Edina Defeats Eden Prairie in Final Round of Holiday Classic

The Edina Hornets ended their 29th Annual Holiday Classic with a bang as they tussled with favored rival the Eden Prairie Eagles Saturday night, Dec. 18. The Hornets narrowly beat the Eagles 3-2 in an explosive—at times aggressive—game.

"This is great high school hockey," Edina Coach Curt Giles said. "Just an excellent game."

Forward Luc Gerdes scored at 7:01 for the No. 2 ranked Eagles, with assistance from David Rath and Jack McCartan. Eden Prairie had No. 3 ranked Edina playing defense for most of the first period with nine shots on goal. Midway through the period the Hornets brought the fight back to Edina firing off 6 shots without scoring.

Edina's Nick Bakke scored early in the second period with an assist by Ben Walker tying the game and the bulk of the period saw a back-and-forth stalemate until a fight late in the second gave the two rivals a much-needed boost of energy. Tensions heated to a boil when a mad scramble by Eden Prairie had both teams brawling in Hornet territory. The fight landed three players from each team in the penalty box.

"These teams have a good rivalry," Giles said. "It's pretty typical for an Edina, Eden Prairie game."

The second period ended with the score 1-1, but the tremendous effort by both teams left the crowd feverish. The crowd was electric as Eagles fans chanted, "We will beat you." Hornets fans returned with a volley of "We can't hear you."

During the third period saw more of the back and forth play until Jake Simpson scored at 6:13 during a power play. Edina loosened up a little too early and Eden Prairie came back with a quick score 37 seconds later as Luc Gerdes knocked another one in with the assistance of Rath and McCartan once again bringing the score to 2-2. 

The second period ferocity evaporated and all that remained was a solid effort by both teams as the raced to break the tie. Both teams battled at their opponents' nets and came frustratingly close to bagging this game up, but as the whistle blew the score remained 2-2 with 31 shots on the goal for Eden Prairie and 29 for Edina.

Overtime saw more of the excellent play from the third period and looked to be a deadlock as the shots on the goal matched blow-for-blow from each team. Finally at 4:22 of overtime in a mass flurry, Lou Nanne managed to slide the puck under Eden Prairie goalie with Michael Sit and Jake Sampson on the assist.