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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Moorhead pushes high-powered Hornets to the brink

St. Paul — Very little surprises Edina coach Curt Giles, perhaps nothing does, and despite annually standing behind one of the state’s best rosters night-in-and-night-out, he’ll never underestimate an opponent. So when his No. 1 Hornets jumped out to a two-goal first period lead over unseeded Moorhead, the game played out how he imagined it would.

“We knew they weren’t going to be done,” Giles said. “They’ve got a lot of character, they really do, and we knew that. When the seeding went through and we saw that we had Moorhead we knew we had our hands full this first game.”

After the teams traded second-period goals, Moorhead’s Nolan Westra scored his 22nd goal of the season with 3:07 left in regulation and the Spuds kept on pressing for the equalizer until Edina’s Kevin Delaney scored into an empty net with 30 seconds left to secure a 4-2 win to advance the Hornets to Friday’s Class 2A semifinals.

“There’s things that broke down in a couple of areas that you don’t like but I thought overall the kids played very well,” Giles said of his team. “We knew this was a tough matchup. We saw them earlier in the season and we knew they were good. They’ve got some guys that can finish and they’re physical, their goaltender plays extremely well so we knew it was going to be a heckuva hockey game.”

Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman said his team demonstrated it belonged among the state’s elite.

“We have such a fun team to be around and a team that … maybe hasn’t gotten the credit that they deserve,” Ammerman said. “They deserve to be here and I think they proved that tonight. It was just a little too late.” 

Ammerman admitted the first period script was not how he’d have written it with Edina’s Jett Jungels scoring 53 seconds in and Mason Nevers adding a power-play goal on one of Edina’s three opportunities. But he was pleased with the fact that Moorhead limited Edina’s potent power play (31.5 percent on the season entering the tournament) to that lone goal on five chances with the man advantage.

“They’re extremely dynamic and with that many guys on the ice that are pretty puck-savvy with one extra person you have to game plan. What we saw is they try to get the puck to [Nevers] as much as they could … so what we tried to do is shut that down. Ultimately, he’s the guy that scored the goal.”

Giles said he knew the longer Edina let the Spuds hang around without capitalizing on its power plays it could spur trouble down the stretch.

“They shut the passing lanes off very, very well,” Giles said. “They collapsed the box down tight and what we’ve got to work on a little bit more is getting them to expand that box a little bit.”

But Giles added there is a momentum benefit to be gained from playing a man up even if the team doesn’t score and he’d get no argument from Ammerman on that point.

“Giving a team that skilled that many opportunities with the man advantage in a one-and-done situation isn’t going to be to your advantage,” Ammerman said. “Despite that, with a minute left in the game, we had a chance.”

 Photo Gallery by Jonny Watkins for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Follow Jonny on Twitter at @jwatkinsphotog.

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Swaim’s double-OT winner lifts Edina to third straight Class 2A state title

After more than 60 minutes of exhausting end-to-end hockey, Edina (27-4-0) outlasted Brainerd/Little Falls (25-5-1) to claim its third straight Class AA state girls’ hockey championship. The Hornets’ Olivia Swaim scored on the team’s 55^th shot of the game, 2 minutes, 20 seconds into the second overtime to give Edina a 4-3 victory.

On the game-winning play, freshman defenseman Vivian Jungels held in a Brainerd clearing attempt and threw a shot on net. Racing out of the corner, junior Tella Jungels screened Brainerd goaltender Olivia King, who still kicked out a leg to make her 51^st save of the night.

But the rebound trickled up the slot right to the stick of Swaim, who buried it into the open net, setting off a wild celebration.

An exhausted Swaim threw her arms around Tella Jungels in relief, while the rest of the Hornets sprinted off the bench and plowed into the pair. On the bench, coach Sami Reber held her head in her hands, a disbelieving smile on her face.

“You just have to give it your all every shift, because you just never know,” said Swaim.

The victory may have seemed pre-ordained to many, as the Hornets were the two-time defending state champions and the high-powered top seed in the tournament. Their puck control was strong throughout the game, as they outshot the Warriors 55-20. But the plucky Warriors proved tough to solve.

Edina had to rally from a one-goal deficit three different times to earn the victory.

After Cheyenne Abear opened the scoring for Brainerd less than two minutes into the game, the Hornets’ Sophia Doll countered with a goal to tie it at 1-all. Later in the first period, Abby Pohlkamp scored for the Warriors, but Vivian Jungels wrapped in a power play goal to knot the score at 2-all after one period.

Emma Booth gave Brainerd a brief 3-2 lead early in the third, but Tella Jungels tied it up with 11 minutes remaining. All three Edina goals in regulation came on the power play, as the Hornets were 3-for-8 with the advantage.

The state title was Edina’s third in a row, tying Minnetonka (2011-13) for the most consecutive girls’ hockey championships.

“It’s hard to back up one state championship, but two is even harder,” said senior C.C. Bowlby, a Miss Hockey finalist who was part of all three championship runs for the Hornets.

“People doubted us from day one, but we never doubted ourselves,” agreed Reber, citing numerous detractors who had Blake ranked ahead of the two-time defending state champion Hornets.

Swaim, also a part of all three title teams, claimed the third championship was the most difficult. Not the least of which was because of the efforts of King and a rugged Warriors’ defensive effort.

King repeatedly stonewalled the Hornets, getting better as the game went along. She gave the Warriors the belief they could win the game according to head coach Jim Ernster.

“Her poise and her leadership were so tremendous,” said Ernster.

But the 55^th shot proved impossible to stop.

“We made history, finally winning the first one two years ago,” grinned Bowlby. “To keep it going is just unreal. To do it my senior year and finish off with a win and a blue medal around my neck is unreal.”

Class AA All-Tournament team

Peyton Hemp, F, Andover

Lauren Stenslie, F, Maple Grove

Brynn Dulac, G, Minnetonka

Lacey Martin, F, Minnetonka

Maggie Nicholson, D, Minnetonka

Olivia King, G, Brainerd

Cheyenne Abear, F, Brainerd

Sophie Robinson, D, Brainerd

Gabbie Smith, F, Brainerd

Mallory Uihlein, D, Edina

Annie Kuehl, F, Edina

Vivian Jungels, D, Edina

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

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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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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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The St. Paul Rangers were one of five founding members of the Central Professional Hockey League (CPHL) back in 1963 and played three seasons at the St. Paul Auditorium as a minor league affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Among those who laced up for the Rangers were Hall-of-Fame defenseman Doug Harvey, future St. Louis Blues great Bob Plager and Bob Woytowich, who skated with the Minnesota North Stars in the team’s inaugural season.

None of them contributed to the Rangers’ most successful season of 1964-65 when coach Fred Shero, who a decade later would lead Philadelphia’s “Broad Street Bullies” to back-to-back Stanley Cups, guided St. Paul to the CPHL’s Adams Cup championship.

One of those who hoisted the cup that night was a 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward from Flin Flon, Manitoba whose 46 assists and 70 points were career highs for the journeyman in the midst of a 16-year pro career with 12 different teams that ended in 1973 with the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

(Photo courtesy of Michigan Photography)

His name is Mel Pearson but most people are more familiar with his son, also named Mel, the head coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines, one of this weekend’s participants in the Frozen Four in St. Paul. The site is an all too familiar one to Pearson.

“It’s interesting we’re sort of heading right back to where it all started for me down at the same location as the old St. Paul Auditorium and then my dad played in the original Civic Center there,” Pearson said.

The Wolverines are back in St. Paul for the the first time since 2011, the last time the Frozen Four was played at Xcel Energy Center. Pearson was an assistant under Red Berenson seven years ago when Michigan reached the title game before falling to Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in overtime.

That ended Pearson’s 23-year run helping Berenson guide the Wolverines to a 667-243-71 record, 11 Frozen Fours, and two national championships.

He was lured away from Michigan by a head coaching offer from his alma mater, Michigan Tech, the school he helped lead to its last Frozen Four appearance as a senior in 1981 in Duluth.  After compiling a 118-92-2 record in six seasons in Houghton, Pearson landed his dream job nearly a year ago when he replaced the retiring Berenson at Michigan.

Feeling Minnesota

Pearson was just five-years-old when his father played his lone season with the Rangers but, after a few more stops in a vagabond hockey career, the Pearson family returned to Minnesota in 1972 when Mel Sr. latched on with the Fighting Saints.

The Pearsons, which also included Mel’s mother, Ruby, and brother, Ted, settled in Edina where both boys played hockey in the city’s youth program. That’s when Pearson, a bantam at the time met teammate John Anderson, the man who now refers to Pearson as, “a brother from another mother.”

Anderson and Pearson went on to become teammates at Edina-East High School under legendary coach Willard Ikola, who led Edina teams to eight state championships and 616 wins in 33 seasons. 

Pearson’s father scored eight goals and 20 points for the Fighting Saints in 1972-73 but when he was not brought back the following season he opted to hang up his skates. That’s when the family made the calculated, but difficult decision to move back home to Flin Flon one man short.

“Mel’s mom and dad wanted him to have an opportunity to potentially earn a scholarship with his hockey and, more importantly, get a good education; that was their primary concern,” Anderson said. “And he was living in Edina and Edina wasn’t all bad.”

The Pearsons left Mel behind, setting him up with a billet family kitty-corner across the street from the Anderson household. However, it quickly became obvious that the family, with its much younger children, and Pearson were not a good fit.

“I asked my parents if it would be alright to take Mel in,” Anderson said. “They thought about it for about 10 seconds and said, ‘Sure.’”

Pearson was more than eager to please his new host family and immediately took one for the team.

(Photo courtesy of Michigan Photography)

“The first night he came to our house my mom made split-pea soup and he absolutely hates split-pea soup,” Anderson said. “He sat there and ate it with a smile on his face. ‘Oh Mrs. Anderson, I just love this soup.’”

The two shared a room and soon went from good friends to best friends despite Anderson’s incessant snoring drawing Pearson’s bruise-inducing retaliation.

“In the middle of the night he’d throw a shoe at me, or something like that,” Anderson said. “I’d have to short-sheet his bed or get back at him in some fashion and let him know that wasn’t acceptable.”

Anderson said Pearson spent eight years living with his family, three in high school, four more while he went to Michigan Tech and another year while working as a sales rep for a Twin Cities sporting goods company after graduation.

“He went back to Flin Flon in the summers to be with his parents,” Anderson said. “He’d come back to our house at Christmas time and Thanksgiving because it was too far to go back to Flin Flon. He was part of our family and still is part of our family.”

The feeling is mutual, according to Pearson.

“We’re so close that he actually officiated my daughter’s wedding a couple years ago,” Pearson said. “That’s how tight we are.”

Pearson’s current family’s origins can be traced to Edina as well where he met Susie, who would eventually become his wife. Like Mel, Susie was the new kid on the block, so to speak, having moved to Edina from Atlanta due to her father’s job at 3M.

The couple started dating in high school and maintained a long-distance relationship as Susie went to the University of Minnesota while Pearson was at Tech. They are approaching their 36th anniversary and boast three children, Kim, Sarah and Paul, and one grandchild, Sarah’s son Finnely.

“She’s the one that grounds me,” Pearson said of Susie. “When I get off on these tangents or something or get to wound up about the hockey, she’s the one who reels me back in. You need that, you need to strike some balance in your life. Other than being my biggest supporter, she’s also the one who keeps me in line.”

After Mel graduated from Edina, his parents sent his brother Ted to live with another Edina family and pursue the same dream. He won back-to-back Minnesota state titles with Ikola and Edina-East in 1978 and 1979 before going on to play at Wisconsin where he won national championships in 1981 and 1983 under Bob Johnson and Jeff Sauer, respectively.

“Neither one of my parents went to college and I think they saw the opportunity that presented itself and I was fortunate to have developed as a player in Minnesota and went on to play at Michigan Tech. The foresight was invaluable then.”

To this day, Anderson is amazed by the sacrifices the entire Pearson family made in pursuit of Mel and Ted’s academic and athletic goals.

“He didn’t live at our house because his parents weren’t good people,” Anderson said. “He lived at our house because his parents felt that was the best thing for him. Being a parent myself, I can’t even imagine what they gave up and how they felt about it.

“It’s a huge credit to them, it was a huge blessing to our family and I think we’re all a little bit better because of it.”

Michigan Mentors

The 1977 Edina-East Hornets (Courtesy of Carroll Goalie School)

The friends, teammates and roommates played in a state tournament together as seniors in 1977 under Ikola, finishing runner-up to Rochester-John Marshall.

Pearson recalls admiring Ikola for the way he ran his teams with discipline and accountability, even when he was the one held accountable.

“I remember one day, just as we got on the ice and were getting warmed up, I shot a puck up into the stands on purpose and Willard told me to go get the puck,” Pearson said. “I looked at him and I said, ‘I’ve got my skates on.’ He said, ‘You get up there and you go get that puck.’ I had to get off the ice in my skates and crawl around get the puck. My teammates got a good chuckle out of that and, needless to say, I never flipped another puck in the stands on purpose.”

Ikola, an All-American goaltender at Michigan (1952-54), was just the first former Wolverine to mentor him.

“I was very fortunate to end up being able to play for a guy like Willard Ikola,” Pearson said. “Really, all thoughout my career I’ve ended up in spots where I’m coached by a former Michigan player and it all started with Ike.”

His good fortune continued in college with the opportunity to play for another former Michigan goalie, John MacInnes (1946-50), who led Michigan Tech to a 555-295-39 record and three national titles in 26 seasons coaching the Huskies.

“You look at them, I mean Willard’s arguably the best coach in Minnesota high school hockey history,” Pearson said. “John McInnes, when I was playing for him, set the record for most all-time wins in college hockey and won national championships at Michigan Tech. And then Red is one of the, I think, top five all-time in college hockey and he got a late start in college and won national championships. So they’re all not only great men and teachers of life but winners.

“They were winners.”

Pearson says the trio shares many qualities but one in particular stands out as the one he most tries to emulate.

“The way they treated people, they way they treated their players,” Pearson said. “They’ve got a couple of other things in common but the one thing that’s really stuck with me is how they treated their players, with class and dignity and just professionalism. They’re all father figures.”

His childhood friend sees the same qualities in Pearson

“Mel will be a total asset to that Michigan hockey program for as long as he’s there because he’s got the kids’ interests at heart and he always will,” Anderson said. “He’ll never put himself first before the team and that’s why he’ll be successful wherever he goes.”

The post “One Of Us” appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

State tournament sequel not about revenge for Lakeville North

Ever since the Lakeville North Panthers fell to the Edina Hornets 8-2 in the state final last March, that second place finish has been in the back of their minds as they prepared for this season.

Although the Panthers have a shot at retribution Thursday, they don’t see the game as redemption as much as an important step to their ultimate goal of a state championship.

“We’re playing for this year’s team, not last year’s,” right wing Henry Enebak said. “Of course, all the guys who played in that game last year are going to make this game a little more personal, but it’s a new season and a new beginning.”

Edina and Lakeville North will face off in Lakeville at a hostile Ames Arena Thursday night. While the atmosphere won’t be that of the state championship at the Xcel Energy Center, the level of organized chaos may be similar as the state’s two top-ranked teams play each other.

Lakeville North Activities Director Russ Reetz expects turnout to be much higher than the arena accommodates.

“I talked with the operator and they’re not going to allow more than 800 people into the arena,” Reetz said.

The capacity crowd and the presence of approximately 20 NHL and college scouts reflect the talent level that will be on the ice Thursday.

One player scouts and fans are particularly interested in is new Lakeville North goaltender, Ryan Edquist. The last time these two teams played, Edquist experienced the game from his couch. But Thursday, he will experience the game from the crease.

“[I’m just looking forward to] being out there with the boys in a big game going for the win together,” Edquist said of his Ames Arena debut.

Edquist and the Panther defense will be tasked with stopping an Edina team that has outscored its opponents 36-6 in the first five games of the season.

“They’ve always had great skill and great depth,” senior defensemen Jack Sadek said. “All three lines will come at you.”

The state championship game last March got out of hand quickly for the Panthers. A tie game in the first nine minutes of the period then became a 3-2 lead by the Hornets. When Edina’s Miquel Fidler scored his second goal with 5:36 into the second period, the Panthers wouldn’t answer for the rest of the state final.

In order to prevent Edina from taking control early at Ames Arena, the best defense for the Panthers may be a strong offensive attack.

“We need to get pucks deep, make them defend us,” Sadek said. “We need to take away their time and space, and we will try to get on the board early and often.”

After a state final game in which Edina succeeded in making Lakeville North a team of individuals, the Panthers know they can’t let that happen Thursday night.

“All of the boys and myself should be focused and working with each other because it’s not a individual sport, it’s a team so it will take everyone going 100 percent,” junior Max Johnson said.

While a win over Edina would be a big step for the Panthers, the game ultimately provides this team an opportunity to grow stronger as they continue their journey to the Xcel.

“Any win against Edina is a great win, but our main focus is to improve every game,” Sadek said. “We want to be playing our best hockey come playoff time.”

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Max Everson at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Harvard University defenseman Max Everson, a sophomore from Edina, is reportedly among a handful of players who have been dropped from the Crimson roster.

According to a report in the Harvard University newspaper The Crimson, four Harvard hockey players were recently removed from the team’s roster prior to last Friday’s game at Merrimack. Crimson staff writer Scott Sherman’s story did not name names, but a College Hockey News report compiled by Joe Meloni lists Everson, Patrick McNally, and Mark Luzar as being removed from Harvard’s roster last week.

Everson, whose 21 points (2-17–22) were good for fifth overall in regular-season scoring for the Hornets in 2010-11 and tops among Edina’s blueliners, has five assists in 41 career games for the Crimson.

Everson is a 2011 seventh-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs whose brother, Marshall, is a senior forward for the Crimson.

Stephen Michalek

CHN goes on to say that goaltender Stephen Michalek, a sixth-round draft choice of the Minnesota Wild in 2011, left the program last month to sign on with the United States Hockey League’s Cedar Rapids Roughriders. The 19-year-old Michalek played in 24 games last season as a freshman for Harvard, going 7-7-8 with a 3.19 goals against average but had not played in a game this season for the Crimson.

The CHN staff report asserts that the dismissals may be related to an academic scandal in which 125 of 279 students enrolled in a Government 1310: “Introduction to Congress” course last spring were accused of plagiarizing answers or inappropriately collaborating on its final take-home exam. An investigation into the allegations was launched in August but its findings have yet to be released.

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