On Feb. 16, the Edina Girls’ Varsity Hockey team walked out of the Xcel Center with gold medals around their necks. Their state championship win—the team’s fifth title and first since 2021—was the product of a hard-fought season filled with “ups and downs,” according to head coach Sami Cowger. Throughout the year, the fourth-seeded Hornets weren’t a favorite to take home the state championship, but they channeled a gritty attitude and a mantra of “want it more” to fight for a win.
“We had a rocky start and then we ended up proving to everybody in the end that we wanted it,” junior goalie Reese McConnell said. The team suffered six losses throughout the season, including a definitive 2–5 defeat to Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Dec. 5. “This season was definitely very different than past seasons and teams that have won state championships. We had the most losses probably ever with Sami coaching, and we also had two very significant losses in the beginning of the year [against] Hill Murray and Benilde,” senior Captain Nora McConnell said. “We hadn’t lost to those two teams [for] many years.”
Senior Captain Taylor Porthan noted that Dec. 5—the day of the BSM game—was a turning point for the team. “We had a real talk,” senior Captain Hannah Halverson added. “I think we were at Braemar until about 11 p.m.,” Cowger said.
The day after the talk, Cowger decided to move three JV players to the varsity team—senior Afton Maiser, sophomore Brenna Prellwitz, and sophomore Charlotte Theirl. “I genuinely think that they completely brought the team chemistry together,” Nora McConnell said. She added that they created a positive atmosphere in the locker room. “I think I speak for everyone when I say they are…some of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” she said. Cowger said that bringing the players up helped “kick [the team] into gear.”
Players also credited their new mantra of “want it more” with helping them rise to their potential. The team adopted the phrase after losing their final regular season game. “We knew that we were a much better team than what we had shown in some of the hiccups throughout the regular season,” Cowger said in a press conference after the state quarterfinal game against Northfield. “We know we have all the tools in the toolbox to get the job done…But it’s really coming down to wanting it more. Everything’s in our control,”
Edina entered the postseason as the second seed in Section 6AA. They shut out Hopkins in a 12–0 quarterfinal and Wayzata in an 8–0 section semifinal to cruise to the section final against BSM. When the Hornets faced off against the Red Knights for the first time since the crucial Dec. 5 game, a shift was clear.
“[The section final] was when we really started to realize that we could actually do this and win state,” Porthan said. BSM led 1–0 after the first period, but junior forward Whitney Horton responded with two goals in the second period, giving Edina its first lead of the game. Ultimately, the Hornets managed a 5–4 win led by Horton, who ended the night with five total points and a hat trick.
The team celebrated making it to the state tournament for the 10th consecutive year as the buzzer rang. However, they knew the fight was far from over. The Hornets were about to face Northfield, which had only lost once during the regular season. In addition to many skilled players, Northfield also had Ayla Puppe, the 2024 Ms. Hockey Award recipient.
To avoid pre-game nerves, Reese McConnell focused on her mindset. “I’m learning to have a mind like a goldfish, so if I get scored on I forget about it because they only have a five-second memory. I felt a lot of pressure in the beginning, it was a little stressful. I didn’t want to let my team down but I knew deep down that I could do it,” she said. Her sister also had a feeling Edina could rise to the challenge. “[Each team] had all the skill and talent in the world, it was just gonna come down to simply who wants it more,” Nora McConnell said.
Ultimately, the Hornets had a dominant game, shutting out Northfield 5–0 and outshooting them 35–8. Halverson led Edina’s scoring with two goals and two assists and Horton notched another two goals. Prellwitz added a fifth goal, securing the Hornets’ win.
Heading into the semifinal, the Hornets faced their biggest rival, the top-seeded Minnetonka Skippers. Edina had squared off against the high-powered team—which included multiple Division Ⅰ commits and two Ms. Hockey semifinalists—twice during the regular season, resulting in a win for Minnetonka and a win for Edina, respectively, both decided by a one-goal margin.
Edina once again played with grit, beating the Skippers 3–2 and securing their spot in the state championship. After a tense, scoreless first period, sophomores Lorelai Nelson and Cate McCoy secured goals for the Hornets. Minnetonka responded to McCoy’s goal seconds later. Minnetonka opened the scoring in the third period, tying the game. Prellwitz secured the game-winning goal, which was approved after a lengthy review period.
The upset win sparked excitement and further determination in the players. “It was just an amazing feeling [to win] because that was the moment I think we all knew that we could beat Hill-Murray in the state championship game,” Reese McConnell said. Her sister Nora felt the same. “We were super motivated and once we won [semifinals] I felt like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna do this,’” she said.
After losing to second-seeded Hill-Murray earlier in the season, the Hornets knew they had an uphill battle. “I don’t think most people in the state were thinking, ‘Edina is gonna pull this off,’” Nora McConnell said. However, the team was motivated to finish their year with a win. “[Even though] we had lost to Hill-Murray earlier in the season, it just gave us more motivation,” Porthan said.
The Hornets rose to the challenge: Edina came out triumphant with a score of 2–0. Both goals were scored in the third period, one by Horton and one by Nelson. Edina outshot Hill-Murray 23–15 and broke their shutout streak.
Looking back on the tournament, Reese McConnell believes the victory was a result of her team staying true to their motto. “We had this team mantra that came at the beginning of sections [and it was] that we just had to be the team that wanted it more in order to keep moving on. Every game we would play, we just had to play like we wanted [it] more—and we did and we ended up winning,” she said.
Porthan noted that winning the championship was the most meaningful way to end her senior season. “Winning and getting to throw our gloves up in the air was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” she said. For Nora McConnell, being on the same team as her younger sister made the victory even more special. “Playing in my last state tournament with my sister is something I will never forget, and I’m very grateful for that experience,” she said.
The team’s journey to success inspires Cowger. “They taught me that anything is possible if you can continue to build that culture and continue to instill the right mentality and the right motto and put the right people in the locker room,” she said. “We are capable every single year.”
