The right-shot forward split last season between Edina High School – where he helped the Hornets win the Class 2A state title – and the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. He had six points (1-5–6) over 20 USHL games and expected to return to Omaha this fall.

However, those plans changed with that July phone call, as Cowan was dealt to the Madison Capitols.

“I remember I was out running sprints and my music stopped playing, and I saw I was getting a call from (Omaha general manager David Wilkie),” Cowan recently told Minnesota Hockey Magazine. “At first, I thought he was maybe just checking in after main camp or seeing how the summer was going, but we got talking, and he told me I was traded to Madison.

“I was completely shocked and, honestly, I had no idea it was coming. But I got a call from (Madison GM/head coach Andy Brandt) that night, and he said they were really excited to add me, and I’m really happy it worked out the way it did. It’s a fun group of guys, and there are a lot of Minnesota kids here too, so it’s been a good fit and I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far.”

Cowan has not only fit in with his new club, but he’s hit the ground running.

He scored in his Madison debut against Omaha on Sept. 19 and added two more goals the next day, leaving the USHL Fall Classic with a team-leading three goals. Cowan missed Madison’s next two games with a nagging upper-body injury and missed the Oct. 5 game at Tri-City, too, but he added an assist the day before on Oct. 4 as the Capitols earned a 3-2 road win against Tri-City.

Bobby Cowan scored three goals in his first two games wearing a Madison Capitols sweater in the USHL. (Photo courtesy of USHL)

Cowan was a ‘no-brainer’ choice for Madison
The St. Thomas commit flashed that offensive potential over the past two seasons, racking up 83 points (41-42–83) over 60 high school games with Edina. So when the Capitols had the opportunity to acquire Cowan, it was a “no-brainer.”

“The biggest thing we were intrigued by was his ability to score,” Brandt said. “He got the opportunity to play in the league last year in Omaha at the beginning and the end, and that’s big too.

“He was coming off a high school season where he had a lot of success, and then you come into a league that’s extremely competitive and teams are fighting for playoff spots, too, so that gives you really good experience and an idea of what to expect at our level. I think that helped Bobby prepare for this season and get off to the start he has.”

Brandt said the trade came together quickly but was a win-win for both clubs, especially with Madison needing to replace its top seven goal scorers – who combined for 141 of Madison’s 218 tallies last season.

Madison’s staff believed Cowan could “help fill that void” and be a threat whenever he’s on the ice.

So far, the 18-year-old forward has done exactly that.

“His work ethic has been tremendous and I’ve been extremely impressed with how Bobby approaches every day,” Brandt said. “To be completely honest, I didn’t know a ton about him coming into this season. I knew he was a kid that some labeled a little bit of a late-bloomer, but he’s gotten better every single year.

“I think we’re already seeing he can be a high-end skill player in our league and he works extremely hard on the ice, in the gym, and he’s helped from a leadership standpoint too.”

Madison teammate Mason Moe also faced Cowan as an opponent, when Moe played for Eden Prairie.

“He’s always been a guy that’s not fun to play against,” Moe said, of Cowan. “He’s super skilled, super crafty and he works hard, and he’s done that for us (in Madison) too. He just makes a lot of plays and he’s a really good teammate, too, so it’s been a lot of fun playing together so far.”

Bobby Cowan scored three goals and two assists for the championship-winning Edina Hornets in the 2024 MSHSL Boys’ State Hockey Tournament. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Cowan finds his confidence
In addition to that work ethic, the other key to Cowan’s early success has been simple: Confidence.

“I really haven’t had a ton of confidence in the past, so that’s been a big thing for me this year,” Cowan said. “Playing at Edina was a great experience, but I didn’t play varsity until my junior year and, honestly, I didn’t even have that much confidence going into my (junior season).

“All my teammates and the kids I’d compare myself to were on varsity the year before so I was behind them and didn’t know how much I’d be able to even play coming in. But when I look back, it was more of a mental thing and it pushed me to get better.”

Cowan said he initially contemplated staying in Omaha last season but ultimately decided he’d likely regret not playing with his childhood friends and making one last run at a state title – a decision that paid off.

However, the USHL experience he gained last season shouldn’t go unnoticed either. Especially down the stretch, as Cowan played 11 games after his high school season and got an idea of what it takes to be successful in the league. He recorded five of his six USHL points in that stretch too, including his first career goal in Omaha’s season finale.

Cowan said the first few games have felt easier as a result this season and he felt “a lot more ready” coming in – which has been reflected in his play. He also came into this season wanting to make a good impression on his new coaches and make the most of his opportunities.

Mission accomplished so far.

“Bobby put in the work all summer and throughout camp, and you could tell he was hungry coming in here,” Brandt said. “So to see him perform the way he has, it should give him a ton of self-confidence, and I think he’s a player that’s ready to break out.

“It all goes back to watching how hard he worked over the past three weeks though. While we were excited to see Bobby get rewarded, we also weren’t surprised, because he was ready for Pittsburgh. He’s done a great job so far and he’s going to be a big part of our group, and we’re hoping he can build on it throughout the year.”

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“We’re just like, ‘why don’t we become state champions our senior year?’” Strobel said.

Why don’t they? Well, they did.

Hill-Murray defeated Eden Prairie 4-1 in the Class 2A championship Saturday night. The Pioneers pulled off an upset, winning the title as a 5-seed over the 3-seeded Eagles. Strobel had a team-leading four goals in the tournament, including two in the title game.

“We’re 2020 state high school hockey champions,” Strobel said. “And we can live with that for the rest of our lives. That’s the best feeling in the world right now.”

Hill-Murray senior captain Charlie Strobel (L) and teammate Henry Eischen celebrate Strobel’s second-period goal giving the Pioneers a 3-0 lead over Eden Prairie en route to a 4-1 win over the Eagles in the Class 2A final on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The Pioneers accomplished the feat with what opponents often referred to as their “relentless” play. That offense and defense started off strong from the drop of the puck Saturday.

Hill-Murray took a 1-0 lead in the middle of the first period, capitalizing on the first power-play opportunity of the game. Junior defenseman Matthew Fleischhacker took a shot from the blue line that found its way into the net.

Their underdog status helped their mindset, too.

“Gave us a little firepower at the beginning of the game,” Fleischhacker said.

The Pioneers extended the lead to 3-0 by the time the second period was over. First, they got an early goal from senior Owen Quast when he entered the Eden Prairie zone and blasted a shot top-shelf over the blocker at the 3:46 mark of the period.

With 1:54 to play in the period, Strobel took the puck into the zone and held his ground while being defended by Eden Prairie’s Mason Langenbrunner. Strobel went all the way down behind the net and finished off the play with a textbook wrap-around goal to push the margin to 3-0.

Eden Prairie assistant coach Paul Ranheim pointed to momentum turning just three minutes into the game, when Jackson Blake stood even with the goal line and sent the puck all the way through the crease, parallel with the goal line.

“I think the momentum for us changed when we had the great 3-on-2 and Blake didn’t score,” Ranheim said.

Eden Prairie’s John Mittelstadt (9) and Ben Steeves (6) celebrate Steeves’ third-period goal, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to 3-1 on the way to a 4-1 loss to Hill-Murray in Saturday night’s Class 2A championship game at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Eden Prairie got on the board with 11:11 remaining in regulation with Ben Steeves’ 37th goal of the season when he picked a corner just inside the top of the goal on the blocker side. The Eagles had life, cutting into the deficit for a 3-1 game.

But Strobel took a diving shot on a 2-on-1 play and his second of the game seemed to really seal the deal for the Pioneers, regaining the three-goal lead with 6:01 left in regulation.

Despite Eden Prairie pulling its goaltender not long after that, the Eagles couldn’t seem to get much going offensively in the closing minutes.  

“They were getting in shooting lanes,” said Eagles senior John Mittelstadt. “It wasn’t easy getting the puck to the net, obviously.”

The Pioneers were also without one of their top defensemen, Joe Palodichuk, in the game. The team found out in the middle of the afternoon that the junior would be out after going to the doctor and being diagnosed with mono.

It created some personnel changes on the fly before the game. With Palodichuk usually running the power play, the Pioneers stuck Jared Jensen in that spot, while they also rotated five defensemen throughout the game.

“What was bizarre is we got one power play, I believe, and we scored on it,” said Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner.

It’s the fourth state title for the Pioneers and second in the two-class format that started in 1994, with the other title coming in 2008. Hill-Murray also won the title in 1991, when Strobel’s father, Mike, was an assistant captain on the team. His uncle, Mark Strobel, was the tournament’s leading scorer that year, with four goals and three assists.

For Charlie, it’s a great feeling knowing that family history.

“Then I came in here and tried to do my best to do the same thing,” Charlie said. “I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself, because I knew if I did, the outcome probably wouldn’t happen.”

Since winning its second state title in 2011, Eden Prairie has finished as a runner-up three times (2016, 2019, 2020).

“They played like they wanted it more,” Ranheim said, of Hill-Murray. “They came out, their legs were moving, and we got behind. And chased and chased and couldn’t find our momentum.”

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When asked about it after the game, Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner responded, “I guess I didn’t think of it that way but does that happen very often?”

The answer to Lechner’s question is no. In fact, it marks the first time since 2008 that one conference can claim both state champions going back to when the Classic Suburban Conference, featuring Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy, managed the same feat. It was also the last time two East Metro teams have claimed state titles in the same season. 

Coincidentally, that was the last time the Pioneers skated off as Class 2A champions. The 2008 Classic Suburban winners were joined by conference runner-up St. Thomas Academy, which won the Class 1A title that year. The Cadets made it a trio of Metro East teams qualifying for the 2020 state tournament, this time as a Class 2A competitor, and advanced to the semifinals before falling to the Pioneers 3-2 on Charlie Strobel’s overtime goal. 

The 2008 Pioneers also beat St. Thomas Academy in overtime at Xcel Energy Center but that came in late January as part of the 2nd-annual Hockey Day Minnesota festivities based in Baudette. Three days later, a 5-4 overtime win over Mahtomedi clinched the conference title for Hill-Murray.

The Pioneers went on to defeat Roseau 4-2 in the Class 2A semifinals, ending the Rams’ 42-game winning streak dating back to the previous season. The Pioneers won the state title with a 3-0 win over another West Metro power Edina.

Mahtomedi coach Jeff Poeschl addresses his team on the bench during his team’s Class 1A quarterfinal win over Delano on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at Xcel Energy Center. (Photo: Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner’s second state championship came in his 14th tournament appearance (11th in the last 15 years) which includes five trips to the Class 2A final. For Mahtomedi coach Jeff Poeschl, on the other hand, Saturday’s win gave the Zephyrs their first Class 1A state title overall and first in nine trips to the state tournament under Poeschl after three third place finishes (1994, 2015 and 2019).

“They did a great job and it was fun for Poeschy,” Lechner said. “We sent them a little congrats before our game so, yeah, that’s pretty neat.”

The ties between Lechner, Hill-Murray and Poeschl run deep dating back to the 1979-80 season when Poeschl was a senior 3-year starter for the Pioneers during Lechner’s first season as a Hill-Murray assistant coach under Terry Skrypek. One of Poeschl’s teammates, Bill Schafhauser, is Hill-Murray’s girls’ varsity coach and the brother of current Lechner assistant, Pat Schafhauser.

Now they coach at schools slightly more than six miles apart and have done so since the 1997-98 season.

“There’s certainly an awful lot of pride for the East Metro,” Poeschl said. “For as much as we hear about the West Metro and the teams, not to take anything away from them, but we often are in the shadow of the Edinas and the Wayzatas and the Benildes and Eden Prairies and, you know, the list goes on.

“But [I’m] awfully proud of the East Metro and the way that we’ve represented our conference.”

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“I tell them they’re going to skate Herbies if they mess up,” McClanahan said, generating some laughter in the postgame press conference.

In all seriousness, McClanahan, a gold medalist from the 1980 Olympic team, said he talked about accepting and embracing the big stage with his team.

“It’s even bigger today than when I had the opportunity to play in it, eons ago,” said McClanahan, who saw an undefeated season get upended with a loss to Richfield in the 1976, single-class tournament quarterfinals.  

The 2-seed Bears relished the opportunity and came away with a 7-5 victory over Maple Grove in a back-and-forth thriller to kick off the 2A part of the boys’ hockey tournament Thursday afternoon. All seven goals came from the Bears’ top line, with junior Joe Miller netting a hat trick and senior Jack Sabre scoring two goals and an assist.

Blake held a 3-2 lead through two periods, but the action was far from over, with seven more goals coming in the third period. After Sam Jacobs tied the game a few minutes in for Maple Grove, senior Gavin Best and Miller connected for a shorthanded goal to re-take the lead.

Maple Grove’s Chris Kernan tries to beat Blake goaltender Aksel Reid to a loose puck during their Class 2A quarterfinal game on Wednesday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. (Photo: Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

Miller and Best had a 2-on-0 opportunity through neutral ice and passed the puck back and forth a few times before Miller completed his hat trick.

“2-on-0s are pretty hard to come by,” Miller said. “But glad we were able to put it in the net.”

McClanahan loved to see the passing between two of his top players on that opportunity.

“It’s not just fun to watch,” McClanahan said. “I think it’s fun for the guys that are doing it.

“You move the puck like that, you’re going to have a lot of chances.”

Sabre made it a two-goal lead a couple minutes later, but Maple Grove tied it again with a pair of goals 1 minute, 16 seconds apart thanks to Tyler Oakland and Joshua Giuliani’s second of the game.

The game-winner came off senior defenseman Will Svenddal’s stick on the power play with 2:14 to play in regulation. His shot from the point made it through traffic and into the net. The penalty was a slashing call on Ben Leafblad.

“We battled the whole game,” Guiliani said. “I thought we were the better team. They got some lucky calls that I thought were not very good. And then they capitalized on their opportunities.”

A couple minutes later, Henry Nelson knocked the Maple Grove net off its pegs with 1:46 to play. McClanahan declined a penalty shot and chose to take the power play on the delay-of-game penalty. Best scored an empty-netter to seal the victory.

“It was pretty crazy,” Miller said. “I think I can say I’ve never played in a game quite like that. A lot of ups and downs. But I think we managed it well.”

Maple Grove coach Todd Bergland said after the game that he was not too upset about the delay-of-game call, but rather, he took issue with the slashing call during the tie game, “when we’ve got all the momentum in the world.”

“That clearly wasn’t a penalty,” Bergland said. “Again, refs are human. They make mistakes. And it’s a tough profession. I commend them for everything. But that was the game-changer right there. That was it. You don’t call that penalty, and we’re probably on the other end of the stick.”

These two teams faced each other not long ago, on Feb. 15 during the regular-season finale. The Crimson tied the game with 2 minutes, 2 seconds left in regulation before Sawyer Skanson scored the overtime game-winner about three minutes into the extra session for a 5-4 Crimson victory.

Blake (23-6-0) won the consolation title in 2006 in the Class 1A tournament. The program is in its first state trip as a Class 2A team, having opted up for the 2017-18 season.

Sabre called the Class 2A tournament the “holy grail.”

“This is the pinnacle of high school hockey, and this is where we wanted to be,” Sabre said. “We knew we could compete at this level.”

Maple Grove (20-9-0) is winless in three state tournament appearances so far (2012, 2017), taking an 0-5 record into the consolation bracket.

Eden Prairie pounces on Lakeville South

The state tournament is a place for star players to shine and add to their already impressive goal and points totals for the season. It’s a rarer to see a player score his first goal of the season on such a big stage.

But 3-seed Eden Prairie senior Kai Stansberry accomplished the feat, scoring what turned out to a game-winning goal in his team’s 4-0 shutout over Lakeville South in the second Class 2A quarterfinal Thursday. He put his team up 1-0 early on a mini breakaway, 3 minutes, 48 seconds into the game.

“My line, we do the heavy hitting,” Stansberry said. “We’re the grinders on the team. So, we like to get that jumpstart.”

It was a relief to get that first goal under his belt, coming on his line’s first shift of the game, too.

Stansberry shifted to the forward position about halfway through the season, according to his coach Lee Smith. They needed to make a change to get heavier and bigger to face the stronger teams as of late.

Eden Prairie Mr. Hockey finalist Ben Steeves scores the Eagles’ fourth and final goal in spectacular fashion during the second period of their 4-0 Class 2A state quarterfinal win over Lakeville South on Thursday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“And we’ve been talking about him being the difference-maker down the stretch,” Smith said. “And today he was.”

The Eagles (23-5-1) had a 2-0 lead through the first period after a goal from Luke Mittelstadt before getting a pair of goals from senior Ben Steeves in the second. First, Steeves finished off play where the puck bounced back out front from the end glass.

The fourth goal was reminiscent of one of the most famous goals former Minnesota Wild player Mikael Granlund scored, a diving play at the goalmouth. Steeves was a man on a mission with that goal, noting how Lakeville South was playing defensively, man-to-man.

“Every time I’d hear someone say, ‘I’ve got Steeves! I got (Jackson) Blake! I got Mittelstadt!’” Steeves said. “And they would just stay on us.

“So, we kind of figured out that if you beat your guy that’s on you, you can just take it to the net and nobody will come to you because they stay on the other guys. When I put it through the guy’s stick, I just drove the net and buried it.”

Steeves, a Mr. Hockey finalist, is up to 35 goals this season.

Eagles senior goaltender Axel Rosenlund made 29 saves for his third shutout of the season. The Cougars had some more offensive zone time in the second period and got some chances in the third but couldn’t cash in.

“We needed to get that one in just to get the bench going and get everybody going,” said Lakeville South coach Janne Kivilhalme.

The game was a complete rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, a game Eden Prairie also won, but it took three overtimes to get to the 3-2 decision. The Eagles outshot the Cougars 66-29 in that one, including 27-8 in overtime.

The Eagles and Bears will face each other in the semifinals. Blake defeated Eden Prairie 5-4 on Jan. 25.

“Hopefully it’s not miracle on ice for them again,” Smith said. “Hopefully it’s our time.”

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Edina survives Eden Prairie onslaught for OT win and 10th state title

St. Paul — Peter Colby finished his 2018-19 season with just nine goals but the Edina senior sure knows how to celebrate. It helps when you have a role model in that regard.

“Patrick Kane’s my favorite player and he does a heartbreaker so I kind of like that,” Colby said as his coach Curt Giles shook his head in disgust.

Colby scored his team’s Class 2A state-tournament-winning goal 2:31 into overtime to lift the Hornets to a 3-2 win over Eden Prairie on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. As soon as the puck hit the back of the net, Colby did a 180-degree turn and raced toward the other end of the rink, dropping to his knees at the far blue line and sliding to the end boards where his teammates greeted him.

Giles, who scored 43 goals in 14 NHL seasons with the Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues, was asked what his go-to celebration was.

“I didn’t score enough goals to celebrate,” Giles said, eliciting laughter from the media on hand. “My biggest thing was to get back on the line so, yeah, I don’t know if I ever thought about a celebration.

“You guys think this job’s easy don’t you.”

Nothing was easy about Edina’s 1oth state championship — 13th if you count Edina East’s three titles — as the Hornets struggled against the Eagles for two-plus periods before goals by Kevin Delaney and Colby 22 seconds apart transformed a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead just short of the six-minute mark of the third period.

The goals were scored on Edina’s 12th and 13th shots of the night after Eden Prairie smothered the Hornets for two periods to the tune of a 26-7 shot advantage, including surrendering just two Edina shots in the second.

“The biggest thing was the first two periods we were flat,” Giles said. “We didn’t have a lot of get up and go, we kind of sat back a little bit and let Eden Prairie take it to us. Eden Prairie’s way too good of a team to do that. It set us back in our heels and we had to depend on our goaltender to keep us in the game.”

Edina sophomore goaltender Louden Hogg was spectacular in the crease for the Hornets, making save after save to preserve the one-goal deficit long enough for his teammates to mount a comeback.

“Going into it, you know, it was a team that we played against and we have given them a much of a run because they don’t have any holes in their lineup,” Eden Prairie coach Lee Smith said. “But our kids really played with courage and heart tonight.”

Eden Prairie, which had dropped three games to Edina already this season by lopsided scores, employed an aggressive, in-your-face game plan rather than sit back and wait patiently for opportunities.

“Well we tried that and that was pretty much a disaster,” Smith said. “So our best plan was to go with how we finished the season which was aggressive all over the rink.”

Trailing 2-1 near the midway point of the third period, the Eagles got the equalizer when senior defenseman Clayton Schultz pounced on a loose puck in the Edina crease and buried his second goal of the season and second of the tournament.

“I pictured this coming as a kid, playing in front of this many people, and for it to actually happen is pretty surreal,” Schultz said.

Colby went into overtime with confidence thanks to a voice in his head which turned out to be prophetic.

“Our manager (Student Manager Jack Goetzmann) in the locker room going into the third he told me, he said, “You’re going to be the one,’” Colby said

Photo Gallery by Rick Olson for Minnesota Hockey Magazine and Tim Kolehmainen of Breakdown Sports USA. Follow Rick on Twitter at @rickolson77.  and follow Tim on Twitter at@BreakdownUSA. 

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Hornets ride momentum gained from big first period into title game

St. Paul — After a one-year absence from the state tournament, the Edina Hornets are making the most of their return with yet another championship game appearance after a 6-3 Class 2A semifinal win over St. Thomas Academy.

The Hornets blitzed the Cadets to the tune of a 17-1 first-period shot edge and a flurry of three goals in a span of 4:55 late in the period. Brett Chorske, Liam Malmquist and Jett Jungels all tallied in the opening frame to spark the Hornets. 

“The biggest thing is momentum continues on,” Giles said. “They’re a really good hockey team so we needed to get a jump on them.”

Malmquist would finish with a hat trick while Jungels would score again and Chorske added an assist.

St. Thomas Academy co-coach Greg Vannelli, who along with his brother and fellow co-coach Tom was coaching his final game behind the Cadets’ bench, was at a loss to explain his team’s slow start.

“I have no idea why we came out that way,” Vannelli said. “Haven’t had it all year to have a period like that so I can’t explain it. I’m glad it changed, I’m glad we finished strong. That was more of the team we are used to. I guess it sports where sometimes that happens.”

Luke Herzog got STA on the board 1:12 into the second to make it 3-1 but Jungels restored Edina’s three-goal cushion four minutes later. Each time the Cadets would cut the lead to two, the Hornets responded.

“When you go down 3-0 any team is going to respond hard,” Chorske said. “I thought we prepared for that well and matched that. When they scored, we’d come right back so we knew there was going to be a push but I thought we handled it well.”

Rob Christy’s goal early in the third period was answered 27 seconds later by Malmquist before Carter Henry made it a 5-3 game with 9:14 left in regulation. The Cadets pressed but Malmquist completed his hat trick into an empty net with nine seconds to play.

“They’re a very skilled team and if you just try to play skill-on-skill it’s not going to work out very well,” Vannelli said. “You’ve got to get back to some basic hockey, finishing checks and things like that and I thought we did a little better job of that into those last two periods.”

Officially, the Hornets are seeking their 10th state title in their 28th appearance, but if Edina East’s three championships in five trips ar included, it’s 13th in 33 appearances. Edina will attempt that feat against No. 3 Eden Prairie which eliminated No. 2 Blaine 4-3 earlier in the evening. The Hornets defeated the Eagles three times in the regular season by 6-1, 5-2 and 7-2 scores.

“Eden Prairie’s got a different team than when we saw them last,” Giles said. “They’ve really come together very, very well at the end of the season, through their section playoffs and then into the state tournament.

“It won’t be hard to get jacked up for Eden Prairie. These kids have been playing against Eden Prairie kids since they could skate so this will be a great game and Lee’s got his team playing extremely well.”

 Photo Gallery by Tim Kolehmainen of Breakdown Sports USA for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Follow Tim on Twitter at @BreakdownUSA.

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