge in Thursday’s Class 2A state tournament quarterfinal contest. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen-Breakdown Sports USA)

Underclassmen jumpstart Edina in 7-0 win over East Ridge 
 
Seeking a third straight Class AA title, Edina got off to a rocky start against East Ridge in Thursday night’s quarterfinal at Xcel Energy Center.  
 
The Hornets took three penalties in the first period and saw East Ridge push the play as a result of being down a skater for a large chunk of the opening frame. But jumpstarting the Hornets Thursday night was not their top players, it was their underclassmen who got things going. 
 
Freshman Jane Kuehl put home a rebound at 7:30 of the first period to give Edina the lead, a lead they would never relinquish. “It’s a big deal. I don’t get that many goals,” quipped Kuehl postgame. “Having the underclassmen score got everyone motivated and psyched.” 
 
Edina would have just the lone goal in the first, but they got going and buzzed to a 7-0 win over the Raptors to secure a spot in Friday’s Class AA semifinal against the winner of Minnetonka/Maple Grove. A four goal second period put away any doubts or jitters that the Hornets had coming into the hockey game. 
 
Edina head coach Sami Reber credited the underclassmen for getting the team started postgame and credited the great depth on the team in being able to roll out three lines that can score at any moment. 

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