“(They) really blocked the sun,” Stagman said. “You could see the puck. It was really nice.” 

She might consider wearing sunglasses all the time if they help her get the same result as the 4-0 shutout of Edina on Hockey Day Minnesota. Stagman made 24 saves on the sheet of outdoor ice at Blakeslee Stadium in Mankato for her sixth shutout and 17th victory of the season. She earned it, especially when the Hornets made a push in the third period.

The result was a dream come true for the Andover goaltender.

“My dream has been to shut out Edina,” Stagman said. “And the girls really helped me achieve that. They just threw their body in front of the pucks and helped me out as much as they could.”

The defensive corps in front of Stagman is full of young, fresh faces this season. Four of the top-six at the blue line are freshmen – Mackenzie Jones, Avery Kasick, Courtney Little and Ella Thoreson. Merill Delich and Cailin Mumm are sophomores. No matter their age or experience, the Hockey Day “lights” definitely weren’t too bright for them.

“We were just trying to get sticks in front of the net and try and clear them out and not let them get a lot of shots,” said Mumm, the only returning defenseman this year.

The top-ranked Huskies shut down the second-ranked team in the state and a program that’s won four of the past five Class 2A state titles; Andover won the other one, in 2020. The Huskies also shut down one of the top defensive players in the state in Edina senior Vivian Jungels.

So how did the Huskies do it? Simple.

“It’s a different game, an outdoor game,” said Andover coach Melissa Volk. “Pucks are bouncing and stuff, so we just really emphasized on keeping it simple. Clean breakouts to the outside.”

Mumm and Little also contributed to the team’s offense. When Andover took a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the game, the goal came on a crashing-the-net situation. Sophomore Nora Sauer jammed the puck home while Little was credited with the assist.

Only 1 minute, 4 seconds later, Andover doubled its lead with a goal from its dynamic top line. Junior Madison Brown took the puck behind the net and fed it out front to junior Ella Boerger who was left all alone in the slot. She didn’t miss with her quick shot for the 2-0 lead.

As the Huskies kept the puck in the offensive zone early in the second period, Mumm saw an opportunity from the point and fired the puck toward the goal. Senior Sara Kaiser was waiting in front, snuck around Jungels and tipped the puck in. Boerger added an empty-net goal with a few minutes left in the third period to bring her team-leading totals to 21 goals and 44 points this season in 19 games. She has 31 points in her past 11 games.

The Huskies controlled much of the play almost from the start, outshooting Edina 13-5 in the first period. But by the third, Edina pressured more and outshot the Huskies 12-5 as it looked to at least get one puck past Stagman. For Edina, junior Uma Corniea, who leads the state in goals-against average and save percentage, allowed three goals. The only other time she allowed that many this season was in the team’s only other loss, 3-2 in overtime to Minnetonka in the holiday tournament.

Andover preaches mental toughness, and having that aspect to its game paid off with the added element of TV timeouts, which made the game “a grind,” Volk said.

“Then the kids are getting a little fatigued, I would say, mentally, just because there’s so much hype the last couple days,” Volk said. “Just push through it. Obviously, third period we gave Edina a lot of opportunities, but we also pushed through it and did what we had to do to get the win.”

The win, and a shutout of Edina. That’s not something many teams in recent memory can say they’ve achieved.

Since Edina coach Sami Reber took over behind the bench for the 2016-17 season, the Hornets have been shut out two times – both against Andover. Edina’s only loss of the 2019-20 season was the opening game, a 1-0 loss to Andover with then-No. 1 goaltender Amanda Pelkey in net for the Huskies making 25 saves.

In the past decade, Edina was shut out only 11 times including the latest Hockey Day loss. On the flip side, Edina has 11 shutout victories this season alone.

The last time it lost by a four-goal margin in a shutout was the section final in 2013-14, a 4-0 loss to Eden Prairie. That was the same season Reber was a junior for Harvard, in the middle of a career-high 8-goal season with 28 points.

Andover grabbing an early lead and controlling play Saturday was awesome for the team, according to Mumm.

“Very happy with how we played today and glad that we could pop some in the net,” Mumm said.

The Hockey Day Minnesota game was a rematch of the 2021 Class 2A state championship game in which Edina prevailed. But this being a new season, there are plenty of new faces on each bench for the next chapter of this Edina-Andover rivalry.

“To get to play on the big stage with Edina and just showcasing how great the girls’ game is was something we were really, really looking forward to,” Volk said.

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The Cougars (15-5-0, 7-3-0 in Big Nine conference play) outshot the Scarlets (4-14-1, 3-8-0) 33-6 for the game but West goaltender Alyana Smith kept her team in it, making 23 of her 28 saves through two periods while surrendering just two goals. But Keller sandwiched two of her three goals in the final period around Tibodeau’s tally to finish the game with 27 on the season, including five against the Scarlets.

Ashley Fischer opened the scoring at 7:10 of the first period for the Cougars and the lead remained 1-0 until Keller doubled it midway through the second. Tibodeau’s third-period goal at the 10:08 mark, which came on the game’s lone power play, was set up by Jess Eykyn whose 17th assist on the season gave her at least a point in 11 consecutive games.

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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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Mustangs ride four-goal final period to second straight 1A title

For the second consecutive season the No. 2 Breck Mustangs and the No. 1 Warroad Warriors met in Class A title game.

Despite the Warriors dominating shots on goal, the Mustangs prevailed for a 6-1 win.

Eighth grade goaltender Uma Corniea hasn’t even started high school and yet she’s already helped Breck to two state titles.

“No one does it alone,” said Corniea. “We are a team and you have to have all six people play at their best to win game.”

Breck, which averaged over six goals per game in the regular season, netted the first goal from senior Carly Beniek. Warroad tied things up less than two minutes later but were never able to capture the lead.

The Mustangs took things over in the second period for good and ended up scoring five-unanswered goals in the victory. Elly Klepinger, Olivia Mobley, Sadie Lindsay, Carly Beniek and Ashley Halverson all found the back of the net for Breck.

Mobley, who scored five goals at the State Tournament this year said winning it all again never gets old.

“They’re both such an honor,” said Mobley. “It’s so unbelievable and the feeling’s the same. These girls, and this team; it’s been awesome and it’s just as sweet.”

Breck goaltender Uma Corniea makes one of her 41 saves in helping lead the Mustangs to a 6-1 win over Warroad in Saturday night’s Class 1A championship game at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen – Breakdown Sports USA)

Warroad put 42 shots on net but only lit the lamp once. There was a moment in the third period where it appeared the Warriors had cut the deficit to 3-2, but the officials blew the puck dead despite replay clearly showing Corniea never controlled the puck.

Minutes later in the Warroad defensive end, the same official ruled a penalty shot, which the Mustangs converted. Warriors head coach David Marvin felt it changed the course of the game.

“She makes a mistake, everyone makes them,” said Marvin. “And then goes down to the other end, can’t find her whistle and then all of the sudden comes up with a penalty shot? The sequence is terrible.”

Even though Marvin disagreed with the calls, he credited the Mustangs as the better team at the end of the day.

“We had a lot of shots,” said Marvin. “We didn’t get the same quality shots that they got on Quinn. We weren’t playing bad and it was 3-1. Breck’s a good hockey team; congrats to them.”

Between the two schools, eight players were selected to the All-Tournament team.

• Breck Goaltender, Uma Corniea
• Breck Defenseman, Katherine Solohub
• Breck Forward, Olivia Mobley
• Breck Forward, Carly Beniek
• Warroad Goaltender, Quinn Kuntz
• Warroad Forward, Hannah Corneliusen
• Warroad Defenseman, Genevieve Hendrickson
• Warroad Defenseman, Kaitlyn Kotlowski
• Rochester/Dover Forward, Emma Schmitz
• Proctor/Hermantown Defenseman, Ella Anick
• Fergus Falls Forward, Jade Zierden
• Fergus Falls Defenseman, Hallie Sheridan

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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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(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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Minnetonka coach balances fun, competition to achieve success

When Minnetonka Skippers’ head coach Eric Johnson took over the girls’ program twelve years ago, they were in a transition period. Many girls were still playing in the boys’ program, and some girls were playing on the girls’ team. The program’s groundwork had been laid shortly before Johnson became the head coach.

“Our youth director at the time, Dan Phillips, was instrumental in getting more girls to play in the girls’ program,” said the former St. Cloud State forward. “We had kind of a ‘grassroots’ effort at recruiting kids who played soccer or other sports. We gained some traction when some of our top female hockey players made the switch from the boys’ program to the girls’.”

Johnson, who had previously coached boys at different levels, noticed early on he had to coach girls differently.

“We had to find ways to implement competition into practice,” recalled the Armstrong alumni. “They would do drills well, but incorporating more competition encourages creativity – they don’t have to follow the ‘rules’ or look to a coach to see if they’re doing the drill ‘right’.”

Balancing fun and competition is something Johnson and his staff stress to this day.

“We have an up-tempo, fun atmosphere in practice. We play music and let our players choose the playlist,” Johnson explains. “We emphasize passing, teamwork and communication. We push the pace in practice to make it feel as much like a game as possible.”

Johnson – whose program has won three state titles (2011, 2012, 2013) and finished second once (2015) in four state tournament trips since 2011 – typically ends practice with mini-competitions.

“These mini-competitions make kids think about, for example, how to win battles for the puck. We put something on the line – maybe the loser does five pushups or something. Our coaching staff aims to keep the drills and games challenging but fun.”

On and off the ice, the Skippers program has turned a tragedy into an inspiration.

“The character of our team has been largely shaped by the legacy of Kelly Phillips, an alum who was killed in a car accident in 2007,” Johnson said. “Kelly had a terrific attitude and was a great teammate. We award a player each season with the “Kelly Phillips Character Award” – which means putting the team first and making a positive difference in the time they have wearing a Minnetonka jersey. Our girls have really embraced the spirit of this award.”

Minnetonka (9-7-3) heads to Stillwater on Saturday to face the Ponies outdoors along the St. Croix River in a 5:30 p.m. game which will be televised live on Fox Sports North Plus as part of the the annual Hockey Day Minnesota event.

The Skippers bring with them a trio of players who will be playing at or near the DI level next year.

“Elizabeth Kubicek is a senior and is having a terrific season,” Johnson said. “She competes hard, communicates with her defensemen and reads the play well. Camille von Steinbergs is a strong skating defenseman with a heavy shot who is committed to Union next year. Emma Bigham is a senior forward who is committed to St. Cloud State. She is not only our leading scorer, but she is our best forechecker and leads by example.”

Those seniors have grown up in the Skippers’ program, and their willingness to continue to play the game and ability to improve encapsulates Johnson’s philosophy.

“If players have a good time they are going to continue to play the game. If a player improves, they have a good time. It goes hand and hand.”

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