Edina Girls’ hockey skated the ice for the last time this season in their run for the Class 2A State Title. In their second series game, the team lost 1-0 against conference rival, and third seed Eden Prairie.

In the first period both teams were in a deadlock for the upper hand. Neither team scored. Both defenses played strong and both teams struggled to string together good passes down the ice. Eden Prairie ended the period with four shots on goal while the Hornets had three.

The second period started with a little more energy. Edina’s own, junior Grace Bowlby, went head first into the boards at 15:02, and Eden Prairie’s Sydney Henrichs was given a two-minute penalty for tripping. The Hornets dominated on the offensive side for the first couple of minutes, until Eden Prairie’s Kelly Wolfe came in with the only goal scored in the game at 11:46. Wolfe crashed the net, faked the right side, and hit the open net on the left.  As Edina continued shots on the net, sophomore Emily Oden received a penalty for cross checking and junior Lolita Fidler had a breakaway and then was called for a penalty – a call many players and students argued.

        The Hornets picked up their play at the end of the second period and put the pressure back on Eden Prairie. In the last three minutes of the period, Edina had four breakaways. The energy of the game reached an all time high, when in the last eleven seconds, Edina had a break away which ended in a sliding dog pile in the Eden Prairie goal. After two close attempts and video review, there was no goal. The period ended with twelve shots on goal for Eden Prairie and twenty shots on goal for Edina.

        Eden Prairie controlled the ice for most of the third period. The game got heated and a few players visited the penalty box for holding and body checking. On Edina’s last penalty, Eden Prairie showed no mercy and goalie Anna Goldstein blocked many close shots. Edina couldn’t keep the puck out of Eden Prairie’s scoring zone, and they pulled their goalie in the last minute of the game. Eden Prairie’s Alexa Dobchuck goaltended a shutout game.

The game for 3rd place will take place against Hill-Murray School Feb. 20 at 11:00 at the Xcel Energy Center. This year, after tomorrow, the team will say goodbye to seniors Emma Nelson, Molly Myhre, Carley Hiniker, Sage Graff, Kristina Pappas, and Isabelle Beaupré.   
Go Hornets!