For the second-straight season, and third time in the last five years, Edina is the Minnesota Class AA state champion after routing Lakeville North, 8-2, Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center.
The top-seeded Hornets showed off their high-powered offense, tying a Class AA title game record with eight goals, to dismantle the No. 2 Panthers. Two players, senior Miguel Fidler and sophomore Kieffer Bellows, had two goals apiece. Edina’s power play was also a key contributor, converting on three of its six chances.
As it has done throughout the tournament, Edina got off to a quick start, scoring just over two minutes into the contest when Ohio State commit and Mr. Hockey finalist Tyler Nanne fed sophomore Casey Dornbach, who scored to stake the Hornets to another early lead.
The two teams then went back and forth in a chippy first period. Lakeville North briefly evened the game with just over seven minutes remaining, but the Hornets came right back, as junior Ben Foley scored just 33 seconds after the Panther tally.
Edina pushed its lead to 3-1 on the power play with a nifty passing play that culminated in Fidler’s first of the night.
After Lakeville North sophomore Max Johnson cut the deficit to 3-2 with a power play tally late in the first, the Hornets pulled away in the second, scoring three unanswered goals in a four-and-a-half minute span.
Edina's power play -- which came into the title game converting at a 42.9 percent clip during the tournament -- stayed red hot against Lakeville North, converting on its second-straight opportunity just over five-and-a-half minutes into the second on Fidler’s second.
From there, junior Parker Mismash scored off a sloppy turnover by the Panthers defense and, just under two minutes later, sophomore Bellows extended the Edina lead to 6-2.
Bellows and senior Cullen Munson then each added goals in the third to seal the largest margin of victory in a Class AA title game since Ryan McDonagh-led Cretin-Derham Hall beat Grand Rapids, 7-0, in 2006.
The championship is the state-best 12th in Edina hockey history. The Hornets are the first team to go back-to-back in Class AA since Bloomington-Jefferson won three-straight from 1992-94.