Backyard Hockey in November
Hornet Asher Connelly scores in Edina's 3-2 win Sunday
In a peewee A game between two good peewee A teams, Edina edged Mounds View 3-2 on a last minute goal scored by the Hornets' Billy Koziak. The game was played outside on a sunny 50 degree November 1st day complete with a roof that blocks the sun and a fire pit to warm the hands.
Edina's Bramaer Backyard Sunday morning
Edina
Edina Association’s peewee A teams are perennial state tourney entries. They usually are among the top three teams in the District 6 playoffs that go on to win a regional tourney ticket to the Peewee A State Tourney. This year’s edition look ready to make the trip to the South Regional that will be played next March at New Ulm MN. Potentially Edina along with two other District 6 teams, three District 4 teams, and two District 9 teams will play in a double elimination tourney at New Ulm with the two South Regional winners playing in the Peewee A State Tourney at Greenway High School’s Hodgins-Berardo Arena in Bovey MN.
Warming hands becomes a social thing.
Backyard Entrance
Mounds View-Irondale
Mounds View and Irondale Association’s combined to form a single peewee A team this season. The Mustangs/Knights will be playing to be one of two teams to win the District 2 Peewee A playoffs this season (six teams entered). If they do, Moundsview will join one other District 2 team, three teams from District 8, and three teams from District 3 in the East Regional played at Cottage Grove MN. The two top winners of the East Regional will play in the state tourney at Greenway’s Ice Arena in Bovey MN.
Against a background of fall leaves and trees, Edina's Ricky Nelson hits a breaking Johnny Buenz on this pass for a weak side goal and a 1-0 Hornet lead.
Period 1: Edina Battles to Win the first 12
Mounds View opened the game on the attack and pressured the Hornets for the first five minutes. The Mustang forwards kept the puck low denying Edina the low pass to the breakout. The Mustang defense pinched when the puck hit the Edina blue line driving the puck back low into the Edina zone or turning the puck in the neutral zone. An Edina penalty two minutes into the period didn’t help. It took the Hornets five minutes to mount an attack and open the game flow to the full sheet of ice. Once Edina did, they scored.
With six minutes left in the period, the Hornet’s Ricky Nelson (he has got to be a “Traveling Man”) broke down the right boards and made a neat pass to Edina’s Johnny Buenz breaking into the weak side for a one timer. Nelson, leading Buenz with his pass, could not be certain that Buenz would be there. He saw him when he made the pass. Buenz hit the weak side as the puck arrived. Keeping his stick on the ice rapped the puck in the net without his stick leaving the ice. It was a nice score. Nelson and Asher Connolly got the assists. Ten seconds after the Edina goal, the Hornets drew a hooking penalty and faced Mustang pressure in their zone on the penalty kill again. A minute into the penalty, the Hornets' Connolly beat the right defense skating along the boards and cut through the right faceoff circle to the top of the crease. He skated across the top of the crease got the Mounds View goalie to go down on the initial rush. Controlling the puck, Connelly tucked it into the left side of the net amid a backdrop of sunlight and trees. Though the shots on goal were even (each team had four shots) the Hornets took a 2-0 lead into the second period.
Mustangs' Tyler Chamberlain scores to cut Edina's lead to 2-1 in the second period.
Period 2: Mustangs Battle Back to win the second 12
In the first three minutes of the second period, the Mustangs pressured the Hornets low in the Edina zone. They keep the puck in the Edina zone and started swinging it left and right going for the weak side forcing the Hornet’s goalie Dominic Cook to make some great leg pad saves. With eight minutes to go in the period and Edina rushing the puck in neutral ice, Mounds View’s Ryan Collins knocked the puck toward the Hornets' zone at the Edina blue line. The puck was picked up by the Mustang’s Tyler Chamberlain who soloed in on Cook. Chamberlain moved left at the top of the crease and beat Cook with a top shelf shot on the left side to cut the lead to cut the Hornets lead to 2-1. Collins got the assist. The Hornets drew a penalty shortly after the score and faced more Mounds View pressure. Cook again made some big stops. With five minutes left in the period, Hornets goalie Jake Branton came into the game for Cook.
Mounds View killed a penalty after that the switch in goalies and attacked again. But the Hornets’ defense held until the last thirty seconds of the period. Mounds View’s Carson Brodt attacked the Hornets’ net and continued to press the play after a shot. On one knee in the left crease area, Brodt reached back and picked up the rebounding puck and shot it low into the left side of the Edina goal to tie the game 2-2. It was an unassisted goal. The second period ended in a 2-2 tie. Mounds View outshot Edina 8-3 in the period.
Mound View's Carson Brodt goes to a knee to get this rebound shot off for the second goal.
Brodt gets covered by the Edina defense as the puck slids past the Edina goalie.
Carson Brodt's shot slids past the Edina goalie for the tying score.
Period 3: Tense until Edina Scores
The third period was tense with both teams establishing control of the puck in their opponent’s zone. It got tenser after Edina scored with under two minutes left to play. Edina drew a penalty early in the period and that lead to a Mustang breakaway that Hornet goalie Branton stopped stuffing the Mustang forward's attempt to beat him low right. On the other end of the ice, Mounds View’s goalie Elijah Kaasa was facing equally tough Edina attack. That standoff continued until eighty seconds were left on the clock. Then the Hornets’ Billy Koziak came up the puck along the left boards in the Mounds View zone, cut off the boards to the top of the slot and fired beating the goalie for the game winning score. Mitchell Dokman and Asher Connolly got the assist. In the last minute of play, the Mounds View roared back attacking the Edina goal with some tough hard shots the Branton had to stop. Edina won 3-2 though they were outshot again 7-3.
What is Next?
Mounds View plays District 2 rivals White Bear Lake at the Super Rink Thursday and Roseville at Roseville Friday. Mounds View needs to beat both White Bear Lake and Roseville in District 2 playoffs to advance. The Mustangs host their Super Rink Thanksgiving Tourney on Black Friday. The Peewee A tourney this year features 12 teams, two from Canadian. The Mustangs will play one of the Canadian Teams (St.Vital Victorias), North Branch, and Woodbury Black in their pool. Edina opens District 6 play this week against Shakopee and New Prague. They will play in the Hopkins Peewee A Thanksgiving Tourney. The past three years, the Edina Peewee A’s have played Orono Association’s peewee A team in this tourney. Both Edina and Orono have gone on to play in the Peewee A State Tourney.
Edina goalie Jake Branton makes the initial save and Mustang Nick Sajevic (#12) rebound shot just misses the left post in this third period action.
Edina goalie Jake Branton makes a big stop on this third period breakaway by Mounds View.
Edina goalie Dominic Cook makes a big block on this Mounds View weak side scoring attempt in the second period. Both Edina goalies had a good game.