“Right Back Where We Started From” by Maxine Nightingale, which was released in the 1970s.

Whether coincidence or part of a set playlist, the song seems fitting for a deep Minnetonka Skippers team that returned a bunch of key players from last winter’s dominant Class 2A state championship team.

Only two games in, Minnetonka turned in a couple of dominating efforts on its home ice, outscoring Rosemount and Andover by a combined 18-3 margin. The Skippers put up a 10-3 victory over Rosemount to open the season Friday before an 8-0 shutout of Andover, a program it met in last year’s state semifinals (though this time without the since-graduated line featuring Cooper Conway, Gavyn Thorsen and Cayden Casey).

With so many state champions – and multiple Division I commits – returning to Minnetonka’s squad this season, Skippers coach Sean Goldsworthy acknowledged that his team isn’t starting from square one.

“First off, they’re committed to each other,” Goldsworthy said. “So, when they all come back, it makes things easier on each other. We have a lot of returning kids from a team that had great success last year. So that matters.”

Minnetonka comes into the season as a top-ranked team, according to the preseason rankings from Let’s Play Hockey magazine, while Andover is ranked No. 10. And the Skippers shut out the Huskies while outshooting them 42-5 on Saturday evening.

Minnetonka and Andover boys hockey shake hands after the Skippers won 8-0 on Nov. 25, 2023 at Pagel Ice Arena as part of the Tonka Thanksgiving Preview tournament. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

Senior Javon Moore had hat tricks both days, giving him a team-leading six goals and 10 points through just two games. His effort against Andover was highlighted by a breakaway, shorthanded goal in the first period. His second hat trick in as many games came with just more than 10 minutes left in regulation, sending the game to running time with a 6-0 lead.

Moore is followed by the senior Garry brothers; Luke with two goals and five assists and Gavin with three goals and four assists. Against Rosemount, the Garry brothers scored goals 50 seconds apart for a 2-1 lead. Gavin recorded a hat trick, and senior Hagen Burrows added five assists on Friday.

Depth? They have that, too. A dozen players have at least a point on those 18 goals over two games.

The goal right now, Goldsworthy said, is to “get the fall hockey out of them,” which usually takes eight to 10 games, he added.

“I think what you’re seeing is these kids are committed to getting it out of their system in about four or five games,” Goldsworthy said.

Minnetonka lost only twice last season, to Chanhassen and Wayzata, on the way to a state championship. Even though it’s cliché, staying in the moment throughout the season helped drive that successful title run, Goldsworthy said.

“You’ve got to stay in the week,” Goldsworthy said. “That’s what we did last year. These kids know when they do that, our success came from living in the moment.”

Despite the shutout loss, Andover split its games in the Tonka tourney, defeating No. 3-ranked Chanhassen 3-2 on Friday behind a pair of Casey Rodgers goals. The Huskies came into the season looking to replace the production of its top line from 2022-23; Conway-Thoreson-Casey scored 65% of the team’s 167 goals last season.

Chanhassen, which fell an overtime-goal short of the state tournament with a loss to Minnetonka last year, starts the season 0-2 with a one-goal loss to Andover and a 2-1 loss to Rosemount on Saturday. The Storm, who hit the ice just before the school’s football team took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium on the way to a thrilling Prep Bowl championship, trailed the entire game before getting a goal in the final minute of regulation.

Thanksgiving means puck drop on boys hockey
Most of the boys hockey teams got started with their seasons over the weekend. After the turkey coma ends, hockey players and fans head to various rinks on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend for regular-season hockey and various holiday tournaments.

On the same night that Edina’s football team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Centennial in the Class 6A Prep Bowl, the No. 2-ranked Edina Hornets – last season’s runner-up in hockey – shut out No. 8-ranked Maple Grove 3-0 in the Wayzata Turkey Trot at Plymouth Ice Center. Wayzata started its season off with a pair of victories against No. 7-ranked Moorhead (6-1) and Maple Grove (6-4) in its home Turkey Trot.

White Bear Lake opened its season with a 4-3 overtime victory over Duluth East at home. Nolan Roed scored a pair of goals, including the winner at 2:37 of the extra session.

In Class 1A, last year’s runner-up Warroad lost 3-2 in overtime to St. Cloud Cathedral. Griffin Sturm scored the winner just before the final horn in overtime. Murray Marvin-Cordes scored both Warroad goals.

The post Tonka Is Back appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

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.” 

The post Hornets To Shoot For Three appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

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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