Edina holds off Chanhassen's late push to take Class 2A crown
If you asked Edina senior goaltender Joey Bertram, the last two minutes of Saturday's Class 2A championship game against Chanhassen went by pretty quick.
If you asked his coach, Curt Giles, it felt like an eternity.
"I used to have colored hair before tonight," Giles quipped. "It seems like a month. The trick is not to watch the clock. I mean, you watch that clock, you swear they're adding time on when the thing's going like this."
The Storm were pummeling Bertram in the net over the last two minutes, looking for an equalizing goal late with an extra skater. They never found it, with Bertram turning away shot after shot on his way to a 32-save night, and even better, a 2-1 Class 2A championship victory over Chanhassen at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
"I was feeling some tension," Bertram said. "But, you know, in those moments you gotta just talk to yourself and just say you've been here before. It's just like any other game you play at Braemar (Arena, Edina's home rink) and just got to build off the crowd and it's fun to watch yourself up there (on the scoreboard)."
The Storm (25-6-0) actually struck first in the second frame after a scoreless first period. Senior Tyler Smith had an incredible deflection on a shot teammate Ben Curtis took from the blue line that slipped past Bertram at 10:10 in the period.
That lead stood until Edina junior Robbie Hoch fired in a shot from the blue line that looked like it deflected off a Chanhassen skater before it got past Storm goalie Kam Hendrickson, who was also a tough solve in net, in the third period.
The Hornets (26-4-1) didn't take the lead until senior forward Bobby Cowan fired in a laser of a shot on the power play from the right circle for the go-ahead goal at 10:05 in the third.
"There's not many kids that can make that shot," Giles said. "I'm telling you, that shot there from that spot to beat a quality goaltender like that, the way you beat it, it's hard to find a kid who can shoot the puck like that."
That set up the finish, where the Storm had chance after chance to tie the game up. The announced crowd of 20,346 — a state tournament record — was on their feet, cheering on Chanhassen as it furiously fought for the equalizer.
"That was a pretty cool moment with about a minute and a half left when the whole place stood up, cheering these guys on," Storm coach Sean Bloomfield said. "... What a better way to finish your high school career than that? There's a lot of emotions, obviously losing a hockey game is a big part of it, but for me, and I think for a lot of them, it's that they love each other. And it's just the end of the run."
Edina was the Class 2A runner-up a year ago, but fell 2-1 to Minnetonka. Needless to say, it feels much better for the Hornets to come out on top this time around.
"Just going from how we ended our season last year and that, honestly, pain we felt, like I've thought about it every single day," senior Jackson Nevers said. "... I mean, it's so surreal."
The Hornets' night ended with a bus ride back to Braemar Arena, one Giles and his team was very much looking forward to.
"I can't explain to you guys what that bus trip is like. There's nothing like it. Nothing," Giles said. "And we can't wait to get on that bus. It's the best."
