Edina will have the hardest path to the championship at the Xcel this week.  The Hornets will play Buffalo in their quarterfinal game.  They beat the Bison 3-0 in mid-December at Buffalo, but the Bison are an improving team.  If the Hornets win, they would likely play Hill-Murray in the semifinals, a team they beat also in mid-December 4-3.  The Hill has gone 14-1 in their last 15 games.  If Edina makes it to the championship game, they will likely face Minnetonka and be the underdogs in a game pitting the #3 seed Hornets against the #1 seed Skippers.  Minnetonka on their side of the bracket plays Eastview in their quarterfinal game. If they beat Lightning, the Skippers will draw the winner of Blaine and Lakeville South.  Both semifinal games will be a tough this year, but this year’s tourney is hard to predict.  Most will say Minnetonka is the team, but anyone of the remaining seven could be on the ice Saturday night.

Section 2AA Championship

Edina beat YHH ranked #2 Eden Prairie in the Section 2AA championship game Friday night in front of a packed Richfield Arena.  Eden Prairie took a 2-1 lead into the third period only to have to come back and tie the game 3-3 to force overtime in the last minute of play.  Edina’s Taylor Williamson scored the winning goal with just under four minutes left in the eight minute overtime.

Eden Prairie dominated the opening minutes of the first period against the Hornets.  They established puck control inside the Hornets’ zone and moved the puck quickly often with short passes forcing Edina sophomore goalie Anna Goldstein to make the big save.  Ten seconds after one of those saves, with 8 minutes to go in the period, Eden Prairie drew a checking penalty.  The Edina power play generated some pressure on the Eden Prairie net, but Eagles defense kept the Hornets wide and killed the penalty.  After that penalty, the Hornets’ offense started to put pressure on the Eagles net.  The game evened out.  With under two minutes left in the game, Eden Prairie developed a rush leading to a shot by senior Charly Dahlquist on the net.  Dahlquist was taken down by an Edina defender as she shot.  The puck slid on the ice to the net and was stopped by Goldstein’s right leg save and ended up stopped at the top of the crease.  Dahlquist got back into the play coming down the slot and pushed the puck through Goldstein’s leg for the score.  Eden Prairie led 1-0 and kept that lead going into the second period.  The Eagles outshot the Hornets 10-6.  Dahlquist will be playing hockey for North Dakota next year.

Edina started the second period by picking up the game tempo.  They worked the corners better, but the Hornet wings’ still could not beat the Eagles defense on the rush.  Four minutes into the period, the Eagles started to dominate play again.  They had outshot the Hornets 7-1 in the period until a second Eden Prairie was called with just under 12 minutes left in the period.  The Edina power play put pressure on the Eden Prairie penalty kill the second time and it was Prairie ninth grade goalie Alexa Dubchuk turn to make the big stops.  She did.  The Eagles killed the penalty, but a minute later Edina’s duo of Emily Oden and Anna Klein beat the Eden Prairie defense with Oden carrying the puck down the left side of the slot with Klein on the right side.  Using Klein as a foil, Oden shot instead of passing with one motion going short side from the lower left crease.  The move opened Dubchuk’s stance and the shot tumbled over Dubchuk’s left shoulder into the upper left corner of the net.  The game was tied 1-1.

A minute later, Edina drew a penalty.  Eden Prairie scored on the power play.  Senior Lauren Boyle came off the left boards and skated into the slot.  The move caught the Hornets defense flat footed.  Boyle snapped a quick shot off hitting Goldstein in the left arm and was deflected into the net.  Eden Prairie had regained the lead 2-1.  Boyle will be playing hockey for Ohio State next year.

Thirty seconds after taking the lead, the Eagles were called for slashing.  They killed that penalty and with a minute left in the second period, were given another penalty for holding.  The Eagles killed the first minute of the penalty as the period ended.  Eden Prairie led 2-1 and outshot the Hornets 11-10 in the period.

The Eagles killed the one minute remaining on the penalty at the opening of the third period and drew an interference penalty three minutes later.  On the power play for the third time in the last 10 minutes of game time, the Hornets scored.  Edina attacked the Eagles net from the start of the power play and got the Eden Prairies defense scrambling.  Fifty seconds into the penalty, the puck rebounded to Hornet senior Taylor Williamson in the left slot.   Williamson spun and put a high right corner shot on the net to tie the game 2-2.  Williamson is committed to play hockey for Minnesota next year.

Over the next seven minutes of play, both teams hammered on each other.  Both had chances and neither could score.  With five minutes left in the game, Edina’s Oden and Klein went to work again rushing the puck along the left boards.  This time Dubchuk made the initial save, but Klein put the rebound into the net.  Edina led for the first time 3-2.  The Eagles came back forcing the play in the Eagles’ zone.  Edina drew two penalties in the last four minutes of play a minute apart.  The Hornets killed the 5-on-3 but could not kill the 5-on-4.  The Eagles’ Boyle came up with the puck in the left slot area, skated into the slot, and beat Goldstein with shot to the lower right side to tie the game 3-3 and force overtime.

Overtime was dominated by the Eagles forwards as they pressured the Hornet net.  Goldstein came up with some tough plays, but the defining moment of the game came when an Eagle forward missed the puck as it flew by a wide open Hornet net.  The puck went into the right corner and Edina turned the puck into an attack on the Eagles net.  Williamson got the winning goal.  The Hornets go to state.

Section 4AA           

The #1 seeded Hill-Murray and the #2 seeded Cretin-Derham Hall were locked in a scoreless tie at the end of two periods in a game played Friday at Aldrich Arena.  Hall’s goaltender, Emma May, had stopped 22 Pioneer shots in the first two periods and would end up facing 14 more in the third period.  Hill got the game going in the third period with a goal by senior Jess Bonfe.  Cretin senior Paige Voight tied the game 1-1 halfway through the third period.  The Hill’s sophomore Lindsey Featherstone got the game winner with one minute left in the game.  Both the Hill’s Bonfe and Cretin’s Voight will play hockey for Merrimack next season.  Cretin’s goaltender May will play for Minnesota.

Section 5AA    

Centennial’s run to the Xcel came up one game short when the #1 seeded Cougars lost to #2 Blaine 3-2 in the Section 5AA championship game Friday.  In a defensive battle that saw only 41 shots on net, Blaine senior Alisa Wolens scored the winning goal with less than 10 seconds left in the game.  It was Wolens second score of the game.  She scored in the last two minutes of the first period to put Blaine up 1-0.  Bengals’ sophomore Sarah Ganley scored in the opening minutes of the second period to put Blaine up 2-0.  Centennial sophomore Shannon Meany and ninth grader Gabbie Hughes led the Centennial comeback tying the game 2-2 with 13 minutes left to play.  Blaine’s win ended an 11 game Cougar winning streak and services notice that the Bengals will be tough in the state tourney.  They beat #1 seeded Minnetonka 2-0 in their last regular season game the day sectional play started.  Blaine is a young team.  The Bengals are led by sophomore Emily Brown.  Brown has committed to play for Minnesota when she graduates.

Section 6AA

The #3 seeded Wayzata pushed #1 seeded Minnetonka into overtime before losing 3—2.  Wayzata took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by sophomore Natalie Heising in the first minute of play.  The Skippers came back to tie the game in the last minute of play on a goal by junior Kippin Keller.  Halfway through the second period, Wayzata senior Sophia Shaver broke the tie to put the Trojans up 2-1.  Wayzata kept that lead until the last five minutes of the third period.  Keller scored her second goal to tie the game 2-2.  Two minutes into the overtime, sophomore Emma Bigham scored the game winner for the Skippers.  Keller has committed to play hockey for Minnesota when she graduates.

Section 8AA

Two seasons ago, Buffalo was moved out of Section 6AA into Section 8AA.  The Bison had just beaten Wayzata 5-4 in the 2013 Section 6AA quarterfinals before losing to Minnetonka 5-1.  In their first Section 8AA last season, they lost to Roseau 3-0.  This year, the junior/senior dominated Bison beat Roseau 4-2 at the Brainerd Civic Center.  Roseau led 2-0 halfway through the championship game on scores by ninth grader Kenzie Rugland and senior Tianna Gunderson. Bison seniors Madi Jewell and Kirsten Olson tied the game with two second period goals.  Bison senior Ashley Effertz scored the game winner halfway through the third period and junior Allison Roethke got the final score in the last minute.  The Rams’ Gunderson has committed to play hockey for Minnesota next year.  The Bison’s Olson will play college hockey for Bethel; Effertz will play for River Falls; and Roethke will play for Qunnipiac when she graduates.