Section 6AA
No. 3 Edina Hornets
20-6-1
Coach: Curt Giles
Most Recent Let’s Play Hockey Ranking: No. 2
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Players to Watch: #18 F Jackson Nevers, #1 G Robbie Clarkowski, #21 F Bobby Cowan, #9 F Mason West, #6 D Eddie Revenig
30th Appearance
Last Appearance: 2022
10 State Championships
The Hornets are back at the ‘X’ after outlasting No. 7 Wayzata for a 2-1 win in the Section 6AA championship last week at Bloomington Ice Garden. Edina makes its 30th appearance at the state tournament and will look to win its 11th championship after a strong season that ended with the team ranked No. 2 in the Let’s Play Hockey Class AA poll.
It was a slow start to the year for Edina, with three straight losses to begin the season making up half of the team’s defeats all season. The Hornets were without star forward and Minnesota commit Jackson Nevers for the first two, and the team has only lost to No. 1 Minnetonka (twice) and Wayzata since November.
Nevers, a junior, leads the team with 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) this season, and the Hornets have a Frank Brimsek Award finalist in Robbie Clarkowski between the pipes. Clarkowski has been outstanding this year for Edina, with a .941 save percentage and 1.68 goals-against average both ranking inside the top 10 of all goalies in the state.
Other leading scorers for the Hornets include junior Bobby Cowan (12 goals, 18 assists) and freshman Mason West (8 goals, 18 assists). On the back end, Bemidji State commit Eddie Revenig leads the Hornets’ blueliners.
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Edina’s stats don’t pop off the page, but they’re not bad. They’ve got a decent power play (20.5%) and a good penalty kill (86.7%), but the key factor for the Hornets this season has been the ability to win games.
Playing a tough schedule, Edina has only slipped recently against some of the best teams in the rankings. If they want to win a state championship, there’s a decent chance they’ll have to avenge their two losses against Minnetonka, but they’ve pulled off wins against many of the other top teams they could see in St. Paul.
In a tournament field that’s loaded with contenders this year, the Hornets have the potential to beat just about anyone. Don’t be surprised to see the Hornets playing for the championship on Saturday, but they could also find themselves on the wrong end of a tight game against the quality of competition they’ll face in the state tournament.
Ranked Wins (Based on Feb. 23 Let’s Play Hockey Rankings): No. 11AA Benilde-St. Margaret’s (3-2, Dec. 3; 5-2, Feb. 25), No. 19AA Eden Prairie (5-1, Dec. 17; 4-0, Jan. 28), No. 15AA Moorhead (3-2, Dec. 27), No. 8AA St. Thomas Academy (5-1, Dec. 28; 4-1, Jan. 13), No. 6AA Rogers (3-2, Dec. 29), No. 7AA Wayzata (5-3, Jan. 26; 2-1, March 1)
Ranked Losses: No. 4AA Maple Grove (2-0, Nov. 25), No. 15AA Moorhead (2-0, Nov. 26), No. 14AA Holy Family (3-2, Nov. 28), No. 1AA Minnetonka (4-0, Jan. 19; 1-0, Feb. 11), No. 7AA Wayzata (7-0, Feb. 18)
Ranked Ties: No. 13 Lakeville South (2-2, Jan. 7)
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