Edina goaltender Uma Corniea is one of the youngest players competing at this year’s Class 2A State Tournament, but the freshman has more experience in state title games than every other player, save for a handful of Hornet teammates. 

Corniea will start her third straight state finale on Saturday night after turning in a 21-save shutout to lead the Hornets (28-1) to a 3-0 win over Maple Grove on Friday. 

Does Corniea have any advice for some of the players who haven’t played under the brightest lights as many times as she has? Not really. 

“Everyone knows how to play hockey,” Corniea said with a laugh after the win over the Crimson. “We’ve been playing since we were little, and we just need to go play the game we love.”

Corniea has also proven herself a master of deception. 

With five minutes remaining in the third period and Hornets nursing a 1-0 lead, Maple Grove forward Lauren Stenslie barreled into the Edina slot, losing her mouthguard in the process. 

When Stenslie gathered herself and stood up, Corniea was there to lend a “helping” hand.”

“I was like ‘Oh, is this your mouthguard?’” Corniea said she asked Stenslie. “This sounds kinda weird, but I wanted her to stay back so that we had more players on the rush,” Corniea admitted. 

The Hornets wouldn’t need any extra help, it turned out, as Vivian Jungels extended the lead to 2-0 and Lucy Bowlby cemented the win with an empty-net tally to make the final 3-0.

Maple Grove goaltender Brooke Cassibo stopped 29 of Edina's 31 shots in the loss.  

Despite playing the Hornets as near-perfect as any team this season, holding the Hornets to a single goal for through the second period, the Crimson (21-7-1) compete for bronze instead of gold on Saturday. 

“Edina right now is a very special team,” Maple Grove coach Amber Hegland said. “They’re well-coached, they’re disciplined, they play for one another. They’re just a great team.”

Waiting for the Hornets in the final is Andover, the only team to have topped Edina all season, winning on the road 1-0 in the season-opener. 

Senior forward Tella Jungels said that the Hornets have been planning on this matchup since November. 

“Since they’re our only loss this season, we’ve really been looking forward to trying to get another shot at them,” Jungels said. 

On Saturday night, the Hornets will get their wish.