The rink was quiet when Edina AA and Chaska/Chanhassen AA took the ice at 7:45 AM for the second semifinal game of the Eden Prairie First Test of the Best Thanksgiving Tournament.  Edina had breezed through their three pool games beating Champlin Park, Wayzata, and Elk River by big scores to win the East Pool.  Chaska had stumbled in their first pool game tying Stillwater AA 1-1, before beating Sartell 7-0 and Andover AA 3-1 to win the East Pool.  The Hawks had lost only three games in the season; all three losses were to Edina AA (5-3, 4-1, and 4-2).

Around 150 fans were at Eden Prairie’s Rink 3 to watch the first period.  By the third period, seats and places to stand along the glass were hard to find.  By the end of the game, there was little room as the audience grew to around 500.

The first period opened with Edina on the attack.  The Hornets dominated play maintaining the puck in the Hawk zone for the first half of the period.  The Hawks did not carry the puck across the center red line in the first 7 minutes played.

Edina’s defense seemed to be holding the points at will; the Hornet wings were contested low, but often used the point to relieve pressure.  Between Edina’s wings and defensemen, the Hawks’ breakout attempts were stymied low.  If they cleared the blue line, Edina would turn the Chaska attack in center ice.

It became apparent that the Hawks were packing the front of their net with a tight box and forcing the Edina forwards wide.  That defense slowed the Edina attack just enough to allow the Hawk goalie tender, Justin Bach, time to make the stops.  At the 5 minute mark, the game opened up.  Chaska started to attack.

At the 3 minute mark, the Hawks scored on a breakaway.  The Hawks’ Ethan Benz beat the goalie skating down the left boards going for … Billy Bronson and Danny Reddan got the assists.  After getting batted around in the Chaska zone for most of the first period, the Hawks led 1-0 and were immediately called for a penalty after that score.

Chaska killed the penalty.  With 36 seconds left on the clock in the first period, the Hornets drew a double minor penalty (two penalties called on one player at the same time) and had to serve a 4 minute penalty.

The second period opened with Edina playing one man down.  But instead playing defensively on the penalty kill, the Hornets went for the shorthanded goal.  They dominated play for the first 90 seconds of the second period but lost that initial burst.  Chaska’s power play began to work.  Two and a half minutes into the double minor, the Hawks' Sawyer Schugel blasted a shot at Edina goalie from a bad angle along the left end line.  His shot hit the goalie in the upper body, climbed over his shoulder and dropped spinning into the right crease area behind the goalie.  The Hawks’ Bobby Brink beat the Edina defense to the spinning puck and tapped it in the net.  Chaska led 2-0.  Schugel got the assist.

Two minutes later, Edina’s John Tucker fired a hard shot on the Chaska net for the center right blue line.  Tucker’s shot beat Bach hitting the upper left corner to cut the Hawks lead to 2-1.  Chaska continued to pack the net and try the wide, long, breakout passes.  The Hawks didn’t connect often, but it killed the Edina attack and forced the Hornets to re-group.  If they missed the pass, they accepted the icing and changed lines.  The second period ended with the Hawks up 2-1.

The Hornet attacks continued in the third period and the Hawks’ defense kept their poise.  Often the Hawks’ goalie Bach was under attack low.  The Hawks were called for interference at the 11 minute mark.  It was a weak call.  The interference was called on a Hawk who skating down a puck along the boards.  The ref ruled he had interfered with the Edina player behind him who had initiated the contact.  The penalty set up the second Edina goal.

One minute into the Edina power play, a hard shot on Bach from the left slot rebounded quickly to the right slot to the Hornets’ Grant Sillanoff.  Sillanoff’s quick one-timer slid into the net along the right post.  The game was tied 2-2.  Liam Malmquist and Mason Nevers got the assists.

For the remainder of the third period Edina continued to pressure the Chaska net, but could never quite score.  The Hawks would breakout occasionally, but their forwards were skated down before they could generate or sustain an attack.  Regulation time ended in a 2-2 tie.  Edina had chances, Chaska had rushes.  

It opened that way in the 5-on-5, 5 minute running time, overtime period.  Edina took control of the puck and attacked the Chaska goal.  One minute into the overtime, Chaska started a rush.  This time, Chaska’s Bobby Brink beat the Edina defense on the rush long enough to get a shot off from the lower part of the left face off circle.  His shot beat Edina’s goalie on the right side.  Chaska won the game in 3-2.  The Hawks' Reddan got the assist.

Then bedlam broke loose and in this corner of YHH we lost a nice story story, Edina’s streak no longer will break 100 wins.  It ends at 75.  As for the Hawks, from the smiles on their faces as they left the ice, one could tell they will be celebrating in the Minnesota River Valley for a long time; they may not even care about winning the Eden Prairie Championship.