Less than three minutes into the first period Jungels scored his first goal to put the Hornets up 1-0.  Edina’s Mason Nevers and Grant Silianoff got the assists.

Less than a minute after Jungels scored, Chaska drew a checking penalty.

The Hornets set up their power play in Chaska’s zone and worked the perimeter looking for an opening.  Ninety seconds into the power play they found Michael Shoemaker in the lower right slot.  Shoemaker scored to put Edina up 2-0.  Less than 5 minutes had run off the clock in the opening period.  Edina’s Aaron Frenkel got the assist.

After Jungels’ second goal, Edina continued to pressure the Hawks in Chaska’s zone.  Having won by big scores in pool play, the Hornets looked as if they would post another big score in the championship game.

But in hockey, things change and things change again.  Often it is a simple play that nobody pays much attention to, but it alters the flow of the game.  The Hornets picked up a late first period penalty for cross checking.  Nobody noticed it that much, Edina had been playing so well.

The Hawks took advantage of the extra player.  Halfway through the power play, the Hawks’ forwards beat the Edina defense into the Hornets’ zone.  Chaska’s Mike Koster took a pass from Joe Simpson in the slot and buried the puck in the net on a high hard shot to the left side.  Koster’s goal cut the Hornet lead to 3-1, but more importantly gave the Hawks a lift.  Simpson got the assist.  The first period ended Edina leading 3-1.

Two minutes later, Jungels went to work again.  He picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone, beat the defense going left, walked in from the left boards and beat Chaska’s goalie in the upper right corner to put the Hornets up 3-0 with a little less than seven minutes run off the clock.  The goal was unassisted.

The Hawks started to fly in the second period.  They started to dominate Edina in the corners forcing the Hornets off the boards.  Momentum was gradually shifting to Chaska.

For the first seven minutes of the second period, Chaska was gaining more and more control of the game.  When Edina drew a “to many men on the ice” penalty at the halfway mark, it looked as if the Hawks would score and get back into the game.

Unfortunately, thirty seconds later, Chaska drew a hooking penalty; it created a 4-on-4 situation for 90 seconds.  It took Jungels jsut 30 seconds to find the open ice.  He took a hard quick shot from the right face off circle beating Chaska’s goalie to put the Hornets up 4-1.

The fourth goal was a game changer, things change and then change again.  Edina now became the aggressor and for the remainder of the second period pounded the Chaska net, but couldn’t score.  The second period ended with the Hornets up 4-1.

As the third period opened, the Hornets took control of the game and continued to force the play in Chaska’s zone.  But Chaska started to counter attack and develop odd man rushes on the Edina goal.  Edina’s goalie, Weston Gervais, had to make some tough stops on breakaways.

Gradually, the game changed again.  Chaska’s attacks were coming more often and being sustained longer.  Edina eventually lost control of the game (partly because the Hornets were setting up in the neutral zone and letting the Hawks’ form their attack).  Bhe Hawks couldn’t score and time in the period was running out, things changed again.  The action slowed except for a few brief flurries.  Both teams saw the inevitable outcome.

The game ended with the Hornets up 4-1 and winning the Big Pumpkin championship.

The win extended the Hornets win streak to 63 games.  For Chaska, it was their second loss to Edina in this young season.  Last season, Minnetonka’s peewee AA team lost 11 times to the Hornets alternating between playing the Hornets tight and losing big.

That is relevant because these two teams will play again at Edina 7:45 PM Friday in their District 6 regular season opening game for the third time this season.  With the Hawks in the same tourneys as the Hornets, the two teams could play each other 10-12 times this season.