Hearts on Fire: Edina’s Passionate Play Wins Them Back-to-Back State Titles

Remember Rocky IV? Remember how the favored, hardened champion boxer Ivan Drago was defeated by the beloved underdog Rocky Balboa? Well this time around in the Minnesota Hockey State Championship, Ivan Drago came out on top.

While virtually no one outside of Edina was rooting for the Hornets to win their second consecutive state championship, and their third in five years, and most of Minnesota was rooting for the underdog Lakeville North in their first ever state championship game appearance, the Hornets left no doubt that they deserve to be the best, in an eight to two pummelling of the Panthers.

Edina wasn’t just “handed” this victory. This was earned through and through, with every practice, every shift, every game, all season. After a particularly tough loss to Hill-Murray, for example, the Hornets were bussed back to Braemar, just to skate for forty-five minutes into the night as a reminder of what is expected if you play hockey for Edina: wins.

The first period of play saw the Hornets score on a beautiful pass from sophomore forward Garrett Wait that was tipped in by fellow sophomore forward Casey Dornbach, but Lakeville North answered with a rebound goal and tied the game. Returning junior defenseman Ben “The Fo” Foley decided to make his second career goal count, and launched a rocket into the back of the net that made half of the Xcel Center have to change their pants. Senior Miguel Fidler then widened the lead to three-one but Lakeville’s Max Johnson scored his second goal of the game to send both teams to the locker room with a Hornet lead of one.

The second period was when Edina broke the bodies and spirits of the dark horse Panthers. A goal from Fidler was quickly followed by a goal from junior Parker Mismash, whose subsequent celebration will go down in history as really blatantly awesome. Sophomore Kieffer Bellows then capped off the scoring in the second, and the Hornets lead six to two, and the crowd began to sniff out an ensuing victory, with the people that only made the trip to watch Edina lose shuffling out disappointed to beat the traffic.

Bellows’ and senior Cullen Munson’s third period goals just added insult to injury, and just prolonged the amount of time before the Hornets rushed the ice, threw up their gloves and piled on to each other as chants of “back-to-back” echoed around the rink.

With the first back-to-back state hockey championship since twenty years ago, and a mob of returning talent, is three in a row really out of the question? Because once Ivan Drago has a taste of blood, he won’t stop. Nor will the Hornets.