Saturday, February 25, 2017

Another Four Spot from Edina Hornets Adds up to Class AA State Title

There was a common thread for the top seeded Edina Hornets in their seventh state tournament as they scored four goals in their first two games and they would get four more, including two from Lolita Fidler en route to a 4-0 win over the Blaine Bengals in the Class AA girls hockey championship game Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

It was the first state title for Edina since they lost to the Minnetonka Skippers in the 2011 Class AA final.

The Hornet stung :59 into the game as Eva Hendrikson's shot from the left point was tapped in by Fidler.  They would increase their lead to two on Evelyn Adams shot from the left boards that went toward Olivia Kilberg and she would put the finishing touch on the goal.

Edina would go up by three in the second period on Fidler's second goal that came off a missed shot from Kilberg.  CC Bowlby had a chance to score on a breakaway but her shot went wide.

The Hornets would eventually head home happy down Highway 100 as they wrapped up the scoring on Olivia Swaim's goal that barely entered the net. The Bengals would be on the verge of ending the Hornet shutout on Paige Beebe's breakaway but Anna Goldstein, who will play next season at Middlebury College in Vermont preserved the goose egg with a save.

Edina ended the regular season with a record of 28-1-1 and Blaine finished with a record of 24-4-2.

In the third place game, Naomi Rogge scored two goals and two assists to lead the Eden Prairie Eagles to a 6-0 win over the Hill-Murray Pioneers.  In the consolation championship game at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus, it was a battle of South Suburban Conference teams with the Farmington Tigers shutting down the Eastview Lightning 3-0.

Emily Brown of Blaine was the Class AA recipient of the Herb Brooks award which is awarded to a player that best demonstrates the characteristics of the late coach.  She told 45TV's Tom Hauser and the f"ans what winning the award meant to her.

"It means a lot to have your name associate with a legend like Herb Brooks.

The attendance for the two championship games was 4,959.

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