Winning back-to-back state championships is more than impressive, and winning three straight titles is nearly impossible. 

However, that doesn't mean Sami Reber and her Edina Hornets won't give it their best shot, and to make a third consecutive trek to the Xcel Energy Center, Reber began plotting her team's return trip before last season had ended.

Months before her second title run in St. Paul, Reber was planning for the future, preparing this year's team for another grueling run through the Lake Conference with tough non-conference matchups, fully invested in the Hornets’ motto of “a brand new year."

Those in-season maneuverings have resulted in an early slate of games that rivals any other team’s in the state, starting with 2018 Class AA State Tournament consolation champion Andover. 

“Before the season had even ended I tried to reach out to a few teams to get them on the schedule, and Andover was the one I really wanted to get on,” Reber said recently over the phone. “They’re a program that’s just totally taken off. We try to play the best teams every season, so they’re someone I reached out to right away.”

Following the opener at Andover on Nov. 8, the Hornets’ schedule includes Section 6AA runner-up Blake, Section 6AA semifinalist Cretin-Derham Hall, and Class A State Tournament fixture St. Paul United. 

The Blake game will be a rematch of last year’s Section 6AA finals, a game which Bears coach Shawn Reid has lauded as a premium marketing opportunity for girls’ high school hockey and a contest that Reber concurs was pivotal in expanding the brand. 

“Every year, girls hockey continues to grow in such a great direction,” Reber said. “I think to have that Blake game so anticipated not only by us or by them, but by everyone else in the metro area, it’s such a cool experience for girls hockey, in general, to see all of these third parties come out to watch this game,” Reber continued.

One small caveat about playing that deep into the postseason and winning it all - a loaded senior class now departed for five collegiate programs, including four in Division I. 

Four of the now-Division I players include varsity mainstays Loli Fidler and Emily Oden, the 126-point duo now playing for Penn State and Minnesota respectively. 

“It’s a huge loss, and they’re great kids, but with that said, there are incredible upperclassmen coming back,” Reber said. “We’ve gotten to know our three captains who were hugely impactful last year,” Reber added, ticking off the names of Mallory Uihlein, C.C. Bowlby, and Annie Kuehl as this year’s on-ice generals. 

“Just looking at that right there gives us a ton of confidence, and the cool thing for us right now is that we’ve got a great group of younger girls coming in.”

Edina's reloading. Sound familiar? The Hornets roster will feature three freshmen opening the season on the varsity, with Haley Maxwell, Jane Kuehl, and Minnesota commit Vivian Jungels. All three were members of last year’s 15UA state champion Edina squad. 

Even with an infusion of new blood mixing with (just) eight remaining Division I commits, Reber maintains that several under-the-radar teams could give the Hornets problems in 2018-2019, including a Lake Conference rival. 

“The cool thing about girls’ hockey nowadays is that you’re going to get a team like Wayzata this year, which people are going to overlook, but are going to have huge wins,” Reber said, adding Maple Grove and Forest Lake as two more fast-rising teams. “You’re going to have teams like that that are just going to kind of surprise people.”

Based on past performance, a raincloud of surprise would hover over the Hornets if the team doesn’t advance deep into the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

How does the team possibly top back-to-back titles? How do the Hornets handle failure with a roster that’s never missed out on a state tournament appearance? How does the coaching staff maintain an edge with a group that’s gone 56-3-1 over the past two seasons?

Refer to the Hornets’ mantra. 

“It’s a brand-new year, and we’re just focused on this year,” Reber says. “It’s been so cool last year and the year before, but that’s in the past, and now we’ve gotta get back to work,” Reber continued, adding that the season is never hardware-or-bust. 

“(Even) if we don’t come home with it this year, if I see my girls grow on and off the ice, that’s all I can ask for.”