Scoring Flurries Push Edina to State Tournament

It was a game largely defined by trios for the boys hockey team, as a pair of three-goal sets in the first and third period of the Section 2AA title match punched Edina's ticket to the state tournament.

Edina defeated the Burnsville Blaze 6-3 at Mariucci Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 29, in a game that was much closer than the final score would suggest. It was a repeat of for Edina, when the Hornets beat Burnsville 3-2 to advance to state.

Scoring was fast and furious in the matchup, with Jake Maxson scoring for Burnsville all of 50 seconds into the first period. The Hornets came back with a flurry of goals, kicked off by a score from Connor Hurley. The Nanne brothers—first Tyler, then Louie—had back-to-back goals at 5:40 and 9:32 in the period to give Edina a 3-1 lead.

Things slowed down a bit for the Hornets in the second period, as Burnsville's Tyler Sheehy snuck one past goalie Willie Benjamin to make it 3-2 headed into the third period.

After a Cory Chapman goal made it 3-3 for Burnsville in the third, Edina got back on their scoring kick with another three straight scores. Miguel Fidler and Connor Hurley scored a pair of goals to bring the game to 5-3, then Dylan Malmquist delivered the dagger with an open goal score late in the third.

While their opponent is unknown, the Hornets are guaranteed to play on Thrusday, Mar. 8, in the opening round of the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center. Tournament seeding will be determined in the coming days.

GAME SUMMARY